1909. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1005 
HOW TO HANDLE PEACH TREES. 
R., New Hampshire .-—After being a sub¬ 
scriber to The R. N.-Y. for over 25 years, 
I quit working in a cotton mill; bought a 
farm at the age of GO. and have planted 
about 25 acres in fruit—apples, peaches 
and plums. Last Spring 1 pruned the 
peaches quite severely to keep the heads 
down, which caused the trees to make a 
growth as dense as willow stumps. In 
August I cut out about half of the new 
shoots to open up the heads. I met Mr. 
Hale at a farmers’ meeting and got his 
sanction for . this, and now the trees 
look fine, having made from three to five 
feet growth this season, the shoots being 
from half an inch to three-quarters in 
thickness and branched. What I now want 
to know is: Would it be better to let 
them bear next season, with little or no 
pruning to stop their too rapid growth? 
If pruning is better for them, should they 
be cut back below where they have 
branched, which would be about half this 
season's growth? Would there be any 
danger in shortening the side shoots this 
Fall to lessen the danger from ice storms? 
Is there any danger in pruning young ap¬ 
ple trees, two and three years planted, in 
Fall or Winter? 
Books and writers usually mention 
Spring pruning, but I would like to prune 
as much as is safe before Spring, so as. 
to get at cultivation early. The peaches 
have not been fertilized since planted, at 
which time about 800 barrels of bone and 
400 pounds of sulphate of potash was 
broadcast and plowed in as deep as could 
be with a sulky plow. The ground now 
has a cover crop. 
Theoretically early Spring is the time 
to do all our pruning, but where large 
orchards have so much to be done, it 
is a big question, and I am more and 
more driven towards pruning at any 
time when it is convenient to do the 
PRUNING A PEACH TREE. Fig. 547. 
work. Last year in our Georg'.a or¬ 
chards we started four men pruning 
July 11, and kept it up every day until 
nearly the first of June this year, and 
in both apple and peach orchards here 
we shall prune from any time now un¬ 
til blooming time next Spring. I think 
if your New Hampshire friend will cut 
out all crowding branches any time at 
his convenience now, but not do any 
shortening in until after the heaviest 
freezes of Wlinter are over, he will get 
perfectly satisfactory results. Let the 
young trees bear whatever fruit they 
are inclined to, but, of course, if it is 
over-crowded thin it. At the same time, 
vigorous young trees seldom will carry 
any fruit to perfection until after their 
third year in the orchard. 
j. H. HALE. 
If trees have now two years growth, 
it is very doubtful whether they bear 
much fruit, if any, next season. Here, 
Northern Massachusetts, I have never 
raised much on young trees which have 
made such a rank growth. I should cer¬ 
tainly cut the trees back one-third to 
one-half, according to tree and location 
of limbs. My best success with peach 
trees has been by growing the tree mod¬ 
erately, two to three feet of good stocky 
growth when young, and less as the 
trees grow older, keeping the tree al¬ 
ways in a healthy and growing condi¬ 
tion. Trees here making an excessive 
growth are very liable to Winter injury, 
which many times goes under the name 
of yellows. I have often seen strong 
healthy trees before Winter set in, come 
out in the Spring in a weak and sickly 
condition, and I know no quicker way 
to spoil a good healthy thrifty orchard 
than to force an excessive growth for a 
few years, and then with neglect or 
overbearing, stop practically all growth, 
and this will apply to all varieties of 
fruits. Very few orchards ever fully 
recover from such treatment; more are 
practically ruined as far as profit goes. 
The proper way to grow low-headed 
trees is to start the limbs as low as de¬ 
sired, not two or three, but enough to 
form a full flaring head. These should 
be kept in shape by proper pruning, not 
allowing an excessive center growth. 
As the tree comes into bearing condition 
the weight of the fruit will cause the 
limbs to assume a more horizontal and 
flaring position (as the tree grows in 
age). Any pruning should take this fact 
into consideration as limbs too near the 
ground will not produce first-class fruit. 
The proper time to do any severe prun¬ 
ing is when the tree is dormant and the 
leaves have fallen. This will apply to 
practically all necessary orchard prun¬ 
ing. We have little use for Summer 
pruning, only in a moderate way, viz., 
cutting out excessive branches, pinching 
back to form more perfect heads, and 
sometimes in September a light cutting 
back of a rank and immature growth of 
peach or Japan plum to harden up the 
■season’s growth. When one has a few 
large limbs to cut, a very good way is 
to cut with a coarse saw any time in 
Winter and then about June I cut off 
the stubs which had been left five or six 
inches long with a fine and sharp saw. 
They will heal over quicker than cut 
close in the Winter season. I do not 
advise this on large jobs but there put 
on paint or oil when cut. h. o. mead. 
I think he has treated his trees in a 
very reasonable manner. This work 1 
would follow up by cutting out some of 
the main branches, as at a, Fig. 547, if 
the heads are still close, but leave all of 
the small laterals until next Spring, 
when it can be determined to what ex¬ 
tent the fruit buds are injured, when I 
would head these back one-quarter to 
one-half according to this injury. If 
any large branches extend beyond the 
limits of a good formed tree, would cut 
them back as at b, Fig. 547. If the trees 
are on high hills where ice storms are 
frequent both cuts, a and b, may be made 
this Fall or early Winter. I see no ob¬ 
jection to pruning at any time after the 
leaves drop, but cover all the cuts over 
one-half inch in diameter with rather 
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thick linseed oil paint or tar to prevent 
decay and drying out and cracking. 
If the trees are making satisfactory 
growth would not apply much fertilizer 
until the prospects of fruit are good. 
Then would apply sulphate of potash 
at the rate of 300 to 500 pounds per 
acre, according to the amount of potash 
that may have been applied in previous 
years. If the trees are making a small 
growth and the foliage is light in color 
would apply stable manure this Winter 
if the land is nearly level, but if very 
hilly, would plow it in or not put it on 
until the middle or last of April. If the 
cover crop is Crimson. Red clover or 
rye, it cannot be profitably plowed under 
until the middle or last of May. If of 
peas and barley it may be plowed under 
at any time from April 1 to July 1, and 
there will be no loss of moisture from 
the growing crop. Sown in August this 
cover crop will produce a much larger 
crop of organic matter to turn under 
than either of the above. Potash should 
not be plowed in deep, neither should 
nitrate of soda if used. 
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