152 FRUIT-GROWING 



growth forced in the same summer. Such trees 

 are always less vigorous and, of course, smaller 

 in size. Planted in the southern peach-growing 

 sections they make satisfactory orchard trees, 

 but they should never be used in the North. A 

 few growers north of the Ohio River have re- 

 ported success with the June buds, but they are 

 the exception proving the rule and the bulk of 

 northern orchards have been and will continue 

 to be grown from yearling trees. Peach trees 

 more than a year old should never be planted. 

 The correct method for peach planting has 

 been the basis of much argument for years. 

 Growers vary in their opinions and they can no 

 doubt justify their judgments by results in 

 their own plantings. On most soils, however, 

 twenty by twenty feet will be found a conve- 

 nient distance. This spacing will allow room 

 for cultivation and spraying and permit the 

 trees to expand to their full size without crowd- 

 ing. In some sections, notably Georgia, I be- 

 lieve that a still greater distance would be a de- 

 cided advantage as it would allow better air 

 circulation — an important factor in the pre- 

 vention of some peach diseases. I have seen 

 some Georgia orchards planted so closely that 

 at harvest time the branches of trees on oppo- 

 site rows would be in contact. If warm wet 

 weather happens to come during the ripening 

 season such an orchard is a prey to brown rot. 



