146 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
we do have a brood about the first part 
of June. There is no question about it; 
that is, I am referring to the peach tree 
borers. 
Mr. Patillo: I would like to add, in 
connection with the pruning of the 
trees; I don’t know whether the paper 
stated that or not, but in pruning always 
make your cuts from good, strong, 
thrifty limbs, turning the cut toward the 
outside of the tree, and always have the 
center of the tree sp that the air can get 
in there. That refers principally to 
peach trees. I think it is mostly used to 
enable the peaches to color. 
Another thing, in thinning the peaches, 
I do not know whether that is done in 
Florida or not. I know it is done in the 
north and the peaches would not bring 
any price at all unless they were thinned. 
In thinning them, they are left about four 
inches apart, and this is done as soon as 
the peaches are set. 
I would like to ask, too, what kind of 
cultivation is used in a peach orchard; 
how deep is the cultivation? 
Mr. Soar: The peach orchard is cul¬ 
tivated up to about the beginning of the 
rainy season, at least to about the first 
of June. Of course, that will vary a lit¬ 
tle with the variety of peaches. It is not 
as necessary to cultivate the early ripen¬ 
ing varieties as late as those ripening 
later in the season. 
In regard to the depth, I think it is best 
to cultivate young trees deeper than the 
older ones. Of course, it is not a good 
idea to break too many of the roots of 
any kind of a tree, under usual circum¬ 
stances. 
In regard to the pruning, the statement 
just made was correct; the tree should be 
pruned to an open, vase-shaped form so 
that the limb will tend to grow out. 
The thinning is also very important. 
We always believe in thinning the peaches 
so that they will not grow more than 
one peach every four or six inches. That is 
a very important point. A great many 
people in Florida do not thin their 
peaches, and consequently have small 
fruit when they could have fruit that 
would run twice as large. 
I think this has a great deal to do in 
connection with increasing the size of 
the peaches, as well as pruning. 
There is one point I overlooked men¬ 
tioning in regard to pruning; that is, the 
fact that it is very important to prune 
the trees in the summer time after the 
fruit has been removed in the case of 
bearing trees, because if you prune them 
in the winter or spring, you will force 
a large growth of green material, that is, 
leaves, and where you have so many 
leaves you do not get your fruit so well 
colored up. 
M>r. Hollingsworth: I do not catch 
the idea why you cut at an angle from 
the trees. 
Mr. Soar: That is to make the tree 
take on a vase-shaped form. If you 
cut the other way, you will force the 
limbs back to the center of the tree. Bv 
cutting the limbs to grow outward, the 
light and sun come in contact with the 
fruit and make it much more highly 
colored. 
It is very important to have the fruit 
highly colored. Fruit that is well colored 
will always bring a much better price in 
