St. Landry democrat., 1889-10-12
Peach Fellows.
WHY NOT GET VARIETIES FROM
TURKESTAN

WHY NOT GET VARIETIES FROM
TURKEsTAN?
I have read carefully the review OF the
peach yellows subject by Prof. Bailey, ana
it may suggest thoughts or prompt some
beneficial action if jot down some notions
l have long held in regard to potato rot ana
peach yellows.
The older readers of the Amae7Tc0n Gar-
den will remember that the potato rot,
number of years ago, made pretty nearly d
clean sweep of the old varieties OF Europe
and America Scientists and sclentlnc
commissions gave much time and thoughI
to the mysterious disease, but It's faVages
increased until the culture of this llhpof-
tant tuber for profit became question LOT
doubt. In the meantime Rev. Chauncey
Goodrich, of Utica, n. Y, announced, IN
the report of the New York Agricultural
Society in 1847, the belief that the disease
grew out of the lowered vitality OF the
potato as the result of long culture IN Gil
mates not altogether congenlaL ana
methods Of propagation and culture noI
wholly natural. AS a remedy he proposed
the introduction of seeds or tubera from
their primal home in Peru and Chill from
which to start, by Seeding product1on'
His idea was ridiculed by those who be-
lieved that the bacterial disease was the
sole cause of the trouble. AS lie failed to
enlist others in the work he introduced
tubers from Bogota, Chilli and Peru, at an
expense he could lily afford, and soon com
menced the distribution of such varieties
as Garnet, Chill, Early Goodrich, Cuzco,
ETC., TO parties in Europe and America.
To ha Of
these new sorts retained sound foliage and
tubers when grown on infected ground
and among infected varieties of the old
stock, and to- day it can be shown that the
popular varieties of the north temperate
zone are direct descendants from those in
troduced by Mr.. Goodrich, or from other:
introd uced recently by Vilmorin of France
from Chill and Peru.
In like manner we have reason to be
lieve that the yelows of the peach comes
mainly or wholly from lowered vitality
brought about by long culture in climates
Who'll y unlike that Of it's primal home Ii
! Asia, and methods of propagation no
wholly natural.
A little investigation will exhibit th'
fact that the climate of Bokara and Tark-
estan differs as much from that of New
Jersey or the vicinity of Baltimore, as doe
that of Peru and Chilli from the climate o
Utica, N. Y. Be there something or moth
ing in this idea, the trouble and cost OF {
taial will not be great. Our Department
of Agriculture, through the I. 5. Consu
at Teheran, could easily secure pits from
Turkestan and Bokara.
| suggest these points, as the bes
peaches of Persia are grown too near TIL
Caspian, and the climate is too much MOD
fled by the soft westerly winds from TIN
| Mediterranean.
As to the inherent vitality and size ant
quality of the peaches of Turkestan, an
their methods of propagation, DR., A
Regel, who has spent months in that re-
gion, and who has tested the best peache
of South France and Italy, says: ''ln tn
district of Darvas in Turkestan, the peacl
forms trees 80 feet high with broad tops
The rough-skinned, giant peachds are
unsurpassed 1usciousness and aroma, an
they attain the size Of an ordinary apple
The number of rough-s kinned kinds
Kalaichurub is considerable. The youn
plants are grown from seed Throughout
central Asia without grating"
Through the caravan traders, our con
sui at Teheran could get pits from thes
peaches and also of the yellow peache
of what DR.. Regel calls the ''Bokariots.
At the great fair at Mini Novgorod,
was told by traders that in Persia, Bokars
Turkestan and Afghanistan, the buddin
or grating of .b 7 peach was not known
vet the quality was so high that their dr.
peaches outranked the best from Sout
France and Italy. saw tons of this fru
on the Volga, and from the sizs of tn
dried pieces, and the quality of the saue
made from them, concluded that Reg'
was not far from right il his high estimate
Even though it should prove that there
nothing in my belief that peaches of TIL
parentage will not be subject to yellow
it will yet prove profitable investigate
at our stations.
We cannot aid in the work, as these be
peaches of South Turkestan will not gro
in this section. We are working on an
other line by trying the peaches from tt
most northerly points at which the peac
is grown in China and central Asia. Son
of these have grand foliage, are as hard
a tree as the Ben Davis apple, and the fru
+ is far better than we had reason to expec
As we are fruiting several varieties til
: year, ill report later their real status
to size and quality. do not believe the
northern sorts would be liable to the We
lows, yet they would prove less perfect
= tree and fruit in the regular peach section
than the giant rough skinned peache:
of southwest Turkestan.-J. L. Budd,
Iown Agricultural College, m Anaerac0