274 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



The peach tree begins to bear when three or four years of 

 age, and will bear for many years if properly cared for. 

 The peach is not so hardy as the apple and succeeds well only 

 in certain localities. Wherever the winter is not too cold 

 for the trees, however, every farmer should grow peach trees 

 enough to provide fruit for the family. The fruit of the peach 

 is grown upon the shoots that grew the season before, while 

 that of the apple is grown on spurs two or more years old. 



COMMON ORCHARD PESTS 



Insect pests. Orchard trees need constant protection 

 against harmful insects and fungous diseases. Special knowl- 

 edge of each insect and of each kind of fruit is needed to 

 combat successfully these pests. The best protection against 

 orchard pests is given by spraying the trees with water con- 

 taining some substance that destroys the pest without injur- 

 ing the trees. The subject of spraying was discussed briefly 

 in a former paragraph. 



Insects injure fruit trees in three ways: by eating the 

 foliage, by sucking the juice from the tree, and by boring 

 into the fruit or body of the tree. The loss of our fruit each 

 year, due to insects and diseases, runs far into millions of 

 dollars. 



Codling 1 moth. The great arch enemy of the apple is the 

 codling moth. The caterpillar form of this moth lives in the 

 apple and is commonly known as the apple worm. The moth 

 lays its eggs on the foliage in the spring a week or two after 

 the blossoms fall, and the eggs hatch into the apple worms, 

 which usually enter the fruit at the blossom end. The cod- 



