SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 49 



growers consulted held this to be the case almost without 

 exception. But in New York, the kind of soil seems to make 

 but little difference, providinc^'it is warm and dry. If these 

 two factors be favorable, peaches seem to thrive in any of the 

 soils of New York. The difference in opinion between the 

 peach growers of Michigan and New York arises from the 

 fact that the great belt in which peaches are grown in the first 

 named State has a sandy soil, and growers there have scarcely 

 tried the peach on clays, loams or shales, upon which some 

 of the best orchards in New York are located. 



But this point is made clear : the peach viitst Jiave a warm 

 dry soil to secure the greatest possible hardiness inherent in 

 the species. Only in such a soil can trees make a strong, 

 firm, well matured growth that seems to be conducive to 

 hardiness. A warm soil is especially necessary to secure a 

 growth that will withstand cold. Plants in a warm soil have 

 more and smaller cells in their tissues and therefore a more 

 condensed sap, both of which conditions are most favorable 

 to hardiness. 



Many growers in both states speak of the desirability of 

 a gravelly subsoil to secure a hardy tree. Such a subsoil 

 seems to be conducive to the warmth and dryness of roots, and 

 it is probable that so far as hardiness is concerned, it matters 

 little whether this subsoil be overlaid with sand, gravel, loam, 

 clay, or combinations of these. 



II. 

 Does the Amount of Moisture in the Soil in Winter 

 Affect the Hardiness of the Peach? 

 The evidence as regards this point is clear. Either 

 extreme of moisture — excessive wetness or excessive dry- 

 ness — gives favorable conditions for winter-killing. A wet 

 soil is conducive to sappiness in the tree and also freezes 

 deeply. Severe cold, especially alternating with warm 

 Aveather or accompanied with dry winds, causes evaporation 

 of water from trees, and if the soil be so dry as not to fur- 

 nish moisture to replace the evaporated water, harmful 

 results ensue. Several experiences were given in Michigan 



