318 SOME SPECIFIC ADVICE 



at least for sections where winter- killing of fruit-buds is the 

 greatest drawback to success, and we shall follow it closely 

 till some better plan presents itself. There should be no off- 

 year with peaches, except when fruit or blossom buds are 

 entirely killed by frosts. Right culture, proper feeding and 

 pruning should each year stimulate enough new growth to 

 furnish far more buds than are required for abundant 

 crops." 



Another view of peach-tree pruning may be 

 presented : * 



" The methods of pruning peach trees are the occasion of 

 much discussion among pomologists. The differences of 

 opinion turn chiefly about three practices, short trunks 

 with rapidly ascending branches, high trunks with more 

 horizontal branches, and shortening- in or heading-back the 

 annual growth. Each of these three methods of handling 

 or training peach trees has ardent advocates and pronounced 

 opponents. It is probable that each system has distinct 

 merits for particular cases. I believe that the nature and 

 fertility of the soil are the dominating factors in these op- 

 posing methods. A system of pruning which fits the slow 

 growth and hard wood of sandy soils may not be adapted 

 to the rapid growth and heavier tops of trees on strong soils. 

 Fig. 124 shows what I believe to be, in general, the best 

 method of pruning peach trees upon sandy or what may be 

 called peach soils. It is the natural method. The tree is 

 allowed to spread its top at will with no heading- in. The 

 foliage is comparatively light, and does not place great 

 weight upon the branches, and the trees, upon such lands, 

 do not grow quickly to such great size as upon heavy lands. 

 This method of allowing a tree to make its natural top is 

 the common one in the Chesapeake peninsula and in the 



*L. H. Bailey, Bull. 74, Cornell Exp. Sta. 



