PEACHES, 1 99 



cluster of three buds, and the wood bud will shoot 

 forth and become the leader, and be prepared to pro- 

 duce fruit the next year. 



It is the practice of Mr. Forsyth, when old peach 

 trees run up too high and thin, to cut them down as 

 far back as he can find any shoots or buds, always 

 leaving some young shoots or buds, otherwise there 

 will be great risk of killing the tree. If there area 

 few young shoots, the top may with safety be cut off 

 just above them, as they will lead the sap up, and 

 produce strong branches, which should be topped, the 

 same as a young tree. The operation should be per- 

 formed in the month of April, and the young shoots 

 will bear fruit the next season. The composition 

 must be applied to the wounds, where the old branch- 

 es are amputated, and the canker should be carefully 

 cut out. and any part where the gum is seen to ooze, 

 or the new wood will be affected as it begins to grow. 

 When young trees are overloaded with fruit, it is ab- 

 solutely necessary to thin them out while small, ac- 

 cording lo the strength of the tree. 



"The premature decay of peach trees has been as- 

 cribed to various causes ; by some, to the degeneracy 

 of the soil, and neglecting to manure them regularly ; 

 by others, to the supposed alteration of the climate, 

 the changes from heat to cold being more sudden and 

 violent now than formerly, when the country was 

 more in forest. But the true causes, as detailed by 

 Dr. Mease, (Dom. Ency.) seem to be the following." 



"Peach trees are liable to three casualties : 



"1. The fly, that deposits eggs near the root, and 

 there forms a worm. 



4t 2. The bursting of the bark by severe frosts in 

 wet winters. 



"3. The splitting of the limbs at the fork of the 

 tree. 



"The fly, which is blue, (but not a wasp.) begins its 



