North Carolina standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1850-1852, 1852-01-03

the seed. The Southern States are as well adapted
to the Pear as Belgium. / saw DIR. Camak, OF
Athens, exhibiting forty-fve varieties of Pears at
the Fair, atSAtlanta, all the produce of his own
orchard, and most of them Of superior quality.
One great advantage the Pear has over all other
fruits raised here, is its longer keeping qualities
which should commend it to the Southern cultlVa-
tors there are many varieties that may be Kept
through the whole winter, ripenng entirely in the
house, after picking. which will place the Pear hrst
on the list of Southern cultivated fruits. The Pear
needs little or no pruning, and to render 1t dwarf
in its habits graft it on Ounce stalks this IS par
ticularly we'll adapted to garden culture, and brings
them into bearing sooner than standard trees.
THE PEACH.
The Peach is native of Asia, and was first in
troduced into Europe by the Romans, and into this
country by the early settlers. 1t IS easily pfoPa-
gated either by seeds, cuttings grating. Peach
es come into bearing in this climate, from the seed,
in two and three years but as there is no certainty
of producing the same variety from seed, as the pa
rent tree cuttings grating must be resorted to-
In grating the Peach graft i'll roots OF Peach, Plum
or Apricot one year old, directed for the Apple;
this method of grating is easier than budding and
atooether superior; for as the graft is inserted be-
low the surface of the ground the whole tree is OF
the grated variety they will grow from SIX to eight
feet The first season. and will bear fruit the second
to swell pinch off all the blossom buds, and leave
the terminal and one side bud above the surface OF
the ground. A rich sandy loan, suits the Peach
best and imparts the finest flavor to the fruit The
great enemy to the Peach in this country IS the
Peach worm this is a worm much resembling
fiat head, which preys upon the tree near the roots
frequently eating entirely around the trunk, causing
death to the tree they may easily be detected by
the black gummy substance exuding around the
- aIoH
preventivcs recommended lime and ashes are good
preventives scrape away the earth around the base
of the tree, and fill it with some good air-sacked
lime or good fresh ashes renew this every spring
but where the worm has got already good hold, L
| have never found anything so effectual as boiling
water, turned from the spout of a tea-kettle be
careful and not apply too much water at a time, as
it might kill the tree; but moderate quantity,
not only kills all the eggs and worms, but seems
to invigorate the tree. The worm is produced by
fly, which deposits eggs in the bark around the
BASE and they hatch out white hatworm and
commence their work of destruction Immediately.
Another pest to Peach culture, is the worm in the
fruit, from the woolly down on the young Peach !;
the fruit is not as subject to the attacks of insects
as the Plum, and if hogs are allowed to run in the
Peach orchard they effectually keep down the in
Sect as they eat all the falling fruit destroying the
insect with it. A peach crop, to come to its high
|
duty as Corn or Cotton. The great fault with
Southern Peach culturists is they are not satisfied
with the yield of Peaches but they must annual
y crop the Peach orchard, and it must yield Corn
| or Cotton, as we'll as Peaches. A Peach orchard,
planted twenty feet each way, will require every
inch of soil i'll the intervening spaces for the roots
to perfect the trunk foliage, flowers and fruit and
every crop taken from Peach orchard, is just so
much taken from the productiveness of the trees.
This may be objected to by some, who have tried
some crops amongst their trees with apparent good
results but in cultivatng the crops the trees got
more culture than usual, and showed an increased
production the season when they were in the
turf If the trees bore better by cultivating crop
! amongst them, how much better would they bear
cultivated without the CROP 1t is we'll estab-
lshed fact that all grain crops positively inju-
rous to fruit trees. The proper time for pruning
in this climate is July the wound then heals quick
| ly, and as Peaches are only made on new wood it
is best to shorten in the branches to induce the
limbs to make new wood, which will give plenty
of fruit for next season. A serious difficulty the
Peach has to contend with here is the late Spring
! ffosts. The warm days of Winter swell the bud,
the first genial day of Spring it bursts forth in
its tenderness and beauty but to be blackened and
blighted by lingering frost For this reason,
Peaches should never be planted low, wet lands,
in the vicinity of streams of water, they are
much more liable to be killed by frost than when
planted on high and dry lands. As to varieties,
there are Seeding Peaches raised on many of our
plantations shat will compare favorably with any
of the gratis of France, and whoever may wish to
start Peach orchard need not 90 out of Georgia
for varieties. Peach seed should be planted imme-
dately after eating the fruit. 1t is frequently OBJ
served that selfplanted Peaches make the most
vigorous trees and the is, they had better
/ start.
i PLUMs.
There many varieties of native Plulns found
in this country, but the finer varieties of cultivated
P1ums were introduced from the South of Europe.
The Plum, like the Peach may be propagated from
Seeds or by grafts-seeds where new varieties are
wanted, and gratis where old established kind
} is to be propagated. Graft below the ground, as
directed for the Apple in roots of the Plum, Peach
or Sloe of one years growth ; and if grated from
healthy fruit bearing tree the graft will produce
fruit the third year. The Plum tree will grow in
almost any soil, and is very luxuriant in light
sandy soil but to produce fruit it must have stiff
heavy slay, or a loan with clay sub-soil The
great enemy of the fruit is the CurcuEo, or Plum
Weevil. This is brown bug. or beetle, about the
size Of pea bug, which makes its appearance about
the time the fruit is forming in the bloom The bug
has proboscis, and makes puncture in the young
fruit III the form of crescent in this he deposits
an egg, the wound soon heals the egg matches out
worm, and the worm eats inwardly until it reach
es the kernel when the fruit drops he now eats his
way out, burrows in the ground, where he goes
through chrysais state. and the next spring comes
out Curculio, ready for his work of destruction