FRUITS. 15 



marked contrast with the confined heat of mid- 

 day. Such violent changes are not conducive to 

 the healthy development of any fruits, and are 

 especially prejudicial to the peach and the grape. 

 The liability also to late spring and early fall 

 frosts is another serious objection to low lands. 

 Every one has noticed the marked line where 

 frosts have extended so far up a hill-side, leav- 

 ing the foliage cut and withering below, while 

 above the line the verdure is as fresh as ever. 

 This sudden and premature check to the sap when 

 it is in full flow and before the wood is ripened 

 is a great injury to tender trees. It is, therefore, 

 desirable to select a site even beyond the prox- 

 imity to frosty lands. An elevation tends greatly 

 towards the thorough ripening and hardening of 

 the wood of fruit trees. It is, therefore, not sur- 

 prising that peaches, for example, are hardy and 

 fruitful on the hills as far north as the lower 

 counties in New Hampshire, while they seldom 

 do well in the southern part of New York. 



But in advocating elevated localities, it is to 

 be remembered that they are exposed to bleak 

 and exhausting winds, which are liable not only 

 to shake the fruit from the trees, but, worse than 

 this, to cause excessive evaporation from the foli- 

 age and seriously to check growth. We well know 

 how vegetation is dwarfed as we ascend moun- 



