IV 



HOW TO GET THE TREES 



THE first problem in starting a peach orchard is, 

 of course, to get the trees. They may be bought or 

 they may be propagated on the farm where they are 

 to be grown. Each method has its advantages and 

 disadvantages. Home propagation has generally 

 been undertaken either by men starting large or- 

 chard enterprises or by amateurs having small gar- 

 dens. Those of the former class have had in view 

 such advantages as reduction in cost of trees, cer- 

 tainty of delivery when wanted, securing trees relia- 

 bly true to name and immunity from damage which 

 often occurs in shipment. Men of the amateur class 

 have propagated their own trees for the sake of 

 getting special varieties which they could not buy 

 from nurseries, in order to have trees true to name, 

 but chiefly for the fun of the work. 



Probably the home propagation of peach trees has 

 fallen off considerably within the last few years, 

 although it would be hard to prove this by statis- 

 tics. There appears to be a growing tendency among 

 the large orchard companies, however, to leave prop- 

 agation to the nurserymen. The nurserymen really 

 have many important advantages in growing peach 

 trees, such as soils especially adapted to the busi- 

 ness, experienced workmen, and all the facilities for 

 digging and handling stock. The nursery business 

 has been so well systematized in the last few years, 

 errors in naming have been so largely eliminated, 

 deliveries have so far improved, and the prices of 

 nursery stock have been reduced so near to the 



43 



