PEACH 



PEACH 



2497 



and the pinching back of the tips of any branches that 

 tend to develop in an irregular manner. The removal 

 of shoots should be done before they are more than an 

 inch or two in length. The pinching back of irregular 

 shoots should be accomplished in June or early July 

 before they are more than 18 or 20 inches in length. 

 The removal of much growth and foliage in the summer 

 may cause a severe check to the tree. 



The annual dormant-season pruning beginning with 

 the second year should be somewhat as follows: The 

 main branches will develop numerous _ side branches 

 and the strongest and best placed of these should be 

 retained. A well-formed tree is not only agreeable to 

 look upon, but furthermore the maximum production 

 of good fruit is secured only when the greatest possible 

 amount of vigorous fruit-bearing surface is properly 

 exposed to light. The annual cutting back of the leading 

 branches to the first good side branch will result in 

 well-spread vigorous trees. The cutting of a branch to 

 an "outside bud," however, does not change the direc- 

 tion of growth of that branch to anywhere near the 

 same degree. The cutting back of the branches causes 

 a thickening of the top, and some thinning out of 

 shoots and branches is necessary, otherwise the fruit 

 will lack color. 



A central leader is avoided in the pruning of peach 

 trees, and any shoots which tend to shut out the light 

 from the center of the tree should be kept pruned back 

 and not allowed to become more than fruiting twigs. 

 The general form of the tree should be about complete 

 at the close of the third or fourth summer after plant- 

 ing, and the annual pruning will largely consist of the 

 removal of any broken branches and the cutting back 

 of the annual growth on each branch about one-third 

 or one-half, according to the variety and the amount or 

 length of growth. Pruning is often the most economi- 

 cal method of thinning, and this point should not be 

 overlooked. 



After peach trees have fruited for several years, 

 they commonly require a severe cutting back to reduce 

 the size of the top and to secure more vigorous wood. 

 Such a cutting back should be practised whenever the 

 fruit-buds are destroyed in winter. All branches may 

 be cut back into wood-growth formed the two or three 

 previous seasons. It is never advisable to saw the main 

 branches back to mere stubs a foot or more in length 

 except upon young trees that are to be top-worked. 



Thinning the fruit. 



Thinning is now a regular feature of good orchard- 

 management. Small fruit sells for low prices at all 



times and in seasons 

 of heavy crop-pro- 

 duction can hardly 

 be disposed of at 

 any price. When 

 trees are allowed to 

 mature as much 

 fruit as will set in 

 a favorable season, 

 much breakage of 

 branches is the 

 usual result. The 

 small green fruits 

 should be thinned 

 as soon as the so- 

 called "drop" or the 

 natural thinning 

 occurs. Some- 

 times this fails to 

 take place and then 

 the fruit should be 

 thinned as soon as 

 it is about the size of 



2794. The interior weak branches are a shelled hickory- 

 removed. (Compare Fig. 2793.) nut. Thinning the 



fruits to not less than 6 inches apart will not reduce 

 the yield of the tree, and 8 inches apart is not too much 

 to secure extra-large fruit, especially upon such sorts 

 as Waddell, Crosby, Mountain Rose, and Stump, which 

 tend to be small to medium in size under average 

 conditions. 



Harvesting the fruit. 



This part of the peach business really begins as soon 

 as a crop is definitely assured for the season. The 



2795. Peach trees allowed to take their natural form. 



necessary number of packages should be purchased, 

 the packing-house put in order, and arrangements made 

 for the needed number of teams, trucks, pickers, 

 packers, and other labor. 



When the fruit is ready to pick, the work should be 

 organized with one man in constant charge in the 

 orchard. He should direct the pickers and see that 

 each one picks all the fruit that is mature enough at 

 any one time and yet does not take off that which is 

 too green. An efficient picking-crew is necessary in 

 order to secure good results at the packing-house. 



White-fleshed peaches change from a light green to 

 a cream-white ground- or under-color as they mature. 

 So-called yellow-fleshed varieties change from a yellow- 

 ish green to various shades of yellow or orange as they 

 ripen. Pickers should be instructed to determine the 

 maturity of a fruit by its color, and be corrected if they 

 attempt to test it by pressure with the ringers. Good 

 pickers will harvest from sixty to one hundred sixteen- 

 quart baskets a day from well-pruned trees. 



The fruit is not uncommonly picked directly into the 

 package in which it is sold, but this practice is rapidly 

 passing in favor of a distinct picking-basket. The most 

 common type in use is a round flat-bottomed wooden 

 stave basket of sixteen quarts capacity. 



A low-wheeled wagon is best adapted for hauling 

 the fruit from the orchard to the packing-house. 



Packing the fruit for market. 



Some sort of a packing-house is necessary when any 

 considerable amount of fruit is handled. A shelter 

 against rain is imperative to prevent the warping of 

 wooden packages. Rapid work in packing can best be 

 organized in a building with a wooden or cement floor 

 and where stencils and tools can be kept in order. A 

 long and relatively narrow packing-house with large 

 doors upon either side is likely to prove the most eco- 

 nomical for the handling of the fruit. 



Packages, tables, and box- or crate-presses should be 

 arranged in a way to promote rapid and efficient work. 

 No distinct grades of peaches, unfortunately, have 

 become recognized in any broad way. Persons em- 

 ployed as packers should be chosen for their honesty 

 and interest in the business as well as for their rapidity 

 in rilling the packages. 



