A'ett Senes, .Vo. 138. 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
209 
Fig. 12 — buckthorn (Rhamnus Catharticus.) 
neglect in cultivation better than almost any other 
plant, and in its growth is more precocious than 
the Hawthorn. 
With these plants, as with those described in 
our June number, it is of the greatest importance 
that strict attention be given to pruning when 
young. Be not too anxious to form a hedge in a 
short time. Cut back resolutely twice each sea¬ 
son, gaining at each cutting only 4 to 10 inches, 
—and as the hedge approaches maturity, bring it 
into the pyramidal shape—never allowing it to 
assume a flat top, or perpendicular sides. The 
directions for culture, pruning, &c., were given in 
June, page 176. 
Prune Fruit Trees in July. 
SUNDRY HINTS ON THE MODE OF PRUNING. 
We have already stated our preferences for Ju¬ 
ly, as a pruning month for the orchard. The 
farmer is apt to object to this season, on account 
of other pressing work, while a few think it van¬ 
dalism to remove branches loaded with unripe 
fruit. Many erroneously suppose that the wound 
caused by removing a limb or branch in the 
Spring will soonest heal over when the greatest 
flow of sap takes place. On the contrary, the 
sap escapes from the wound, and not only does 
the tree suffer from this loss of its vital fluid, but 
the same sap running down the side of the tree, 
becomes acidified, and acts as a poison upon the 
trunk. This we may frequently observe, by trac¬ 
ing the black, decayed bark, and wood even, in 
its track. The sap is not in a wood-making slate 
until it has ascended the trunk, been changed and 
carbonized in the lungs (leaves) of the tree, and 
returned downward upon the outer surface, be¬ 
tween the wood and bark, depositing a thin layer 
(cambium), which gives another ring or circle of 
wood to the growing tree. 
During July, the sap is descending and forming 
new wood, which spreads itself over a smooth, 
even wound upon a tree, and the healing process at 
once takes place. Again, the dense foliage serves 
to protect the wood from sun-check, although we 
would advise a coating of shellac and alcohol, or 
grafting cement, where the removed branch is of 
so large a size as to require two or three years to 
heal over. 
The orchardist, however, who plants his own 
trees, should never be obliged to remove such 
limbs; but with pruning knife in hand, he should 
go over his young orchard every Summer, and by 
a judicious cutting out of the small branches, ob¬ 
viate the necessity of afterwards removing large 
limbs. In doing this, he should constantly have 
in mind the idea of securing a well shaped tree 
of large size. The main thing is to keep a mod¬ 
erately open head, free from cross or interlocking 
branches, but do not remove the side spurs, 
which will have a tendency to cause the con¬ 
demned growth, or form, illustrated on page 24 of 
the January Agriculturist. 
In removing large or small limbs, cut close to 
the body of the tree, or larger branch, so that 
the new growth will have the shortest possible 
space to fillup, before entirely covering the wound. 
The practice of hacking off the branches of a 
tree with an ax, leaving a stub six inches or a 
foot in length, as a ladder by which to climb the 
tree, cannot be too strongly condemned. We have 
seen many such instances, where the new wood 
rolled up about them was more than sufficient to 
have entirely healed over the cut, but which 
showed, instead, cavities caused by the decay of 
the stump, sometimes large enough for squirrels 
to burrow in, and which every storm fills with wa¬ 
ter, thus hastening the decay of the tree. 
-—*-»- 
Pruning Evergreens. 
Evergreens used for edges or ornamental 
screens, generally need an annual shearing. Also, 
those planted as lawn-trees sometimes grow too 
luxuriantly, or awkwardly with the branches long¬ 
er on one side than another. Or there may 
be gaps in the outline which require filling up. 
The pruning-knife may be used on evergreens, as 
well as on other trees, but it should be handled, 
in this case, less often, and more considerately. 
For shearing hedges and screens, a sharp sickle 
or hook is a good implement. For spruces 
and pines, the knife or pruning shears should be 
employed. 
