45 



more level ones with peach and the hillsides with apple 

 trees. These apple trees will not have the whole ground cul- 

 tivated, but a strip of three or four furrows is ploughed 

 each side of the tree, and this wall be worked over occasion- 

 ally. We have got to look out for the heavy rains Avhich do 

 so much damage in cultivated orchards; so some of the peach 

 orchards have furrows ploughed across the slope of the or- 

 chard to take off the water and prevent washing. 



In going into an orchard the appearance and character 

 of the trees tell us what is needed, for the color and char- 

 acter of the leaves tell the whole storj^ and if we are care- 

 ful planters we will notice and investigate any trouble and 

 take measures to remedy the difficulty. If the orchard has 

 proper care it will make rapid development and be of a dark 

 foliage. We often see orchards shifting for themselves — 

 stunted trees, sickly, yellow foliage, an eyesore to the pro- 

 gressive grower. We must remember a tree is a living thing 

 — it cannot 'supply itself with nourishment, but must be 

 carefully trained and nourished from infancy. 



We see orchavds of peach and apple trees planted by 

 men who have been influenced by the success of others, yet 

 who were entirely unfit for the work, become discouraged 

 after a few years, and put the orchard back into sod, and iy 

 the fall stock is turned in to get the last bit of vegetation, 

 and at this time the orchard, if any is left, gets fall pruned. 



Pruning should be carefully considered and studied — 

 each tree must be shaped to conform to its individual needs. 

 We take the peach tree as it comes from the nursery, three 

 to four feet high, cut back to a whip, fifteen or eighteen 

 inches, and at the same time the roots are pruned or short- 

 ened. The second year one-third to one-half of the leaders 

 are removed. The third year about one-fourth of the new 

 leaders are shortened and some removed to keep the trees 

 with open tops or heads. This method brings many of the 

 bearing limbs near the ground, for many of the heads are 

 formed at the ground. The tops are low, thus making the 

 labor of spraying much easier, and allowing the harvesting- 

 of the fruit without the use of a step-ladder, so ladies can 

 pick the fruit equally as well as the men. In fact, in the 

 busy season, a man and a woman will take a row together 

 thus making the work more interesting where otherwise it 

 might become monotonous. We find people will help in 

 peach harvesting, who, if they were asked to do any other 



