106 THE TREE DOCTOR 



Mr. Ferry, the superintendent, to the left, is one of the most 

 practical fruit-growers whom I have met. He says he heads off 

 "leaf curl" by pulling away the earth around each tree and put- 

 ting about a peck of wood ashes to each one. These trees re- 

 tain their foliage till late in October, after forest trees have be- 

 come defoliated. With this prolonged season of "breathing," 

 they go into the winter period of "rest," and are not in a hurry 

 to unfold their fat, plump buds till the spring is fairly opened. 

 Peach trees with a heavy sod around them, or otherwise starved, 

 will often throw their leaves in August, and then, as moister 

 weather comes on, start out a foliage from the buds that should 

 have been held over for the following spring. This is very 

 weakening to the tree, but it is a case of "the least of two evils ;" 

 if it did not do this it would die. 



If you would understand the peach, proceed as with every 

 other tree or plant, and enquire: "Where is its home?" The 

 "home" of the peach, we are told, is on the table-lands of Persia, 

 on the plateau of Iran. You have the "home ;" what are the sur- 

 roundings? The Caspian Sea on the north, the Indian Ocean on 

 the south, and the Persian Gulf swinging in round the west. Here 

 you have the modifying influences of three bodies of water plus 

 an altitude of some five thousand feet above sea-level. If you 

 will take the pains to look at your map, I think you will find that 

 its "home" is in a latitude that would take in Tennessee. How 

 can we expect, then, that a tree adapted to such a latitude, and 

 at a high altitude, can be carried five hundred or a thousand miles 

 farther north, planted on sea-level, on southern slopes, abused, 

 neglected, budded from saplings instead of matured trees and 

 escape the maladies to which it has fallen a victim ? It is a 

 marvel that it lives at all. 



Don't plant the peach on lowlands, or on muck-lands, or 

 heavy clay. Take a northern slope if you can ; if not, eastern or 

 western, not southern, because the tree will be apt to start too 

 early in spring. In planting orchards, drain (heavy lands) and 

 subsoil. For a few trees dig a hole four feet in diameter and 

 three feet dee]), fill with old sods and good soil. After trees get 

 started (in orchards), plow every spring, but not closer than a 

 perpendicular line with the tops of spreading branches. Work 

 under the branches with disk-harrow, hoe or other implement. 



