220 HORTICULTURE, FORESTRY, FLORICULTURE 



in orchards or individual trees of low vitality induced either by lack 

 of cultivation or fertilizers, the attacks of insects or diseases, over- 

 bearing, poor physical condition of the soil, drought, excessive mois- 

 ture, etc. 



A mulch of weeds, grass, cover crops, manure, etc., greatly 

 lessens the winter injury over that in orchards on bare ground. To 

 avoid winter injury to the greatest extent such thorough cultural 

 practices must be maintained as will keep the trees in a vigorous, 

 thrifty condition all the time. The fertility and vegetable matter of 

 the soil must be maintained by the addition of manure or the grow- 

 ing of cover crops, and spraying to control insect pests and fungus 

 diseases must be thorough and unremittent. 



It is difficult to tell by the examination of fruit trees the extent 

 of any winter injury. Trees which, examined in the winter, seem 

 to be dead beyond doubt frequently recover. The best treatment 

 for old trees appears to be medium pruning cutting back the limbs 

 into 2 or 3-year-old wood. Much more severe pruning may be prac- 

 ticed with young trees than with old ones. Good cultivation and 

 light fertilizing should follow to help the trees overcome the injury. 



The peach normally should be pruned back each spring from 

 one-half to two-thirds of the previous season's growth, otherwise trees 

 with bearing wood far out on the ends of the branches and naked 

 trunks below will be produced. When the fruit buds are winter- 

 killed, advantage should be taken to prune more severely in order 

 to keep the tree in a compact form, with the fruiting wood near the 

 ground. Old trees may be rejuvenated by severely pruning back 

 part of the limbs each year. Seedling peach trees are best for nursery 

 stock. Sand cherry (Prunus besseyi) is a good dwarfing stock. On 

 alkali soils plum stocks appear to give better results than peach stock. 



In transplanting nursery stock to the orchard the roots may be 

 profitably pruned back from 5 to 8 inches in length and the trunks 

 left from 16 to 24 inches long. The peach orchard should be so 

 treated that the wood and buds will be thoroughly dormant when 

 winter sets in. Cover crops other than the legumes planted in mid- 

 summer seemed to favor early ripening of the wood. In dry regions 

 the cover crop should be one that will stand up during the winter, 

 catch and hold the snow, and also be killed by the first fall frosts 

 so that all the moisture of the soil may be left for the use of the tree 

 during the winter. Trees on high land appear to ripen up earlier 

 than those on low ground. Winter irrigation seems to be a desirable 

 practice in some of the more arid Western States. 



Peaches require as heavy fertilizing as wheat. They may be 

 profitably fertilized when planted on land that would normally yield 

 40 bushels of corn per acre. The profitable bearing age of the or- 

 chard may be prolonged several years by the use of fertilizers. 

 Peaches draw specially heavy on the nitrogen and potash of the soil. 

 Thinning peaches is a desirable commercial practice in seasons of 

 great abundance. It should follow thorough cultivation, manuring, 

 and spraying. The benefits arise primarily from the larger amount 

 of fancy and first-class fruit. Thinned trees appear also to develop 



