468 THE PEACH. 



the possibility of over-bearing, and its consequences, and main- 

 tains them in vigour and productiveness for a long time.* It 

 will, in short, effectually prevent the Yellows where it does not 

 already exist in the tree. To whoever will follow these pre- 

 cautions, pursue this mode of cultivation, and adopt at the 

 same time the remedy for the Borer, already suggested, we 

 will confidently insure healthy, vigourous, long-lived trees, and 

 the finest fruit. Will any reasonable man say that so fine a 

 fruit as the peach does not fully merit them ? 



Whether the system of shortening-.in, and careful culture, will 

 prevent the breaking out of the Yellows when constitutionally 

 latent in the tree we will not yet undertake to say. A few more 

 experiments will prove this. In slight cases of the disease we 

 believe that it may. Of one thing, however, we are certain ; it 

 has hitherto failed entirely to reclaim trees in which the malady 

 had once broken out. Neither do we know of any well at- 

 tested case of its cure, after this stage, by any means what- 

 ever. f Such cases have indeed been reported to us, and pub- 

 lished in the journals, but, where investigated, they have 

 proved to have been trees suffering by the effects of the borer 

 only. 



A planter of peach trees must, even with case, expect to see 

 a few cases of Yellows occasionally appear. The malady is 

 too widely extended to be immediately vanquished. Occasion- 

 ally, trees having the constitutional taint will show themselves 

 where least suspected, but when the peach is once properly 

 cultivated, these will every day become more rare until the ori- 

 ginal health and longevity of this fruit tree is again established. 



The Curl is the name commonly given to a malady which 

 often attacks the leaves of the peach tree. It usually appears 

 in the months of May or June. The leaves curl up, become 

 thickened and swollen, with hollows on the under, and reddish 

 swellings on the upper side, and finally, after two or three weeks, 

 fall off. They are then succeeded by a new, and healthy crop 

 of foliage. This malady is caused by the punctures of very 

 minute aphides, or plant lice, (Aphis Persica?), which attack the 

 under side of the leaves. Although it does not appear mate- 

 rially to injure either the tree (or the crop,) yet it greatly dis- 

 figures it for a time. In orchards, perhaps few persons will 



* The following remarks, directly in point, are from Loudon's last work., 

 " The effect of shortening the shoots of the peach is nut merely to throw more, 

 sap into the fruit, but to add vigour to the tree generally, by increasing the power 

 of the roots relatively to the brunches. The peacli being a short-lived tree, it 

 has been justly remarked by Mr. Thompson, were it allowed to expend all its accu- 

 mulated sap every year, it would soon exhaust itself and die of old age." Suburban 

 Horticulturist. 



t All the specific applications to the root of such substances us salt, ley, brine, 

 saltpetre, urine, &c., recommended for this disease, are founded on their good 

 effects when applied against the borer. They have not been found of any value 

 for the Yellows. 



