210 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
year with cow peas, beggarweed or 
other similar crops except the Florida 
velvet bean, sown along the rows. The 
Florida velvet bean is too liable to 
smother the trees but the Yokohama 
would not. However, cow peas or any 
crop subject to root-knot should not be 
planted where peach-stock is used. A 
space several feet wide around the trees 
should be left bare and cultivated fre¬ 
quently. After the first year shallow 
and frequent cultivation should be prac¬ 
tised until May or June and then the 
land left to beggarweed or cow peas. 
The first year the trees should re¬ 
ceive a fair application of fertilizer con¬ 
taining* about 2^4 to 3 per cent of am¬ 
monia, 6 per cent phosphoric acid, and 
8 per cent potash. As the trees come 
into bearing the phosphoric acid may 
be increased to io per cent and the pot¬ 
ash to 12 per cent. Much of the am¬ 
monia may be derived from the legu¬ 
minous crops in the rows and if such 
are used the proportion of ammonia in 
the commercial fertilizer should be re¬ 
duced. Peaches do not require any 
large amount of ammonia, but still they 
like more than pears or plums. Trees 
on peach roots, however, should have 
more than those on plum-stock, as am¬ 
monia helps the trees to withstand to 
a very great extent attacks by nema¬ 
todes. Large quantities of ammonia 
push too rapidly wood growth on plum- 
root stock. The plum is naturally a 
gross feeder and were the plum-stock 
fed too highly on ammonia too rank a 
wood growth would result, which is not 
desirable, as wood must be sacrificed 
for fruit, the main object for which the 
trees are grown. Best results in fer¬ 
tilizing are obtained by making several 
applications, the first in Janu'ary or 
February, the second in May or June, 
the times for these depending upon the 
earliness or otherwise of the variety 
treated. When the trees reach bearing 
age a fall application of mineral element 
is beneficial. 
Pruning is the real science of peach 
culture. Pruning at the right time and 
in the right way is one of the most im¬ 
portant points to consider in caring for 
the trees. When set, as already stated, 
they should be cut back closely, and 
they may be trained to a compact head 
by pinching out the growing tips from 
time to time during the summer. The 
first winter after setting, the trees 
should be pruned so that only three or 
four limbs branch from the main trunk. 
These should slope outward and up¬ 
ward making a vase-shaped top with 
open center, and each branch should be 
headed back to about half of its 
length. Always prune so as to remove 
“blind wood” as much as possible in 
those varieties where this formation is 
prevalent, this has special reference to 
the Jewel. The cut should be smooth 
and slightly sloping and close to a bud 
with the uppermost bud on the outside 
of the limb. After the second year 
most of the pruning should be done in 
the summer immediately after the crop 
is removed. This is contrary to the 
general practice of pruning when the 
trees are dormant, that is during the 
winter season, but the climatic condi¬ 
tions of Florida call for a variation in 
this practice and hence the advocating 
