THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



Gris de Hiver, Beurre Superfin, Doy- Clapps' Favorite, President Drouard 



enne de Cornice, Doyenne Bous- and the Keiffer on the recommendation 



sock,. Ritson, Glout Morceau Law of the British market, 

 rence, Goodale, Sheldon, Duchess d' Roderick Cameron. 



Angouleme, Mount Vernon, ^ Seckel, Niagara Falls. 



GROWING 



§MERICAN GARDEN reports Mr. 

 Hall s address before the Massa- 

 chusetts Horticultural Society as 

 follows : — 

 "The difference of preparation of 

 land for peach orchards, is the differ- 

 ence in business methods, the one being 

 superior which is most thorough, practi- 

 cal and intelligent. The land cannot 

 be plowed too much, and harrowing and 

 cross-harrowing are less harmful than 

 sensible. 



" The trees should be planted early in 

 the spring ; fall planting is apt to be 

 disastrous because the tender roots will 

 not bear transplanting then from nujse- 

 ries to open soil. While i6 feet each 

 way is accepted now as a proper dis- 

 tance, the theory of planting trees 13 

 feet apart is justified by the fact that 

 peach trees are mighty uncertain and 

 may not fill out. Medium-sized trees, 

 3 or 4 feet high, are best to plant, and 

 they should be trees one year old. In 

 fact, no nursery ever delivered a two- 

 year-old tree, though it is claimed that 

 it does. 



" It is not essential that a tree have 

 many fibrous roots ; most of them are 

 dead anyway at planting, and a modest 

 number will serve, provided they are 

 cut smoothly when out in the ground. 

 Fine earth should pack the roots, and 

 the only thing having any business in 

 the orchard after that is a horse, a har- 

 row, and a plow. The practice of mix- 

 ing crops, of planting alternate rows of 

 corn and expecting to get a peach 

 orchard of any vigor is extreme folly. 

 At the first year's growth cut off all but dividual. 



166 



GOOD PEACHES. 



a few top sprouts, and the next year cut 

 off the interfering side spurs. Twice 

 can these be removed, yet the tree will 

 yield well. 



" Do the pruning and shaping in the 

 first two years. In pruning for fruit the 

 question is, '• How are your buds ?" If 

 they are nearly all killed, wait until 

 spring, and when the buds are swelled, 

 prune. Trim for peaches then. Don't 

 trim for form ; you may have one of the 

 worst looking orchards in the country, 

 but you will get more peaches. 



"As to winter bud killing, 75 per 

 cent, of your peach buds may blight, 

 but if the remaining 25 per cent, are 

 evenly distributed among the trees you 

 need not worry. It is a popular fallacy 

 that when it is announced that 50 per 

 cent, of the buds have been killed the 

 peach crop for the following season is 

 doomed. It is time enough to thin 

 your fruit after it has set in the spring. 

 Large, fine fruit can be raised only when 

 there is a moderate number of peaches 

 on each tree. 



"It takes from 10 to 12 days to 

 gather peaches which have come to 

 maturity. Don't use a machine in sort- 

 ing them. Hire bright, intelligent 

 women ; they are better than men as a 

 rule. And remember always that there 

 is more profit in selling 50 or 60 peaches 

 to the half-bushel at $2 than 100 to the 

 half-bushel for 50 cents. There may be 

 less nutriment and more water in the 

 large fruits, but the people like them 

 and will have them. As to the profit in 

 peach growing, it depends on the in- 



