Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-03-17
Important suggestions in Regar d
TO Pruning the Peach

TO Pruning the Peach.
A. z. Hall, Nashville, Tenn, asked DR..
Hall, Alton, H., to state the advantages
to be derived from heading trees at what
is called ''half boot leg high" and con-
trast it with trees pruned TO clean trunks
high enough to admit of easy cultivation;
also to state how trees should be pruned
when they are of bearing size. In res
ponse DR.. Hall read a paper before the
Alton Horticultural Society from which
we extract what follows:
Peach trees may be pruned at any time
after the fan of the leaf and before
growth begins in the spring. Large
wounds, made by pruning, ought to be
covered with paint.
We will suppose our trees to be three
years old, with clean, straight trunks, the
lower branches starting out horizontally
from the main stem, and just high enough
to admit of team passing under them
without disbarking or rubbing them. We
call such tree low headed, and to our
mind, it is the only practical form for
OICudlu lltto. VIC dlC AWAIT llldt
throughout this country, as well as in
Southern Illinois and Missouri, with only
here and there an exception, peach trees,
on being planted in the orchard, are cut
back to what some of our horticultural
doctors call 'half-bOot-leg- high" thereby
forcing the young tree to push from
| three to six branches below the cut.
That we may best understanding the re-
spective merits of these two systems, we
place them in juxtaposition, thus:
/. Trees with one stem or trunk, of
the height we described, admit of clean
culture of the whole ground, by means of
horse power.
Trees cut ''half boot high" grow sew
| eral branches, each of which correspond
| to trunks. These soon spread so much as
to make cultivation of only a part of the
ground possible by means of horse power.
! 2. Trees of only one stem or trunk adj
NIT of the curculio catcher being run
under them.
Trees cut ''half boot leg high" so in
creases the labor of catching insects as to
make it impracticable.
| 8. Trees formed with single stems and
with horizontal branches are we'll clothed
with foliage.
Trees cut ''half boot leg high" have
but few small branches and foliage, except
on the outside.
4. Trees with single stems and horizon
tai branches have no forks to split down.
Trees cut ''half boot leg high" grow
their several stems in a vertical direction,
making as many crotches orforks as there
are leading stems or trunks. These break
OF split down under the weight of foliage
and fruit.
5. Peach trees grown with clean stems,
being well cultivated, are productive,
healthy and long-lived.
Trees cut back at the time of planting
''half boot leg high" being but poorly
cultivated, become unproductive, I'M
healthy and short-lived.
6. The trunks of trees when pruned,
as we have mentioned, are well shaded by
their horizontal branches.
The several trunks or stems of trees cut
''half boot leg high, are not better shaded
than are trees with single stems.
z. Trees with only one trunk admit
light and a free circulation under the
lowest branches, whereby the foliage ant
fruit is made as healthy on the lower as
on the other branches.
Trees cut "half boot leg high" whcI
in fruit, soon have their several trunks Of
stems bent down to horizontal position
and are thus brought in competition witt
weeds. In this condition the light anC
air are excluded, causing defoliation of thu
branches, discoloration and rotting of The
fruit.
The query is often made: GLOW shal
we prune our trees?" referring to thos'
which have many stems or trunks in plact
of one. If the trees are not more thar
three years old il will be generally posi-
bic for them to heal the wounds, if the
stems are cut away. In such cases We
advise the securing the most promisin!
branch in an upright position and binding
it TO a stake, or in place of a stake, Gu
back one of the superfluous stems to twt
OF three feet high, and make it a supper
for the branch that is left; then cut al
others away and cover the wounds Wit
paint or other impervious substance
Soon after growth commences, the branch
2 | secured in vertical position, will be
come fixed by the deposit of new WOODY
matter. Then the branch which sup
ported it may be cut away and tn
r. wounds painted. The sprawling toppe
/ tree is now changed to a form to adm
1 cf The same treatment that we prescrib
s for trees that were trained with clea
r stems.
g But when the trees are too large to he's
/ the wounds, our advice is to cut close
4 the ground. Depend on it, it is the be-
r possible style of pruning old trees tbs
It were headed at ''half boot leg high"
s We now come TO trees that have bee
f pruned to clean stems, high enough {
p admit of easy cultivation under the tree
Il But before we can hope to effect muC
Il good by pruning we must know what
r possible to be accomplished thereby.
e is true that much of the pruning that
e done is by persons who have but slig