Fruit Growino • 43 



if possible. The profitable life of the Eastern peach tree is put 

 down at five or six years. In California the profitable life of the 

 peach sometimes reaches twenty or more years, if growing under 

 exceptionally good conditions; but 35 years would seem to be at 

 least on the borders of decrepitude. Growing at the tips shows 

 that you have not pruned annually to induce the growth of new 

 wood lower down. 



Renewing Peach Orchard. 



IVhicli is tlie best zuay to rcnciv an old peach orchard? The trees arc 

 about i8 years old, Miiirs and Fosters, and are yielding good crops, but 

 some of the trees shozv decline. Is it best to replace the old ones zvith 

 nezu trees or to plant a nezv orchard in betzvcen the old trees and cut out 

 old ones zvhen nezv trees are three or four years old? 



If the trees have sound bodies and are not badly injured by sun- 

 burn borers, do none of the things you mention, but would cut back 

 for a new head. Cutting back should be done during the latter 

 half of the dormant period and thinning of shoots to proper balance 

 a new head should be carefully done the following winter. It is a 

 hard job to get j^oung trees to start among old trees and you are 

 apt to get a mixed lot of trees which you will not be proud of. 

 Cut back as suggested or rip out, plow deeply and start anew, placing 

 the rows midway between the old rows. 



Win He Have Peaches? 



/ have a young orchard betzvcen five and six years old, mostly of the 

 Lovell variety. I didn't have much of a crop this year. Should I have a 

 good crop next year? 



You ought to be able to tell now how full a set of fruit buds you 

 have. If you do not know what the fruit buds are, ask some neigh- 

 bor who knows peaches to point them out. If you have a good show of 

 fruit buds, the question in California is not whether they will winter- 

 kill or not, but whether the leaves held late enough the preceding 

 summer and therefore the tree had strength enough to make good 

 strong fruit buds. The late action of the leaves shows that the 

 trees had enough autumn moisture. You will soon learn to recog- 

 nize the condition also from the plumpness of the wood which carries 

 the fruit buds. If all has gone well so far, the next point is to 

 spray with the bordeaux mixture in November or December so that 

 the new wood shall not be attacked by the peach blight or shot- 

 hole fungus. This disease comes on early in the winter, sets the 

 the new bark to gumming and endangers the crop. Then if you 

 have San Jose scale, or if your trees showed much curl-leaf last 

 spring, you ought to spray before the blossom buds show color with 

 the lime-sulphur wash. Supposing that you have good buds now 

 and are willing to protect them as suggested, your trees may be 

 expected to come through with a good crop if seasonal moisture 

 conditions are right. 



