l6o PEACHES AND APRICOTS. 



is to hold the trees under, and in place of this wire 

 any pieces of boards may be used, but the wire is 

 cheaper and better. If the wire is used it will be 

 necessary also to prevent spreading in the middle to 

 get some long light poles, or "bats" from the lum- 

 ber yard and staple them on midway between our 

 stringers, and running parallel with them. The 

 trellis is now done and the next and last operation 

 is bending the trees down and thrusting them 

 under it. 



The peach is a rank grower, and if no further 

 attention is given it, it will soon grow up through 

 this trellis to such a height as to prevent covering 

 it practically. It will be necessary frequently dur- 

 ing the summer to look them over and bend back 

 and under the wires such shoots and branches as 

 have grown long enough to admit of it. A little 

 labor applied at odd times during the summer will 

 keep these perfectly under subjection so that few 

 shoots will be above the trellis. 



In this position covering is an easy matter. A 

 good load of straw from the machine will cover 

 twenty to thirty trees. If they should get in addi- 

 tion to this a good covering of snow, which in this 

 position is quite likely,* it will add to the probabili- 

 ties of a crop, though there is little danger of 

 failure without it, even less than there is in the 

 peach countries, as there are always enemies to the 

 peach there that we shall not meet here. 



Should the trees set very full of fruit it is advis- 

 able to thin it out considerably, and we shall get 



