HORTICULTURE 97 



cal means of protection against severe winter cold and late spring 

 frost can be found. The Colorado Station has recently called atten- 

 tion to the successful employment in that State of the method of 

 laying down and covering peach trees in winter. The method as 

 practiced in Colorado apparently does not differ essentially from that 

 tested at the Massachusetts Experiment Station as early as 1886 and 

 during succeeding years except that in the Colorado method irriga- 

 tion water is used to soften the soil so that the trees may be laid over 

 without any special training or pruning of the roots. This is the 

 Colorado method. (Col. E. S. Bui. 80; Mass. (Hatch) E. S. B. 10, 

 17.) 



Yearling trees are set in the spring and they should be laid 

 down the first winter, repeating the process each season during the 

 life of fne tree. In this instance no attention is given to training or 

 placing the roots. As soon as the trees have shed their leaves and 

 the wood is well ripened they are ready for winter quarters. . . . 

 The first step in the operation consists in removing the earth from a 

 circle about 4 feet in diameter around the tree. When sufficient 

 trees have been treated in this manner to make the work progress 

 advantageously, water is turned into the hollows. After the ground 

 has become saturated the trees are worked back and forth and the 

 water follows the roots, loosening the soil around them so that they 

 are pushed over in the direction that offers the least resistance. 

 When treated in this manner the trees go over easily and with com- 

 paratively little injury to the root system that is, providing the trees 

 have been laid down each year. It is difficult to handle old trees in 

 this manner that have never been laid down, and usually it will not 

 pay to try. 



After the trees are on the ground further work should be de- 

 layed until the ground has dried sufficiently to admit of ease in walk- 

 ing, and in the handling of the dirt. The limbs may now be brought 

 together with a cord, and so lessen the work of covering. After ex- 

 perimenting with many kinds of coverings, burlap held in place with 

 earth has proved the most satisfactory. The burlap is spread out over 

 the prostrate tree top, taking special pains to protect the blossom 

 buds from coming in direct contact with the earth covering. A light 

 layer of earth is now thrown over the tree and the protection is 

 complete. 



The critical time in growing peaches by this method is in the 

 spring when growing weather begins. Close watch must be kept to 

 see that the blossoms do not open prematurely, or that the branch 

 buds are not forced into tender, white growth. When the blossoms 

 begin to open, the covering should be loosened so as to admit 

 light and air, but it should not all be removed. More of the covering 

 should be removed as the weather gets warmer, but the blossoms must 

 be exposed to the sun gradually. Air and light are, of course, neces- 

 sary for proper fertilization of the flowers, but after this process is 

 complete and the fruit is set, all danger from the weather is consid- 

 ered as being over. The trees are usually raised about the middle of 

 May at Canyon City. Raising the trees is, of course, a simple task. 



