THE PEACH. . 683 



preference to warm valleys and southern asjects. In the coldei- ex- 

 posures the vegetation and blossoming of the tree is retarded until after 

 ull danger of injury is past. Situations near the banks of large rivers 

 and inland lakes are eqvuilly adiuii-able on this account, and the blossoms 

 are not injured once in a dozen years; while on level grounds, dis- 

 tant but a little way, they are destroyed every fourth or fifth season. 



With regard to the cultiu'e of jieach orchards, there is a seeming 

 disparity of opinion between growers at the North and South. ^Nlost of 

 the cultivators at the South say, never plo^igh or cultivate an orchard 

 after it has b(?rne the first crop. Ploughing bruises the roots, enfeebles 

 the trees, and lessens the crop. Enrich the ground by top-dressings, and 

 leave it in a state of rest. The best northern gi'owers say, always keep 

 the laud in good condition, mellow and loose by cultivation, and croj) it 

 very frequently with the lighter root and field crops. Both are correct, 

 and it is not difiicult to explain the seeming diti'erence of opinion. 



The majority of the peach orchards south of Philadelphia, it will be 

 recollected, grow upon a thin, light soil, previously rather impoverished. 

 In such soils it is necessarily the case that the roots lie near the sur- 

 face, and most of the food derived by them is from what is a])plied to 

 the surface or added to the soil. Plotighiug, therefore, in such soils, 

 wounds and injures the roots, and cropping the ground takes from it the 

 scanty food annually applied or already in the soil, which is not more 

 than sufficient for the orchard alone. In a stronger and deeper soil the 

 roots of the peach-tree penetrate farther, and are mostly out of the 

 reach of serious injury by the plough. Instead of losing by being 

 opened and exposed to the air, the hea\Tier soil gains greatly in value by 

 the very act of rendering it more friable, while at the same time it has 

 naturally sufiicient heart to bear judicious cropping with advantage 

 rather than injury to the trees. The gi'owth and luxuriance of an orchard 

 in strong land, kept under tillage, is suprisingly gi-eater than the same 

 allowed to remain in sod. The diflei'ence in treatment, therefore, should 

 always adapt itself to the nature of the soil. In ordinary cases, the dura- 

 tion of peach orchards in the light sandy soil is rarely more than three 

 years in a bearing state. In a stronger soil, with proper attention to the 

 shortening system of pruning, it may be prolonged to twenty or more 

 years. 



Pruxixg. It has always been the prevailing doctrine in this country 

 that the peach requii'es no piiming. It has been allowed to grow, to 

 bear heavj^ cro);)S, and to die, pretty much in its own way. This is veiy 

 Well for a tree in its native climate, and in a wild state ; but it mtist be 

 remembered that the peach comes from a warmer country than ours, and 

 that our peaches of the present day are artificial varieties. They owe 

 their origin to artificial means, and require therefore a system of culture 

 to corresj)ond. 



In shoi*t, we view tliLs absence of all due care in the management of 

 the peach-tree, after it cornea into hearing^ as the principal original cause 

 of its present short duration, and the disease which preys upon it in 

 many of the older parts of the country. We therefore earnestly desire 

 the attention of peach-growers to our brief hints upon a reguhu' system 

 of pruning this valuable tree. Of course we speak now of common 

 standard trees in the (.rchard or garden. 



A peach-tree, left to itself after being planted, usually comes intc 

 bearing the thii-d or fourth year, and has a well-shaped rounded head, 



