5:,2 HOW TO MAKE THE FARM PAY. 



begin to bear. They should, liowever, be allowed to ripen only 

 a few specimens the first year the fruit sets, and at least one- 

 half the fruit should be thinned from even moderately bearing 

 trees. If a tree Avill ripen two hundred peaches it will surely 

 PERFECT one hundred. One hundred large perfect peaches will 

 briufT in the market double the price of two hundred small ones. 



A cultivator of eight acres of peaches employs ten to fifteen 

 men from eight to ten days picking off the fruit, when about 

 the size of a filbert, and gets two dollars a bushel for his 

 peaches, more readily than his neighbors get fifty cents for 

 the same varieties. 



Fig. 122 shows the proper shape for the peach ; and it is as 

 tonishing what a hardy, thrifty, productive, and longlived fruit 

 it becomes under this system of pruning, which is accomplished 

 with great rapidity with sharp shears and a little fruit ladder on 

 the principle oi Fig. 131. We have thoroughly pruned a dozen 

 large six years old trees in less than an hour, and are sure that 

 we could prune a hundred average trees a day. Can any intel- 

 ligent man hesitate to adopt such a system, when so much can 

 be gained by so small yearly outlay. 



Old trees whose vigor has been checked by borers at the* 

 roots should be searched in the spring, and the worms de- 

 stroyed. 



Says the author of "Ten Acres Enough:'' "Ten well grown 

 bearing trees which I found in the garden were harboring one 

 hundred and ninety worms among them when I undertook the 

 work of extermination. I bared the collar and roots of each tree 

 as far as I could track a worm, and cut him out. I then scrubbed 

 the whole exposed part with soapsuds and a regular scrubbing- 

 brush; after which I let them remain exposed for a week. If 

 any worms had been overlooked the chips thrown out by their 

 operations would be plainly visible on the clean surface at the 



