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cone. Some trees require more pruning than others in proportion to their 

 growth; the peach is one of that kind. The apricot the third year may be 

 favored, if you may call it so, by leaving a great portion of its growth, 

 because that year it will not produce fruit, and by being so left it will pro- 

 duce fruit buds for the coming season, and the next year it will produce 

 fruit worthy of consideration; the next year following that there should be 

 but very little of the growth of the tree left — say, not more than six inches 

 to twelve inches of that growth; that is to bring it within bounds, and 

 having it of the size you would like it to be, and that strengthens it. It is 

 not too withey by being then brought under the knife and reduced. I did 

 not intend to speak about the different kinds of trees, but this is a general 

 rough idea of a tree, and most all the trees that we plant of the deciduous 

 fruits will come under that system, including peaches, apricots, nectarines, 

 cherries, plums, prunes, pears. Almonds, after the first two or three years, 

 should not be pruned at all, unless the limbs drop down when you cut 

 them off, and trim out the branches that are rough; but the peach tree, as 

 some one said here to-night, cut severely; a peach tree is cut severely until 

 it becomes necessary to cut it out of the ground. Those who would let a 

 peach tree grow its own native growth and leave it there, thinking of the 

 great crop of fruit it will bear, make* a great mistake. It is inferior of fruit; 

 even if they thin it well, there is then too much fruit. They must cut it 

 back, and then thin those that they leave, and it must be done every year, 

 and even after having done that, after six or seven or eight years, it would 

 be advisable to go and cut it back two thirds of the last year's growth and 

 all that would be left of those years. 



Mr. Gray: One word to Mr. Butler. I understood him to say that most 

 orchardists now set out their trees from eighteen to twenty feet apart. I 

 think that that is a mistake, at least in this section of the country; it may 

 do on poor soil, but if we want to go through the rows of our trees in this 

 part of the country we must put them at least twenty-five feet apart, and 

 then we have to dodge around to get the fruit out. I think that that is a 

 mistake that should not go out to the young fruit growers. 



Mr. Hatch: As to that point several have asked me at different times 

 what distance I would recommend for planting different varieties of fruits. 

 I have stated it in two ways: first, to those who have plenty of money that 

 do not need them in the near future for their support, plant apricots, 

 almonds, and cherry trees not less than thirty feet apart; if a man needs 

 the best results he can get in the near future, he may plant them closer, 

 twenty-five feet; but no peach tree on land such as you have here or any- 

 where in the rich valleys should be planted nearer than twenty-five feet. 

 I have peach trees that at six years old were too close at twenty-five feet 

 apart, and two thirds to three fourths of the growth each year cut out. 



Mr. W. W. Smith: Will Mr. Butler state the variety of peach he shipped 

 in May? 



Mr. Butler: We shipped the Early Alexander; the twenty-third of 

 May there was forty cases went out, and I shipped thirty-five of the forty. 

 They paid me for those peaches $2 a box, arid continued to pay $1 75 for 

 some time. I spoke of the distance at which peach trees were generally 

 planted, and still entertain the idea that I am correct about that, using the 

 word generally; there are certain sections of this State where no general 

 rule will apply. This place and the places these gentlemen speak of 

 where the wood growth is very great I agree with them that twenty-five 

 feet is near enough to plant peaches, but in our section eighteen to twenty 

 feet is the distance at which peach trees are planted, and I am sustained 

 by that entire community in the expression of that opinion. 



