BORERS— THE APRICOT 47 
good healthy condition, they should be thinned to 8 or more inches apart. 
Where a tree has set a full crop, this means that one-half to two-thirds 
or more of the peaches are picked off. This should be done as soon as 
you can get at the work, usually about the time the peaches are % or 
1 inch in diameter. 
Plantinc Peaches should be planted 16 to 18 feet apart, depending 
J... . ° on whether the soil is fertile or poor. In the early days of 
UlStance peach-growing, many of the foremost growers set their 
trees 13 feet apart, with the idea of forcing the growth, taking off a few 
crops, and then letting the orchard go; but, as they have learned more 
about pruning and spraying the trees, the orchard can be made to live and 
bear much longer, and greater distance is recommended. Some growers 
are now setting their peach trees 20 feet apart. With this extra room the 
fertility of the soil can not only be retained, but improved, and when a 
tree gets too old to be profitable, it can be pulled out and another set. 
By removing the old trees and resetting, the orchard is made to last 
indefinitely. 
riiltivatinn nf The peach orchard should be plowed early in the 
T> u i^ \y A spring. Plow through the first half of the summer 
Jreacn Urcnara a, cover crop the middle of the summer. 
Practically the same methods and tools are recommended here as for 
the apple (see page 34). However, it is not advisable to let the peach 
orchard stand over in sod for one year, as may be done with the apple 
under certain conditions; for many peach orchards are located on sandy 
loam which is not very fertile, and the cover crops can not be depended 
upon entirely to make up for the lack of fertility, so it is often necessary 
for the grower to use fertilizers, which should be put on in the late win- 
ter or early spring. The quality and amount depend upon what happens 
to be lacking in your particular soil. (See Fertilizers, under page 21.) A 
peach tree should make at least 12 inches new growth each year. 
Borers The peach borer is a grub which hatches from an egg de- 
posited in the bark of the trunk by a moth. This grub bur- 
rows under the bark and does a great deal of damage if not caught and 
killed. Examine the main trunk very closely, especially near the ground. 
You will soon be able to detect the presence of the borer underneath by the 
appearance of the bark, which looks different from healthy bark under 
which there are no borers. Frequently the borer can be located in peach 
trees by the lumps of sticky gum on the outside of the bark. Use a sharp 
knife and a piece of flexible wire to destroy the borers. Scrape ofi the 
rough bark on the body of the tree and paint the wood with a coat of 
white lead and raw linseed oil paint to prevent rotting. Then the soil 
should be drawn back to the roots and banked up six inches high around 
the tree. 
Your trees, especially young peach trees, should be gone over care- 
fully at least twice each summer and preferably once during the winter. 
It does not take long, and, if there are borers in your neighborhood, it 
will be absolutely necessary to examine them in this way, in order to pre- 
vent loss and damage to your trees. The borer of apple trees is a different 
kind, but the treatment is the same. They can not be controlled by 
spraying. 
Spraying, see page 76. 
Apricot 
The apricot is closely related to the peach and will thrive on the 
same soil. They will also "grow on soils that are too fertile for successful 
peach-growing. The apricot is hardier and will stand more cold than the 
peach. However, it blooms several days earlier and is more apt to be 
caught by spring frosts, and should bo planted on high ground or other 
locations that are free from late frost. 