It has generally been supposed that the rampant 
growing pine could not, or should not be pruned. 
As a general rule, we think it had better be left 
alone ; Nature has had long experience in shap¬ 
ing trees, and man can hardly improve upon her 
models. But whenever it is desired to keep the 
pine within certain limits, or when the tree-grow¬ 
er wishes to see into what fanciful forms he can 
mold the tree, he can accomplish his purpose by 
pruning. In the Spring, just before the buds start, 
cut off the end of the middle shoot of each limb, 
and the side shoots will push laterally, and con¬ 
vert the tree into a globe of bright grsen foliage. 
This result will not be fully accomplished in a sin¬ 
gle year, but the effect will be visible the first 
season. We do not, however, advise an indis¬ 
criminate pruning of evergreens ; and, least of 
all do we favor the lopping off of the lower 
branches of these trees, as is sometimes igno¬ 
rantly done. 
------ 
The Orchard— VI- 
THE PEACH. 
Wherever this delicious fruit will grow, it is 
next in importance to the apple, as an orchard 
and market fruit. Its favorite localities lie in va¬ 
rious districts of country, from Eastern Florida, 
westward to Louisiana, and thence northwardly to 
Iowa, and eastward along the southern borders ot 
the Great Lakes, to the Atlantic, following a sort 
of isothermal line from its western known point 
of growth. 
Intermediate, throughout all the States, they 
flourish, more or less, as soil, climate and local 
circumstances may govern. It is scarcely worth 
while to enumerate the most favorable districts 
for their growth, as peaches are so generally a fa¬ 
vorite with all fruit lovers and orchardists, that 
they are attempted almost everywhere, and aban¬ 
doned only in those places where they utterly re¬ 
fuse to thrive. Its northerly border within the 
United States may be limited to the south shore 
of Lake Ontario, west of Oswego, in New York. 
East of that point, in the same latitude, they 
rarely thrive, and with difficulty, north of the 
Catskills on the Hudson, or the northerly bound¬ 
aries of Connecticut and Rhode Island. In large 
sections of the interior, where other fruits flour¬ 
ish abundantly, the peach refuses to thrive at all, 
its sensitiveness to Spring frosts, or other casual¬ 
ties cutting off its fruit. The seaboard, from 
Virginia to Long Island, is perhaps more prolific 
and sure in its growth than any other section ot 
the United States, excepting the south shores ot 
Lakes Ontario and Erie ; the humidity of the at¬ 
mosphere on these great bodies of water, and the 
absence of killing frosts protecting them in that 
comparatively high latitude, while much further 
south, on elevated grounds, or in depressed val¬ 
leys, they refuse, excepting in few and far between 
situations, to ihrive at all. 
A hundred, fifty, forty, even as late as thirty 
years ago, the peach flourished in many sections 
of the country, when new and recently brought 
into cultivation, where they have since refused 
to bear fruit at all, or but seldom. The cause of 
this decline is, perhaps, not yet understood ; yet, 
of the fact all are convinced ; and no remedy for 
their recovery has, so far, been discovered ; and 
the upshot of our experience may be recorded, 
that the peach is now a local fruit of diverse 
and scattered climates, soils, and altitudes ; de¬ 
termined, not on any general rules or principles, 
but definitely ascertained only on a trial. Wa 
know localities, scarce ten miles apart, every 
way alike situated, except perhaps, a slight differ¬ 
ence in soil, but on the same levels and streams. 
In one, the peach utterly refuses to grow and 
yield its fruit, while in the other it grows and 
bears in high perfection. A current of wind, a 
warmer exposure, hardly perceptible to human 
observation, may make the difference, so sensi¬ 
tive is the peach to subtle differences, in soil or 
atmosphere. It may, however be grown, in ad¬ 
verse localities, by aid of 
' ARTIFICIAL EXPOSURES AND PROTECTION. 
Not under glass, as the grape, but in well pro¬ 
tected inclosures, under walls or fences, and shel 
tered by them, or belts of growing wood In 
