PROPAGATION OF PLANTS 



177 



remain where it is for another season. You now have 



something to show what a single bud can do in a year, 



i.e., make a tree with a trunk and branches, with hundreds 



of buds, six or seven feet 



tall. Put a stick beside 



it and mark from noon 



to noon for a few days 



and you can never think 



of a tree as an inanimate 



thing again. We cut off 



the old trunk three or 



four inches above the 



bud and tie the tender 



shoot to it so that it may 



not be broken off by the 



wind. This " heel," as 



it is called, should be 



cut off smoothly, close 



to the bud, in July or 



August, so that it may 



heal over nicely before 



winter. 



We now need to know 

 how to form the head of 

 a peach tree and some- 

 thing about its pruning 

 and care. It is com- 

 monly recommended to prune the peach in February or 

 March, as late as possible, but certainly before any signs 

 of growth appear in the buds.^ The following February, 



1 In regions where severe ice storms prevail it is advised to prune back 

 late in the fall. 



Fig. 74. Rearing a Peach Tree 



Autumn of third year from seed. The branches 

 have grown from buds since spring. Planted 

 by the boy when one year old. (Photograph 

 by the author) 



