Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1881-10-07
Agricultural.
what varieties Of Apples Can be
Grown in Vermont l---Peaches.


Grown I'm Vermont i---Peaches.
By the introduction Of hardy varieties
adapted to the climate, DIR. t. II. Hoskins
has done much to encourage fruit culture in
northern Vermont. He complains that the
award at the state fair for the "best ten va.
rieties OF apples for Vermont, embracing a
succession from the earliest to the latest
keepers, value of varieties as well as perfec-
ton of specimens to be considered" was Civ.
en- for kinds that can only be successfully
grown in the southern part of the state, and
not even there in the mountainous regions.
Among the varieties of apples that cannot be
proftably grown in the greater part of this
state in fact that can be proftably grown
only in few limited and favored localities
not extending over more than a tenth part of
the state, we are somewhat surprised that
Dr. Hoskins mentions Baldwins, Greetings
and Russets
Gas a matter of fact" he says, "the best
apples for Vermont are such as can be grown
most successfully and proftably in Vermont.
In the southern or small end of tho state, up
as far as Windsor in the Connecticut valley
and as far as Shelburn on the shore of Lake
Champlain, the standard apples of southern
New England, of which the Baldwin, the
Rhode Island Greening and the Roxbury
Russet are types, can be grown with success
But the area upon which this can be done to
profit embraces only small fraction of the
total area of Vermont-probably less than
one.tenth All of the state north of Burling-
ton and White River Junction in the two
valleys, and the whole mountain region from
south to north, is unable to produce that
class of apples proftably. In the whole
northern, or big end, of the state it is as i'm
possible to grow Baldwins, Greetings and
Russets for market as it is to grow peaches in
the south part"
We were not before aware that our section
of the state was so favored above the larger
part of it, as n fruit growing region. There
is no difficulty in growing Baldwins, Green
ings or Russets even in the mountain towns
of Windham county. Thousands of bushels
of these varieties, more than could fnd
market were grown in this county last year.
If they could not be proftably grown, it was
because the yield was so large. Many farm
ers having more than they knew what to do
otherwise with, fed them out to cattle or
made them into cider. Neither is it altogeth-
er impossible, as DIR. Hoskins supposes, to
raise peaches for market, in the south part
of the state. Whether they can be generally
grown here at profit may be questioned,
but there is no question that they have been
grown here at profit in some cases. The
town of Guilford was once famous for its
peach orchards, and peaches are grown there
still, though not as abundantly as in former
times. In passing through portion of the
town few weeks ago, we saw a fine, large
peach tree with its branches bending with
the burden of fruit. The following item
from West Brattleboro, which appeared in
the local columns of a late number of THE
PHOENIX, we commend to the attention of
DIR. Hoskins to whom, living by the cold wa
tiers of lake Memphremagog where only the
hardest varieties of apple trees will live and
bear fruit, it may present an agreeable con-
trast:
Mr.. Francis Lynde's crop of peaches will
amount to about 300 bushels. They are
mostly shipped to Springfield, Mass. Mr..
Lynde has about 1000 trees in bearing, cover.
ing something more than two acres of ground,
and about every other year gathers a good
crop from them. Trees in his orchard sc
years old are still in bearing.
That these trees should be alive and pro
duce fruit the season following one of the
severest winters ever known-a winter thai
killed many of the peach trees in Delaware,
Maryland and New Jersey, encourages the
belief that it is not so difficult to grow hardy
varieties of peaches here as has been sup
posed. If we had as good pomologist al
DIR. Hoskins in this part of the state, to d.
as much towards introducing hardy varieties
of the peach with fruit of good quality, az h,
has done to introduce new kinds of apples
adapted to the climate of the northern par
of the state, we might perhaps have hard,
variety of the peach that could be grow
here with reasonable certainty of success.