140 THE NEW HORTICULTURE. 



found to be entirely healthy, and my experience is corrobo- 

 rated by the following testimony : 



EDITOR FRUIT-GROWERS' JOURNAL : 



Your journal has been very interesting for the last few months. 

 I will give you my experience with Stringfellow root-pruning. In '93 

 I planted peach seed in a corn field and budded all that came up the 

 following summer and fall. In '94 I planted about 125 trees where 

 peach seeds failed to grow. I pruned the roots very close because 

 they were diseased, and cut down tops to from one to one and a half 

 feet. After two years' growth the 125 trees are as large as the trees 

 two years from bud. All that I plant in the future I will prune roots 

 short. 



LEAVENWORTH, IND. CHAS. SACKSTEDER. 



EDITOR FARM AND RANCH : 



I planted an orchard of peach, plum and almonds fifteen years 

 ago, and was with my boys until about half the trees were set. 

 Ground is alluvial, with hard clay subsoil. Trees were two years 

 old. Was careful to have holes dug large, so as to allow of roots 

 being all spread out. The digging was very hard. Being called 

 away, the boys set the last half, and "played off " on me. They dug 

 small holes, cut off the roots and hid them, and to-day the best trees 

 by far in the orchard are the root-pruned ones. Most of the long- 

 rooted ones have died, and the balance got the root-rot. I ruined 

 part of my orchard four years ago by deep plowing and breaking 

 the roots. 



BURNET, TEXAS. J. J. M. SMITH. 



