Southern planter : devoted to agriculture, horticulture, and the ...

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THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 397
drops in the tube of the thermometer dowxi to
14° or 15° below zero ; the germ of the bud
a little peach in every sense of the word, just
fiiirly organized—can not withstand this condition
of the weather (15° behnv zero) and conse-
quently dies ;
andwhen the weather " shackens
up," or grows more moderate, the small miniature
peach turns black, and never again recovers
from the stroke it has received. The tree,
which has grown rapidly, the shoots of which
are vigorous and juicy, also receives a death
stroke many times through intensely cold weather,
when the thermometer indicates a condition
of the atmosphere 15° or 20° below zero.
There is a point in almost every thing beyond
which it will not do to go. The peach tree in
our more northern climates is particularly subject
to be killed by frost, and there are counties
in New York State where the peach can
not be raised, the country being too .frosty. On
high elevations it seems to do the best. AVe
hear it reported that in Northern Illinois the
people have not raised many, if any peaches,
within the last tM'O or three years. Wh}'- is
this? Plainly because the weather was too cold
for the trees to recover from its effects in the
spring. 1'he apple and other trees also have
died in that State, as well as in Wisconsin.
Now, we have a large peach orchard, and in
the winter of 1856, the weather being venj cold,
thousands of branches died, and 1 removed
them in the spring. Our apple trees also suffered
amazingly hereabouts. Indeed, we really
thought that a new system of the laws of nature
had dawned upon us, so poorly did many
of our quince, apple, peach and other trees
look. Sometimes, very many times, fruit buds
are killed in consequence of the cause which
you mention, namely, " a sudden freezinrj after
mild icecdlitr," but I believe this is not tlie case
so frequently as through intensely cold weather.
A peach blossom, or any other blossom, will
stand quite a little frost, and yet the fruit will
not be materially injured. Now, for instance,
I have been making an examination of some of
our peach buds. I notice that about two-thirds
of them are dead this season, while Avhat re-
main look very well. AVhere the west wind I
struck the most severely during the 24th of!
February, or about that time, mercury being
about 8° or 10° below zero, at that point the'
buds are more frequently dead than on the east I
side of the limbs or trees. Immediateily after;
the cold "snap," I went into the orchard and
j
made the examination, and the buds turned outi
to be dead as above mentioned. We all havej
our peculiar notions about these matters, but I
know that a shoot on a tiee which has had a
rapid growth during the summer, is most likely
to suffer from the cold of a subsequent winter
on account of its tender organization. Now, a
tree that is thoroughly acclimated, a native of
the country, will stand the winter much better
than some of " those celebrated imported varieties''
from France, &c. We can not raise the
j
" raisin grape" with any kind of success in
New York, and it dees not grow very well, I
believe, in the southern part of Ohio. From
the; e observations, if they be mainly true, it
will be seen at once that the weather has its
perceptible effects upon trees and their organizations,
and that fruit buds must die on peach
trees when tb.e thermometer indicates from 1,2°
to 15° below zero. Apple tree buds are more,
hardy, and will come out safe many times whe