160 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



should be taken not to select fruit buds, but leaf buds. 

 Trees should be carefully pruned while young, and when 

 they begin to bear they will not need much pruning. Cut- 

 ting back about one-third of the new growth each year is 

 enough. The peaches are always borne on the growth of the 

 previous year. To get fine fruit, peaches should be thinned 

 so that they are three or four inches apart on the twigs. 



Varieties of peaches may be classed as free-stones and 

 cling-stones, that is, in one the flesh comes loose from the 

 seed easily when ripe, while in the other the flesh clings 

 closely to the seed and has to be cut away. The flesh may 

 be white, yellow, or red blushed in either class. Some of the 

 good varieties are as follows: free-stones. Old Mixon Free, 

 Champion, Stump, Elberta (most widely planted of all vari- 

 eties), and Early and Late Crawfords; cling-stones. Carmen, 

 Heath Cling, Sneed, and Steady's Cling. 



The Apricot. — This fruit resembles both the plum and the 

 peach. It comes into blossom quite early in spring before 

 any other fruit tree and is often frosted so that no fruit is 

 produced. It is cared for the same as the peach. The Large 

 Early and Moorpark are considered good varieties. 



The Nectarine is a kind of peach. The seeds from it 

 sometimes produce peaches and sometimes nectarines. 



3. Vine Fruits. — The Grape. — The grape is our only vine 

 fruit. Grapes are more largely used as a fruit in the United 

 States than in any other part of the world, although their 

 culture was known in Europe and Asia centuries before 

 America was discovered. Most of our grape varieties have 

 been developed from our native wild varieties. The wild fox 

 grape has furnished most of the varieties grown in the north- 

 ern and eastern states; the summer grape those for the 



