HOW TO GET THE TREES 53 



are thereby seriously damaged. This danger is, of 

 course, reduced by buying trees near home. There 

 is, moreover, some satisfaction in dealing with a 

 nurseryman who is one's own acquaintance, particu- 

 larly if it so happens that the nurseryman is an old 

 and trusted neighbor. These considerations need 

 not be overlooked, but at the same time it is not 

 necessary to claim that such home-grown trees are 

 intrinsically superior to those grown a thousand 

 miles farther north or south or east or west. 



AGE OF TREES 



Peach trees are planted at one year old. They are 

 usually dug in the nurseries in the fall, sorted, 

 graded, put into bundles and heeled in or placed in 

 cold storage. Sometimes they are left standing in 

 the nurseries and are dug early the following spring 

 immediately before transplanting. In any case the 

 important point is to see that they come through the 

 winter in good condition. If they are frozen while 

 standing in the nursery rows, or if they dry out in 

 the trenches or in the storage house, they will come 

 to the planter with distinct evidences of these in- 

 juries, usually in the form of blackened bark. Some- 

 times the bark is dead and will slip off the tree when 

 pinched by the fingers. All storage damages of this 

 sort are serious, and trees of this kind should be 

 refused whenever offered.. 



A few growers still prefer a two-year-old peach 

 tree, but in most cases it is safe to say that such 

 preference indicates a distinct ignorance of the busi- 

 ness. It is the opinion of nearly all fruit growers 

 that any peach tree more than one year old is worth- 

 less for planting. The June buds are here included 



