53 



Neglect of cultivation, especially in a dry season, is likely to 

 add to the severity of winter injuries. The dryer the season the 

 more important it is to keep up cultivation, not only for the bene- 

 fit of the crop on the tree, but for the crops to follow. 



Good care and close attention to details in the management of 

 an orchard are far reaching in effect. Vigorous, healthy and well- 

 cared for trees are able to successfully battle single-handed against 

 many enemies, but weak, neglected trees are so besieged with trou- 

 bles that both grower and trees become discouraged and give up the 

 fight. 



Take good care of your trees and they will respond by taking 

 care of themselves. 



Discussion. 



Prof. Stewart. I would like to ask Prof. Blake if he has had 

 any experience with June buds. 



Prof. Blake. In practically all cases I would prefer a one year 

 old tree to a June budded tree. We have found it difficult to find 

 large, vigorous June budded stock. If you can secure June buds 

 from two to two and one-half feet high they might be satisfactory, 

 but we have often had difficulty in securing them from one foot to 

 eighteen inches high. We have found that the better the soil condi- 

 tions the better the smaller grades will do. 



R. M. Eldon. Would you prefer northern grown trees to 

 Tennessee grown peach trees ? 



Prof. Blake. I would not make any difference there provided 

 the trees were well grown and free from disease. That is the im- 

 portant point, to have them well grown and free from diseases. 



Mr. Bassett. What of storing trees in cellars for winter. 



Prof. Blake. If they are properly stored I think the trees are 

 all right. 



Mr. Bassett. W^hat do you mean by ''properly stored" ? How 

 are you going to handle them so that they will be? 



Prof. Blake. They should be stored so that they do not dry out. 

 I should say that if the trees are taken up in the late fall and put in 

 the storage house where the roots are kept moist and the tempera- 

 ture held between 35 and 40 degrees, I should say the trees are 

 properly stored. I have planted a good many stored trees in my 

 experiments and we have taken measurements of the growth of the 

 trees, and I cannot see where there is very much difference between 

 stored trees and freshly dug trees. On the other hand, stored trees 

 in many cases should always be soaked in water for sometime before 

 they are planted. 



Mr. Bassett. As compared with the practice of heeling in, 

 which is the old common practice, have you had any comparison 

 with trees stored in cellars against trees that were heeled in? 



Prof. Blake. Our experience has been with cellar-stored trees 

 against freshly dug trees. If the trees are properly stored, I do not 

 see why they are not just as good as trees left out over winter. 



