
          127

forty miles north and south, in which peaches are abundant and of
excellent quality." One man had as high as 10,000 boxes;
several, 5,000. C. & C. Gent. Sept. 1870. p. 550.

Dr. Hull, of Alton, Ill., in Prairie Farmer gives the result
of his experiments in root pruning of the peach. "To
abridge labor he performed the work with the plow." It was
done in October. He plowed one way deep several times to
within four feet of the trees.  A coulter being used to cut
off as many roots as practicable.  Late the following spring
the plow was run at right angles in the same <s>way</s>manner. The whole
labor--1800 trees--was done by one man and team in five days.

Results: "The maturity of the crop was so much hastened
that shipments of Hale's Early peach were made on the
first of July, and daily for twelve days afterwards, when
the crop from unpruned trees began to ripen. The difference
was about two weeks in favor of the root-pruned trees.  Both
were treated precisely alike in every other respect.  The
fruit of the root-pruned trees was much the larger--averaging
from one-third to double the size.  By way of comparison, two
peach trees had the branches girdled when the peaches were
        