PROCEEDINGS OF THE FARMERS* CLUB. 265 



winter. To discover wlien your buds 'arc killed, cut tlicni open with a 

 sharp knife, and you will find the center black. Those which are alive are 

 green and fresh. 



Mr. W. S. Carpenter illustrated that the fruit-buds of the peach would 

 always be found upon wood of the present year's growth, and uidess the 

 trees are thrifty enough to produce a good growth of new wood, they will 

 fail to be fruitful. Generally speaking, there are more fruit-buds than can 

 be perfected ; he therefore rocommendu a system of summer-pruning by 

 clipping one-third to one-half of all the new branches. , In planting new 

 trees, use them only one year old from the bud, and cut back severely; 

 afterward shorten the branches every year, and the trees will continue to 

 be productive. It is poverty of growth or over-bearing that produces the 

 yelloics. 



Afr. John G. Bergen. — I dispute this theory, for it is nothing but tlieory; 

 it has no foundation in fact. What wo want, and what should be sent out 

 as the opinions of the Club, are^ facts, and not baseless tiieories. I like 

 opinions, and I wish tnose that attend here would give theirs more freely. 

 We have every week a great many persons attending here, but very few 

 speakers. I wish others could be encouraged to give us their experience 

 and facts in farming. A few years ago I planted a peacli orchard upon 

 land that certainly was not troubled with poverty. The trees made a luxu- 

 riant growth, bore very little fruit, and died of the yellows. There's one 

 fact to ofilset a good deal of theyry. 



Mr. W. S. Carpenter contended that the trees must have died from borers 

 instead of yellows. 



Mr. Solon Robinson disputed this theory as ridiculous, because peach 

 trees that are touched with borers sufficiently to produce death, never have 

 a thrifty appearance. 



Mr. George Bartlett recommended planting peach orchards upon hills in- 

 stead of valleys, wherever the buds are liable to winter-kill. 



Mr. John G. Bergen said that poverty of soil did not kill peach trees, be- 

 cause some of the finest peath orchards of New Jersey were planted upon 

 poor, light, sandy land. A gentleman from Burlington Co., N. J., said that 

 the style of pruning them was entirely different from the pne recommended 

 by Mr. Carpenter. The young trees, when taken from the nursery to the 

 orchard, are pruned as smooth as walking-sticks. 



A member said he had found upon one of the mountains of this State two 

 belts of fruitful trees about half a mile wide upon the eastern slope, one 

 near the top, and the other at the foot of the mountain. On the western 

 slope of tlie same mountain peach trees did not succeed at all. 



Mr. R. H. Williams gave as a reason why buds kill in valleys rather than 

 on hills, that it is because they swell more in autumn. Whenever the buds 

 are killed by cold weather in winter, it will be found owing to the condition 

 of the weather in autumn. The Lake region of New York has an advantage 

 of at least three degrees of latitude over other sections for fruit-growing. 



Mr. P. T. Quinn, of New Jersey, stated that he was in the practice of 

 planting about 600 peach trees per year, and pruning them to a mere stick. 

 They make one year's growth, and are then cut back. The ground is kept 



