WINTER PROTECTION. 



afteeu to fifty dollars' worth of manure or fertilizer; yet many a 

 fruit grower will expect to gather crops, many times the value of 

 either of the above, without any fertilizer at all The fruit 

 growers who apply to their orchard annually tweuty-hve dollars 

 worth of fertilizing material, I believe are few in number. In 

 Uie case of a Peach orchard from five to ten years old, this 

 amoimt or even fifty dollars' worth would not be too large a 

 srpy oputontoanacre when the trees are to bear a heavy 

 crop As mth the apple and pear, manures or fertihzei^ should 

 be applied late in the fall and early in the spring. While^young, 

 much care is needed not to force too large a giH>wth of wood. 

 For fruU, ground bone and potash is the best fertilizer that can 



^Vhe growth of the peach tree in turf land is not to be recom- 

 mended as with the apple. 



Age of Bearing.— Fruit may be expected in paying quantities 

 at from three to five years from planting m the orchard, ihe 

 average age of the Peach tree in this section is hard to deter- 

 mine, but is not probably over ten years from the time of trans- 

 planting, and during this time the average number of crops may 



^^Tl2'ffreltest''obstacle to the successful cultivation of the Peach 

 in this latitude, is the destruction of the fruit-buds in cold 

 weather, It occurs in seasons when the growth is late, or 

 when the buds are started into growth by extremely xyarm 

 weather in December, followed by severe cold. It is claimed 

 bv many fruit culturists that the fruit-bnds will be destroy- 

 ed under any conditions when the thermometer indicates 

 15° below zero. Little, however, is positively known as to this 

 matter, and this claim may be generally the case but 1 have 

 known buds to be uninjured by a temperature of 18° be ow zero 

 and also to be destroyed by a temperature not lower .h?M 18 

 above zero, Fahrenheit. 



Winter Protection.— This uncertainty of the Peach crop 

 leads us to consider if some means may not be employed by 

 which the crop may be made secure. . • 4.1 x 



One method whichi successfully adopted a few years since, is tha 

 of laying down the trees. Two young trees about four years old 

 were taken for the experiment. The roots upon one side were loosen- 

 ed an^Tcut off at about one foot from the tree The soi was 

 then loosened upon the other side, and the trees bent clown and he d 

 in nlace by a heavy post. Over the whole was thrown a tew bun- 

 dlefof coin stovel"^ The roots that stood oivt o the ground 

 when the tree lay prostrate were covered with a foot or two ot 

 S In this state the trees passed the winter in safety and 111 

 the spring were righted up and the soil pressed carefiUly and 

 S4 about the roots. The result was a fair crop of Peaches 

 when all other buds were destroyed. This seems a practicable 

 method, and if the roots are made to grow more largely upon on^ 



