13 



be the case following artificial girdling-. Such fruit can be 

 detected by the enlarged dots or lenticels. Even slightly 

 injured trees however are likely to grow weaker each year 

 and finally succumb to bark beetle and further winter in- 

 jury. 



Mounding up the soil about the trunks of the trees just 

 before freezing weather in winter is quite eifective in pre- 

 venting injury of this sort upon well drained soils. 



Forced or abnormally large peaches may occur from a 

 different form of winter injury. Instead of a whole tree 

 being affected at the collar a single branch or twig may be 

 injured at some one point in such a manner as to interfere 

 with the downward circulation of sap, which will result in 

 unusually large fruit beyond the point of injury. 



During the past season in New Jersey healthy peach 

 trees also bore specimens that were small and sometimes 

 shrivelled. The unusual feature about this was that these 

 specimens persisted upon the twigs until the normal fruit 

 had ripened. Close study of the matter revealed the fact 

 that the stems of such specimens had been injured by cold 

 after the fruit had set in such a manner as to nearly shut 

 off the circulation of plant food into the fruits from the 

 twigs; only a sufficient quantity reaching the fruits to 

 enable them to stick to the twigs. 



COLOR IN PEACHES 



High color in peaches is as important as quality from a 

 commercial standpoint. It has been shown that the red 

 color in apples is due largely to sunlight and the degree of 

 maturity. Peaches are no exception to this rule as one may^ 

 readily determine for himself. 



Some Belle of Georgia peaches were bagged at the New^ 

 Jersey Experiment station last spring so that no sunlight 

 reached the fruit. At ripening time these bagged specimens 

 did not show a single trace of red color. 



The light colored specimens often produced upon young 

 trees are due to shading by the dense foliage. Peaches in 

 localities where there is a considerable amovmt of fog or 

 smoke are less highly colored than peaches grown where 

 bright days and low humidity prevails. 



