Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1888-12-28
FACTS ABOUT PEACHES.
Reasons Why the Best OF the Fruit Move,
Reaches the Market.

NHl tut btft OF the frult NGVcp
Reaches the Market.
"Where did the peach originateP"
asked the reporter Of Delaware fruit
grower.
mo one knows for certainty,
though its origin is generally credited
TO Persia; some careful Investigators
conclude it To be really II native OF
China. 1t is one OF the fruits earliest
cultivated; some botanical writers
think 1t is derived from the almond;
the stain kernel AMI the leaves, you
know, have a bitter almond twang, the
kernels in both are often double, aud
II Is rather curious fact that the
peach is not mentioned in the Bible,
while reference TO the almond is fire.
quent.
"The peach grows in every place,
but 1t is only in this country that good
peaches are cheap enough for poor
people to buy. and only in regions ad-
joining good peach sections is this true
here. First-class fruit is'seldom. even
in the best seasons, sold cheap in the
Middle or Western States. Plenty of
peaches are shipped but the best sell
high. New York is favored city
They're cheap enough here for any
body. / Isuppose no fruit has so many
extravagant lovers as the peach.
"Some persons would like it better
II It had a smooth skin have little
girl who won't eat n peach unless it is
peeled for her, and she can't be in
duced TO handle them in the basket;
says the fuZz sets her all on edge,
like sour apple does your teeth.
"Tbe peach tree is not naturally
short-liyed, though il is subject to so
many misfortuncs that it has gained
that reputation. There are trees in
Virginia well on TO Il hundred years
old, and there .ds one in France
thought to be older.
"The stem-kernel. and not the stem
itself, is the seed. Fruit is usually
borne the fourth year after the stem is
planted, though sometimes In sixteen
months. The seeds rarely produce
their own variety. so that numberless
new sorts are all the time growing;
some Of these will thrive anywhere,
others only in the locality which has
developed them. Most OF the standard
varieties in this country have originat-
ed hore.
"ln places where the climate is too
cold for outdoor growth the peach is
grown in houses. These peach houses
uro not heated, protection from the
outer air being sufficient. The trees
are some times planted in tubs, and
kept trimmed down to about three
feet; when these are full Of fruit they
are mighty pretty 20 look at. There
are some fine peach houses in this
country. but more In Europe. The
tree is trained on walls there, too, To
protect it.
1.-The best peaches never reach mar
lIot. A peach is not perfect unless
ripened on the tree, but II We were to
pack them ripe they would be rotten
when opened; even one soft one in
crate will spoil the lot, so we have to
nick them when hard. Did you ever
notice baskets with small green
branches OF the tree at top and bot
tom? Those are 'sprigged." The
choice peaches are marked that way.
When the fruit is all gathered from an
orchard we fertllizo and plow the
ground and prune the tree.
"The amount OF peaches canned Is
something tremendous. The process
is iust the reverse of the kitchen
method. A woman heats the fruit,
then cans it, but in the factory 1t is
canned. and then heated to expel the
mir.
"Some peach trees bear double How
sre bea,itifnl as roses, but the fruit is
no GOOD. The dwarf peach is a queer
little tree that bears fruit when only
one or two feet high. The weeping
neach is a handsome lawn treei the
fruit is only good for cooking. The
branches droop like those of the weep
ing willow; it was originated by a New
Jersey man. The blood-leaved peach
is wonderfully strong in spring, but the
leaves bleach out In summer.
"The queerest fruit produced by the
peach comes from China. One sort is
called the crooked peach, but it's SO
sweet 1t can afford to be crookedi tho
other has the pulp all on the Sides the
ends of the stem have nothing over
them but skin. That's the fiat peach
or peen-to. M Y. Telegram.