THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 



39 



the roots did start they would come from the bottom of the 

 root in much the same way that a cutting- starts. Of course 

 this work was rapidly done and cost but little. 



The Field; Care. The field is an old abandoned brush 

 heap at the back of the farm. It is very light and stony, and 

 had not been plowed for thirty years, as far as I can learn. The 

 soil where these peach trees are planted is so poor that only 

 a few coarse weeds will grow. A scattering growth of cedars 

 and birches covers part of the field, while the rest is quite 



Fig. I. — In a crowbar hole. 



thickly covered with brush and small trees. The field was not 

 cleared except that the brush was mowed where the trees 

 stand. I planted the trees in this crude, rough way because 

 I wanted to test the peach under the hardest conditions. The 

 experts have clearly shown what high cultivation and heavy 

 feeding on cleared land will do. Can a man without large 

 capital or competent help, and mostly by the labor of his 

 own hands, raise good fruit on rough land? That seems 

 to me one of the most important questions connected with fruit 

 growing. It is what I started out to answer. I had agreed 

 with ]\Ir. String-fellow to hoe around these trees several times 



