150 THE PEACHES OF NEW YORK 



essentially complete in its heredity. Yet the whole question is still an open 

 one and fruit-growers are waiting to know whether putting buds through 

 the sieve of selection is worth while. The advocates of improving orchards 

 by bud-selection say little, however, about selecting stocks. There is 

 nothing more certain than that the stock greatly influences the character 

 of the tree. The modifications so brought about probably appear and 

 disappear with the individual — at least we should be the last in the world 

 to hold that peaches could be permanently modified by the stocks. The 

 point is, if buds are selected for the tops, the stocks shotdd be selected 

 also. To do otherwise is to imitate the ostrich — head in the sand, body 

 exposed. 



The peach is easy to propagate. Let it be said before going into the 

 matter, however, that practically all of the trees in the peach-orchards 

 in New York were grown in nurseries and that it is probably best to let 

 the propagation of trees continue a business for the specialist. Still, it is 

 well that the grower know in a general way the operations in the propa- 

 gation of the peach-tree. We wish, too, to put on record the nursery 

 methods used in propagating this fruit at this period in the history of 

 the peach. 



In planting peach -pits, art imitates and cjuickens nature. In nature 

 the seeds are self-sown as they ripen, the succulent coat keeping the hard 

 envelope containing the kernel from becoming stony so that the young 

 plant bursts forth at the proper season. But in cleaning and drying seeds 

 for sale and transportation, they become hard and dry and must be subjected 

 to somewhat special treatment before planting. In mild climates the pits 

 are soaked or kept moist in sand, earth or other medium until softened 

 and are then planted in the fall in rows where the trees are to be grown. 

 In cold climates the stones are subjected to freezing, thereby cracking 

 them, after which the kernels are sown in the spring. To freeze, the seeds 

 are placed in strata with moist sand, saw-dust, straw or other material 

 supplying an abundance of moisture, and exposed to the freezing weather 

 of winter which usually frees the kernel from its envelope. The kernels 

 are then sifted from the stones and sand and sowed in rows four feet apart. 

 Pits which the frost does not open must be cracked by hand, though this 

 tedious operation is usually omitted by large nurseries. 



The seeds are planted in a rich, well-drained soil, preferably a light 

 loam with good bottom. By late mid-summer in New York the stocks 

 are ready to bud, though often the operation extends into September. 



