

at will, 

 rly light 



PEACH 



it is too strong for the Peach. The second trouble may 

 he the too tree use of barn manures or other nitrogenous 

 fertilizers, or too late tillage in the fall. 



The keynote to the proper fertilizing of Peach 

 orchards is liberal use of potash and phosphoric acid 

 and sparing use of nitrogen. Ashes, muriate of potash, 

 bone fertilizers,— these are some of the best fertilizers 

 for Peach trees. Tillage, with green manure crops at 

 the end of the season, can be relied upon to furnish the 

 nitrogen in most instances; and it is even possible to 

 plow under too much vetch or crimson clover in the 

 course o£ years. Peaches which overgrow are likely to 

 sutfer in winter. 



Pruninij Peach Trees. — The methods of pruning Peai-li 

 trees arc the occasion of much discus.sl.>M :oii(.iiL'st p.. 

 iiiolo^ists. The differences of opinion iii.ij . h;' il\ ni. -1,1 

 three practices, — short trunks with i:. 



branelics; high trunks with more luni 1 ■ . ''■• 



and shortening-in or heading-back tin t ■ 



Each of these three methods has ar.l. 



opponents. It is probable that each s\ 1 : . n 



merits for particular cases. The natun 1, : 1 1 In, "i 



the soil are often the dominating fat-tni i ■ : 1m -n n|,|,>,- 



ing methods. A system of pnininu' 



growth and hard wood of san(l> --"tN 



to the rapid growth and hcavi.r' t,i|.- 



soils. Fig. 16«7 shows what N lirh. 



eral, the best method of priiiii I' 



or what may be called Pea' h 1: 



method. The tree is allow- d ; 



with no heading-in. The f"h 



and does not place great wei^^ii I ii|h.ii i: , 1 [ .mfiu's. and 



the trees, on such lands, do not gn.w cjuh K|\ 1,, Muh 



great size as on heavy lands. This nui Im>,i ni :il|M\\iiiM- 



a tree to make its natural top is the ) n mi' in um 



Chesapeake peninsula (Fig. 16G8) and in \\i,- Mnln-an 

 I'each belt (Fig. 16G9). It will be observed, also, ihat 

 tlie pictures show trees with short trunks and forking 

 Ijranches. It is a prevalent opinion that such trees are 

 more likely to split with loads of fruit than those which 

 have more horizontal branches, but this is an error. Of 

 course, much care should be exercised to see that the 

 branches do not start off from the trunk at exactly the 

 same height, thus making a true fork or Y. With this 

 precaution, the crotchy trees are no more likely to split 

 than the others, while they allow of a much better form 

 of top, unless the tree is to be headed-in. The horizontal 

 branches of the high-topped trees often appear to carry 

 a load of fruit with less ease than tlio mon- ni>rii.'lit 

 branches of the other style of trainin.;. Tin- i!:n_n 1 

 of breaking is greatly lessened if tin ', ; ■ , , , ' 

 thinned. The low trunk permits a nn n i ; . | ,1 

 this seems to be an advantage. C)iin 1 mii; 1 1 



at the thinness of top in the best li a I. ili.u:- ni 

 .Michigan and Delaware. In such tops, the Peach should 

 color better, and it is reasonable to expect less trouble 

 from fungi. 



Yet there is much to be said for the high-topped trees. 

 I'hey are more easy to till and it is quite as easy to pick 

 ilieir fruit; and there is less tendency to make long and 

 Npnuvliii^ liranches as a result of careless pruning. On 

 rich lands, it is perhaps the better method. And here 

 is the chief reason for heading-back in tlie Xorth — 

 the ne<'essity of checking the growth and keei mg the 

 Irrp within bounds when it is growing in a strong soil 

 Whether otiM shtiU hpad-in his trees or not, therefore 



nn.ls to make athicl 



■lly give much atten 



iiahle wood from the 



inTii, lfi-1). Thislal I- 



idiiig-in is practiced If 



liner growths, headid in 



ighter color and of later 



,-p suffered from twig- 



1229 



I slender leaf bud These buds show 

 August and usualh still earlier. At 

 be distmguisheil bj the triple leaves 



1 nodes IS m Fig 1()72 When the 



1663 Elberta Peach 



irb M) 



leaves have fallen, the twin fruit-buds, with the leaf- 

 bud made between, present the appearance shown in 

 Fig. 1G73. Not always do the two buds develop: one of 

 them may be aborted or injured sn that a sintrle Hower- 

 bud and a leaf-lnid >taiid tnn.ihnr. These tlnwtr-buds 

 are borne 011 Imili tin' -imn- inmin.-il -In.nis and on 



the weak growth-, m il inm.n nf ilm m n inj,. The 



fruits in the iuteiinr ,,| ihn tn|. nm t.,y i],,- mnst part 

 poor; therefore it is (.'nnd pr^iriMc 1.. i. iiN.ve the weak 

 shoots on the inside of ilm inp. iln i.l.y thinning the 

 fruit and allowing the im r^> nf iln nei' to go to the 

 development of the fruit nearer tin ..utside. Any sys- 

 tem of priiiiiiit:. therefore, which removes the annual 

 growth thills the fruit. Heading-back the tree also may 

 beathimiiiiu' prnmss. The fruit-bnds are borne some 



),-ss lip. In niini- in process is somewhat severe, there ia 



iilll, r. -nn. mil 'n)nn- the fruit. 



/ . / n', — There is very general neglect 



I • ',n ,M . 1 1 Ml. It should be a rule that no two 



I'liH In - -In i.M i.iinl closer on the same branch than 



live or six im-lies. No work of tl rnhnnl pavs better 



than this thinning, either in the pi n . x.i,n 1, Hn remain- 

 ing produce brings in the markm m in iln ■ iinl energy 

 which is saved to the tree. Pemh tni^ Unit are regu- 

 larly thinned should bear every year, btirring injuries 

 from winter or spring frosts. Growers seem to forget 

 that this fruit must all be picked sooner or later, ami 



•uit of the Peach 

 ear. The Peach 

 lining no leaves. 



that the work is more easily doii 

 in September. The thinning s 

 the fruit is the size of the en 

 by this time the "June drop" 



