196 Peach-Growing 



extremities of the branches and the size of the branches 

 disproportionately small for their length on account of not 

 having been properly headed in, even a small crop of fruit 

 would be likely to break the tree to pieces very badly. 



This type of tree may be contrasted with the one pre- 

 sented in Plate XVII {bottom) which shows a tree that is 

 stocky and the main limbs completely covered w^ith fruit-bear- 

 ing wood. Though the top of this tree is very open, the growth 

 is so developed that there is no danger of the limbs being 

 injured by sun-scald. There may be some varietal differences 

 in the habit of growth between the two trees shown in Plate 

 XVII, but from the standpoint of the features in question 

 such differences are doubtless unimportant if they exist. 



An entirely different type of tree is shown in Plate XVIII 

 (bottom). The trees now nine years old were headed very 

 low and evidently the tops were formed rather systemati- 

 cally of three or four main branches, but there is no indication 

 of their ever having been headed back either when they were 

 young or later. As a result, the natural tendency for a limb 

 to elongate each year from the outermost bud has been fully 

 exercised. The outer bud in the case of these trees has habit- 

 ually been the terminal bud. The development of side 

 branches has not been stimulated as would have been the 

 case had the limbs been wisely headed back. The result 

 is an orchard in which the trees are difficult to spray, the 

 bearing surface nearly all so high that little of the fruit can 

 be picked without the use of a step-ladder, the limbs can- 

 not sustain a heavy load of fruit and in various other ways 

 due to poor pruning or none at all, the trees are in poor 

 condition. 



In Plate XVIII (top) are shown two Elberta trees 

 fourteen years old which are exceptional for their size, the 



