The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1882-08-18
Growing Peaches,

aNWhS AONehOof
tAvoRrTE PEACHES present
season will give all interested in such
matters an opportunity to test the
merits of various sorts of peaches
The standard sorts for orchard culture
are Troths Early Red, George the
Fourth, Honest John, Crawfords
Early, Red Rareripe, Old Mixen Free,
Stump. the world, Susquehanna, Mag
mum Bonum, Crawford's late, Druid
Hill Smock, and Health Cling. The
Susquehanna is shy bearer, but its
fine size will make up for lack of
quality. As q rule, the yellow peaches
sell the best. The fourth, eighth,
ninth and twelfth on the list are of
that description.
Peaches do best in light soil il on
a heavy soil they grow too vigorously
and the fruit will rot While they
will not succeed as generally as the
apple, there are many localities where
they will do very well on the margin
of lake or river they are tolerably
sure crop, where the late spring frosts
are wardcd off by the influence of the
water or planted on north hill side,
where the trees will be late bio ssoming
in the spri The peach could be
more extensively grown in the North
ern States than it is. There is pop.
ular fallacy that they will not thrive
generally. Every farmer should grow
enough for his own use at least
PEACu TREES OvERBEARING.- The
permitting of peach trees to bear i'm
mense crops of fruit is very serious
evil. To It may be charged the most
of the diseases of the peach. The
trees are weakened, and thus become
easy prey to the diseases which destroy
them. To guard against overbearipg
the trees should be shortened, in, say
in February or March, cut away
about one-half of the wood formed the
previous year and keep the interior
branches well thinned out, and the
extra fine quality of the fruit will well
repay the labor of this work since in
any season when peaches are plentiful,
the markets are glutted with small in
ferior fruit, while that of fine quality
will sell at any time for good prices.
Besides this, when the fruit is about
half grown, the trees should be care.
fully gone over and if the fruit is
clustered too thickly all needed should
be pulled off. This process gives bet
ter fruit and keeps the tree healthy.
RoTrING OF EARLY PEAcHEs.--It is
desirable thing to have early peaches,
say ripe in July in Pennsylvania, but
those about to plant should remember
that there seems but little exception to
the rule that all the early sorts are
subject to the rot. Alexander, Hale's
early and others like them, frequently
lose from third to two thirds of their
fruit from this cause. In Il paper read
before the Pennsylvania State Horti-
cultural Society, the following passage
occurs
"My object in this paper more than
anything else, is to bring before this
Society some questions connected with
peach growing that appear to me to be
very Important and on which light is
very much needed, and one of these
is, the subject of the universal rotting
OF all the early varieties | wish to
ask, first, is there good variety
earlier than Mountain Rose or Early
York, that don't all rot before ripen-
ing? Second, does any one know the
reason why, or can anybody throw any
light on the question, why all the early
varieties rot, when later ones in the
same ground and same kind of wealth
er, do not?"
Early peaches pay market-men bet
ter than late ones and this must be set
off against the failing of the trees in
regard to dropping their fruit.
PEACH YELLows.-The cultivation
of the peach is becoming so general
through the country that any informa-
ton concerning it is of interest, and
profitable reading. We have thus
been tempted to find room for the fol-
lowing remarks of Mr.. Harris, made
before the New York Horticultural
Society:
"Had invested pretty largely in a
peach orchard, and found those best
cultivated least afflicted Had made
up my mind that it is disease that
commences in the roots. Knew a
sweeping wind, in the fall, to blow
over number of peach trees they
were set up again, and when they bore
the next year, every one had the yell
lows. Has twenty-five acres in peach
cs, and has lost but few from yellows;
thinks he had but three trees affected
last year, and rooted them out; thinks
it passes from tree to tree. The first
diseased tree he had allowed to stand
two years, when he dug it up and
planted another in its place, and it has
stood there two years, and is free
from yellows. Buy good healthy
trees and then cultivate well; don't
plow deep near the tree, but half way
between plow deep, cutting off roots,
and new feeders will start out"
All may not agree as to the advisa-
bility of blowing off any roots. But
all may be sure that the peach will
well ypnay oil tha cara ,y;yan to II 70