66 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



two bushels, but be worth two dollars or more 

 per bushel ; and while the small peaches could 

 only be shipped at a loss, the larger ones would 

 yield a handsome profit. 



A large per cent, of the edible part of a peach 

 is composed of water ; hence it is the formation 

 of the seed that exhausts the vitality of the tree. 

 The perfecting of the seeds of such an immense 

 number of peaches will frequently exhaust the 

 vitality of the tree, so that it cannot produce 

 another crop for years, and this is one reason 

 why peach trees allowed to overbear are usually 

 short-lived. Peaches should always be thinned 

 before the seed begins to harden, while you can 

 still run a pin through them without meeting 

 any obstruction from the seed. If any show 

 marks of having been stung, or are in any way 

 faulty, they should be taken off and destroyed. 



We should leave the peaches as equally dis- 

 tributed as possible, from four to six inches 

 apart, all over the tree. The cost of thinning 

 should not be considered, as if they were left 

 on they must be picked when ripe, and it cer- 

 tainly will cost less to take them off while small, 

 to say nothing of the vastly increased value of 

 those that are left to fully develop. 



Remember that overbearing is the "besetting 

 sin " of the peach tree, and that thinning must 

 be done if you would grow the finest fruit. If 

 we were asked to give the approximate number 

 of peaches that should be allowed to mature on 

 a tree, we would say, for a three-year-old tree, 

 about 150 ; for a four-year old, 250 ; for a five- 

 year-old, 400 ; but seldom over 600 for a tree of 

 any age. 



CULTIVATION. 



It is just as reasonable to expect a good crop 

 of corn without the same care. During the first 

 two or three years some low hoed crop, such as 

 peas or melons, may be grown in the orchard, 

 but they should not be planted too near the 

 trees, and the space around the young trees 

 should not be neglected, but should be kept 

 clear of weeds and grass and the surface mellow. 



The cultivation of young orchards should be 

 suspended about the ist to 15 th of August each 

 year, in order that the young wood may mature 



before winter. Cultivation should be kept up 

 in the orchard as long as it lives. It should 

 commence in the spring, as soon as the blossoms 

 open, when the orchard should be carefully 

 plowed, being careful not to plow so deep as to 

 injure the roots. 



For subsequent cultivation, on lands not too 

 rough or stony, the Acme or Cutaway harrow 

 may be used, thus saving much time and ex- 

 pense. It will, however, usually be necessary 

 to use a one-horse cultivator directly in the row 

 and next to the trees. 



We need scarcely caution the orchardist that 

 great care should be exercised in the work of 

 cultivating not to break the branches or in any 

 way mutilate the trees. Cultivation should be 

 kept up as often as necessary to maintain the 

 surface in good condition until in August. 



FERTILIZING. 



Of the three essential constituents of plant 

 food — nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash — 

 nitrogen is of the greatest value in promoting 

 growth and forming wood. This fact indicates 

 that manures or fertilizers rich in nitrogen should 

 be used during the first years of growth in the 

 young orchard. 



Of this class of fertilizers, we might mention 

 well-decomposed barnyard or stable manure 

 and cottonseed-meal, which should be applied 

 early in the season, to be turned under at the 

 first spring plowing. 



When planting no manure should ever be put 

 in direct contact with the roots, but in some 

 soils a few handfuls of fine bone may be mixed 

 in the soil about the roots. When the peach 

 tree comes into bearing, phosphoric acid and 

 potash are necessary to the proper development 

 of size, beauty and flavor of the peach. These 

 elements can be supplied by fine ground bone 

 and muriate of potash, or hardwood ashes. 

 Many orchards become unprofitable because 

 they are not properly fertilized. One great 

 reason for the failure of so many orchards is be- 

 cause they are starved. After the trees come 

 nto bearing, they have to perform the double 

 function of developing wood growth and perfect- 



