CULTURAL METHODS FOE THE PEACH, AND MARKETING 1079 



to produce a creditable orchard. Most commercial orchardists 

 prefer to head the trees moderately low from one to two and a 

 half feet high. This low head reduces the cost of spraying and 

 harvesting. The trees should be cut off at a height desired to 

 form the head, and the side limbs either shortened in or entirely 

 removed. All broken roots should be removed and remaining 

 roots shortened to six to ten inches long. Any trees showing 

 badly deformed main root, root knot, or crown gall should be 

 burned. Trees should be carefully examined for borers at 

 the time of setting; this task is often neglected and borers thus 

 obtain a start in the orchard. Yearling tnees of medium size 

 are generally used, although in the south June buds are often 

 used. 



MANNER OF SETTING TREES 



A good-sized hole should be dug, and the trees should be planted 

 an inch deeper th,an they grew in the nursery. Good top soil 

 should l>e carefully worked in among the roots and packed very 

 firmly around them. This is very important ; at the same time, 

 it must be left loose on top to act as a mulch and conserve the 

 moisture. If the trees are planted late or if the soil is very dry, 

 water may be poured around the roots, but generally this is 

 neither helpful nor necessary. A little commercial fertilizer may 

 be sprinkled on top of the ground, but under no conditions should 

 any be placed in the hole with the tree roots. After planting, a 

 mulch of coarse manure or litter may be spread around the tree. 

 This will conserve moisture, which is needed for the first year 

 far more than is fertilizer. 



CULTIVATION AND INTERCROPPING 



The first summer any hoed crop can be grown among the 

 trees, provided it is not planted too close to them. The trees 

 should be hoed or cultivated frequently, perhaps every ten days 

 until midsummer, after which they should be left alone to allow 

 them to ripen their wood properly. Many a promising young 

 Orchard has been ruined by sowing a grain crop among the trees; 

 lil> growing a runt pig or calf, getting an orchard started prop- 

 erly is nearly impossible if it has once been set back. 



If possible, sow a legume in the hoed crop ; sow it by all means 



