THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 8 1 



A question relative to cutting- back and heading in peach 

 trees provoked a vigorous discussion. 



Mr. G. F. Piatt favored cutting back with the idea of forcing 

 the growth of new heads. 



IMr. Root had cut back Reeves' Favorite trees with good 

 results and expects to practice it this year again. 



Question : Assuming that our peach buds are all dead, 

 would this not be a good time to cut the tops off from peach 

 trees over six years of age ? Could it harm them ? 



Mr. Platt : I think I w'ould recommend it. If they are 

 killed anyhow, we might as weU cut it oft" to begin with, and 

 make a new head. I think ]Mr. Hale did that thing in Georgia 

 and got a second growth. 



Mr. Root : I suspect we ought to trim ten-year-old trees 

 right back. 



A Meiviber : Will you do it ? 



Mr. Root: Yes, sir. 



Mr. Barnes : We cut back about 550 trees last spring quite 

 severely — limbs that would range in diameter from three inches 

 dow'n to half an inch — the tree was cut off very severely if the 

 diameter was two and a half or three ; and with the exception 

 of some trees that the scale was very severe on, these put out 

 in the spring and made a very satisfactory growth through the 

 summer. My main object was to never let those trees get high. 

 In an examination that I made in cutting for the buds, I could 

 not make up my mind that there was any damage this winter. 

 We did not get the severe cold on these orchards that prevailed 

 on the lower ground. I might sa}- that we have a couple of 

 trees on the flats near our buildings that were on the place 

 when I came there. They have always stood in grass — they may 

 be twenty years old ; and I went out this morning about day- 

 light and I took a branch oft' from the top of each of those trees 

 and took them into the house, and I cut the wood and the buds, 

 and the buds, so far as I could detect, were, without exception, 

 black in the center, and the wood is very brown, even of this 

 last season's growth ; and I think it has killed those old trees 

 that had made a very moderate growth. 



A Member : What time w^ould it be best to cut back those 

 trees ? 



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