40 BIGGIE ORCHARD BOOK 



PRUNING PEACH TREES. It is customary to prune 

 newly-set peach trees differently from most other trees. 

 , Whether the nursery tree is a 



<^ branchless whip, or a well-branched 



tree, the entire top should be cut 

 ',"%| off at the point where a new head 



^ is wanted. If any branches remain 



J^H below that point, those, also, are 



T^r cutoff, not too closely, however; 



ffiL 'tis usually better to leave stubs 



about an inch in length, so as not 

 JH f o injure the remaining bud. 



Some peach growers cut off their 

 trees at a uniform height of about 

 NEWLY-SET PEACH one an d one-half feet ; others pre- 



TREE, BEFORE , A , 



PRUNING fer a height of two, or two and 



one-half, or even three feet. The decision depends 

 somewhat on the size of the trees, and the grower's 

 personal preference ; but there is no doubt that the 

 lowest possible head, consistent pr 

 with future cultivation, is most 

 desirable. Two feet, or two feet 

 and a quarter, is perhaps a happy 

 medium. 



THE ' ' STRINGFEI,I,OW METH- 

 OD. ' ' A very severe kind of root 

 and top pruning, known as the 

 Stringfellow method, is some- 

 times advocated. The chief ad- 

 vantage claimed is that the roots 

 grow straiffhter downward than 



. , . . SAME PEACH TREE. 



with ordinary trees, giving greater AFTER PRUNING 



