Soil Culture / Containing a Comprehensive View of Agriculture, Horticulture, Pomology, Domestic Animals, Rural Economy, and Agricultural Literature

by J. H. Walden

Transplanting—should be performed with care, as in the case of all other fruit-trees. Every injured root should be cut off smooth from the under side, slanting out from the tree. Leave the roots, as nearly as possible, in the position in which they were before. Set the tree an inch lower than it stood in the nursery; it saves the danger of the roots getting uncovered, and of too strong action of the atmosphere on the roots, in a soil so loose. The opposite is often recommended, viz., to allow the tree in its new location to stand an inch or two higher than before; but we are sure, from repeated trials, that it is wrong. Shake the fine earth as closely around the roots as possible, mulch well, and pour on a pailful of tepid water, if it be rather a dry time, and the tree will be sure to live and make a good growth the first year. When a peach-tree is transplanted, after one year's growth from the bud, it should have the top cut off within eighteen inches or two feet of the ground, and all the limbs cut off at half their length. This will induce the formation of a full, large head. A low, full-branching head is always best on a peach-tree.

Pruning is perhaps the most important matter in successful peach culture. The fruit is borne wholly on wood of the previous year's growth. Hence a tree that has the most of that growth, in a mature state, and properly situated, will bear the most and the finest fruit. A tree left to its natural state, with no pruning but of a few of the lower limbs from the main trunk, will soon exhibit a collection of long naked limbs, without foliage, except near their extremities (see the cut overleaf). In this case fruit will be too thick on what little bearing wood there is, and it should be thinned. But very few cultivators even attend to that. The fruit is consequently small, and it weakens the growth of the young wood above, for next year's fruiting, and thus tree and fruit are perpetually deteriorating.

Observe a shoot of young peachwood, you will see near its base, leaf-buds. On the middle there are many blossom-buds, and on the top, leaf-buds again. The tendency of sap is to the extremity. Hence the upper leaf-buds will put out at once. And for their growth, and the maturity of the excessive fruit on the middle, the power of the sap is so far exhausted, that the leaf-buds at the base do not grow. Hence when the fruit is removed, nothing is left below the terminal shoots, but a bare pole. This is the condition in which we find most peach-trees.

For this there is a certain preventive. It consists in shortening in, by cutting off in the month of September, from a third to a half of the current season's growth. If the top be large, cut off one half the length of the new wood. If it be less vigorous and rank, and you fear you will not have room for a fair crop of peaches, cut off but one third. This heading-in is sometimes recommended to be done in the spring. For forming a head in a young tree the spring is better. But to mature the wood, and increase the quantity, and improve the quality of the fruit, September is much the best.

Such shortening in early in September, directs the sap to maturing the wood, already formed and developing fruit-buds, instead of promoting the growth of an undue quantity of young and tender wood, to be destroyed by the winter, or to hinder the growth of the fruit of the next season. This heading-in process, with these young shoots, is most easily performed with pruning shears, with wooden handles, of a length suited to the height of the tree.

Neglected Peach-Tree. Properly-trimmed Peach-Tree.

But a work to precede this annual shortening-in, is the original formation of a head to a peach-tree. Take a tree a year old from the bud, and cut it down to within two and a half feet from the ground. Below that numerous strong shoots will come out. Select three vigorous ones and let them grow as they please, carefully pinching off all the rest. In the fall you will have a tree of three good strong branches. In the next spring cut off these three branches, one half. Below these cuts, branches will start freely. Select one vigorous shoot to continue the limb, and another to form a new branch. Check the growth of the shoots below, by cutting off their ends, but do not rub them off, as they will form fruit branches. At the close of the season you will have a tree with six main branches, and some small ones for fruit, on the older wood. Repeat this process the third year, and you have a tree with twelve main branches, and plenty smaller ones for fruit. All these small branches on the old wood, should be shortened in half their length, to cause the leaf-buds near their base to start, so as to produce large numbers of young shoots. Continue this as long as you please, and make just as large a head and just such a form as you may wish, being careful only to control the shape of the top so as to let the sun and air freely into every part.

Trees thus trained may be planted thick enough to allow four hundred to stand on an acre, and will bear an abundance of the finest fruit, and all low enough to be easily picked. This method of training is much better than allowing the tree to shoot out on all sides from the ground: in that case, the branches are apt to split down and perish. This system of heading-in freely every year, preserves the life and health of the tree remarkably. Many of the finest peach-trees in France are from thirty to sixty years old, and some a hundred. We may, in this country, have peach-trees live fifty years, in the most healthy bearing condition. By trimming in this way, and carrying out fully this system, some have thrifty-looking peach-trees, more than a foot in diameter, bearing the very best of fruit. It is sheer neglect that causes our peach-orchards to perish after having borne from three to six years. Let every man who plants a peach-tree remember, that this system of training will make his tree live long, be healthy, grow vigorously, and bear abundantly.

Diseases of peach-trees have been a matter of much speculation. The result is, that the hope of the peach-grower is mainly in preventives.