11 



Since Injury to the peach is quite common and there was 

 nothing peculiar brought out by the year 1917-18, I shall omit 

 any discussion of that here. 



One is not able to make recommendations for avoiding or 

 overcoming injury from severe cold as he would be in case of 

 insect or fungous injury. As we have seen, the most important 

 method of enabling the trees to overcome rather severe injury 

 of the wood is good cultivation, that is, either plowing the trees 

 in the fall or very early spring, and where the soil is not very 

 fertile using nitrate of soda. Of course the trees may be so 

 injured that nothing can cause them to recover. In that 

 case the money for the nitrate of soda and for the plowing 

 would be wasted. There is not much advice to be given as to 

 means of avoiding injury through increasing resistance of the 

 trees. If such cold winters always followed short seasons, like 

 that of 1917, then one might be inclined to advise against en- 

 couraging too much growth in the case of young trees. How- 

 ever, if the previous summer should be dry in early summer 

 and wet in late summer, then a tree in sod might be in more 

 danger than one receiving good cultivation, for it might receive 

 a check during early summer when it was dry and start a sec- 

 ond growth during the wet period following. In that case it 

 might be killed by a rather mild winter. So far as our ex- 

 perience indicates, a tree growing under good cultivation will 

 have its ^^'ood in better condition to resist the average winter 

 than one that is not well cultivated, and we have seen that 

 good cultivation will greatly improve its chance to recover even 

 when the injury has been rather severe. 



Much has been said about the effect of the killing of so many 

 trees during that winter on the outlook for fruit growing. The 

 number of trees killed was very large, but in so far as the apple 

 is concerned it is probably small compared with the number of 

 trees that will soon be coming into bearing in portions of New 

 York, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and other sections. 

 It seems very doubtful if the effect of the number of trees 

 killed during that year in the total crop of the country could 

 ever be measured, since the fluctuations due to other causes was 

 so large. 



