104 



Fruit-growing in Arid Regions 



generally has the advantage of being headed lower, but 

 occasionally, when received by the western grower, the 

 upper part of the tree shows lack of vitality. This may 

 be a matter of long shipment, and is probably due to con- 

 ditions under which the tree is delivered rather than to 

 any inherent characters. 



The peach tree nearly always comes from the nurs- 

 ery with the head already formed, that is, with lateral 

 branches developed. The common 

 practice is first to set the tree and 

 then head-in the main stem to 

 within 18 inches of the ground and 

 the laterals to one or two buds. 

 In the yearling tree, heading to 

 18 inches may mean the removal 

 of all laterals formed, but buds will 

 generally start from below to form 

 a well-balanced head. Leaving 

 stubs of all the laterals insures a 

 large leaf surface for the first sea- 

 son, provides for the protection of 

 the body from the sun's rays, and 

 supplies a goodly number of strong limbs from which to 

 choose those to form the head of the tree. 



The first spring after setting, the pruning will consist 

 in thinning out the new wood to not over 5 arms well 

 spaced around the entire trunk, and cutting these back 

 to 12 or even less inches in length. Should some of the 

 arms be inclined to crowd toward the center, cutting to a 

 good strong outside branch may be of service in spread- 

 ing the tree. When pruned for its second year's growth, 



FIG. 27. Poor Head on 

 Young Peach. The 

 Result of Pruning for 

 Fruit. 



