48 THE CONNECTICUT POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



continue and at short intervals as in the decade just "passed, 

 the situation for the peach growers is truly discouraging. 

 All must agree that the greatest problem which the growers 

 of this fruit now face, is how best to avoid or check injury 

 from freezes or frost. The problem is not an insurmountable 

 one, for we find here and there varieties or orchards almost or 

 wholly uninjured and possibly adjoining others with trees or 

 buds partly or wholly killed. What conditions of the trees, 

 of the soil, or of the care makes the difiference? There must 

 be; reasons for the injury of the one and not of the other. If 

 we could intelligently explain the eccentricities and anom- 

 alies of winter-killing and spring frosts, we might do some- 

 thing to avoid them and to better treat the injured plants. 



I have made two efforts to find some explanation of the 

 varying behavior of peach trees during freezes and frosts. 

 In the spring of 1905, I addressed letters to about one hundred 

 of the best peach growers in Michigan asking for their expe- 

 rience as to the hardiness of the peach in tree and bud. In 

 the spring of 1907, about the same number of letters were 

 addressed to peach growers in New York. 



This paper is a brief review of the answers obtained. 

 The great importance of the subject seems 'to have been obvi- 

 ous to the peach growers, for almost without exception answers 

 were given by those addressed, and in such a manner as to 

 show their interest. The experiences given and the theories 

 advanced are many and conflicting, but out of the great mass 

 of material obtained I am sure that we can get some good. 

 In miaking these investigations, it needs to be said further, 

 that during the past three summers I have visited the orchards 

 of many of my correspondents and have noted the conditions 

 of the trees under consideration and have a personal knowl- 

 edge of many of the conditions discussed. 



The topics are as follows : 



I. 



Influence of Soil on Hardiness. 



It is usually held that trees are hardiest on sandy, grav- 

 elly or stony soils. In the peach orchards of Michigan, the 



