THE PEACH. 



585 



^^'f^:tsr^^^^^^ 



A peach-tree pruned liy the shorten- 



in''-in mode. 



Beciirod against the prevalent evil, an over-crop, we have also provi- 

 ded tor the full nourishment of the present year's fruit, and induced a 

 su]t})lv of fruit-bt^aring shoots throughout the tree for the next season. 



This course of pruning is followed regu- 

 larly, every year, for the whole life of the 

 tree. It is done much more nipidlv than 

 one would suppose ; the pruned wounds are 

 too small to cause any gum to flow ; and it 

 is done at the close of winter, when labor 

 is worth least to the cultivator. 



The appearance of a tree pruned in 

 this way, after many years of bearing, is a 

 very striking contrast to that of the poor 

 skeletons usually seen. It is, in fact, a fine 

 object, with a thick, low, bushy head, filled 

 with healty young wood, and in the summer with an abundance of dark- 

 green, healthy foliage and handsome fruit. Can any intelligent man 

 hesitate about adopting so simple a course of treatment to secure 

 such valuable results '? We recommend it with entire confidence to the 

 practice of every man in the country that cidtivates a peach-tree. 

 After hs has seen and tasted its good effects, we do not fear his laying 

 it aside.* 



Training the peach-tree against walls or espalieis is but little prac- 

 tised in this country. Espalier and cordon training, on a small scale, 

 is, however, highly worthy of the attention of persons desiring this fruit 



beauty of the fruit depend on the size and vigor of the leaves. We have seea 

 two peach-trees of the same age aide by side, one unpruned, and the other regu- 

 larly Hhortened-in, and both bearing about four bushels. That of the latter was, 

 however, of double the size, and incomparably finer. 



* Our attention has been drawn to the following remai'kable examples of the 

 good effects of regular pruning, which we translate from the leading French 

 journal of horticulture. We ask the attention of our readers to these cases, 

 especialh' after perusing our remark.s on the Yellows and its cause. 



'• M. Duvilliers laid before the Royal Society of Horticulture an account of 

 some old peach-trees that he had lately seen at the Ghateiu de Villiers. near 

 Fert -Aleps (Seine-et-Oise). These trees, eight in number, are growiiig upon a 

 terrace wall, which they cover perfectly, and j'ield abundant crops. The gar- 

 dener assured M. Duvilliers that they had been under his care during the thirty 

 years that he had been at the ch,"iteau ; that they were as large when he first saw 

 them as at present, and that he supposed them to be at Xaasii nixt t/ ycarxold. lie 

 cannot duubt (says the editor) that it in to the annual primin;/ that these peach- 

 trees oice thin lo.ic/ life ; for the peach-trees that are left to ihemselces ,n the latitude 

 of Paris never lice be;/ond tiren*y or fliirt;/ years. M. Duvilliers gave the accu- 

 rate measurement of the trunks and branches of these trees, and stated, what it 

 is more interesting to know, that although nil their tranks are hollow, like those 

 of old willows, yefc their vigor and fertility are still quite unimpaired." {Annales 

 de la Soci t'- d^ llorticiiUure. tome x.xx. p. "j.S. ) 



In volume 2.j. page G7, of the same journal, is an account of a remarkable 

 peach-tree in the demesne of M. Joubert, near Villeneuve le lloi (d jiartement 

 de I'Yonne). It is trained against one of the wings of the mansion, covers a 

 large space with its branches, and the circumference of its trunk, taken at some 

 distance from the gi-ound, is two feet and a half. It i.s known to be, acfurdly. of 

 •nov than *.)'■) year.i growth, and is believed to be more than 100 years old. It is 

 stUl in perfect hialth and vigor. It is growing in strong soil, but it lias been 

 regularly .subjected to <a uniform and severe .system of pruning, equivalent to 

 our shortening-in mode. Where can any peach-tree of half this age be found 

 in the United States, naturally a much more favorable climate for it than that 

 of France 'i 



