The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1893-10-25
Peach { ulture.

on "Peach Culture in the South" and
while interested in it ! can not approve
his plan.
Peach trees do not require a very
rich soil. Thin, sandy-land, undertake
with gravel, produces fine peaches On
rich land there will be a fine growth
of the tree, but the fruit will rot.
Ashes and phosphate may be used to
advantage, but strong manures should
be avoided. He says person who con-
templates planting peach orchard
should always provide the variety that
is best adapted and has been tested by
some experienced horticulturist or
nursery man and not depend on
seedlings, as only one seed in
ten will produce fruit like
that from which it was taken. While
the truth is seven out of ten at least
will be the same, two bitter and posi-
bly, one not good. He shows the value.
of nursery stock when he says Craw-.
fords late does not ripen until Octo-.
Der, while it ripens in July, rarely as
late as August and comes in immedi-
ately after Crawford's early. Both of
these peaches have a red cheek; the
lemon peach does not, yet he seems to
think they are the same peach. The
true lemon peach, pure bred; that is
one that has never been grated does
ripen he says. in October, but it be-
longs to the Spanish variety, and was
il &c hundreds of years before Craw'
ford WAS born.
My plan of raising peaches is to get
seeds of the varieties that | want, make
hole in the ground four inches deep,
one hole for each variety, and put q
stake in one which is written the kind,
whether cling or free-stOne, large or
small, color, and time OF ripening.
Then | select the place for my or
chard. | want a hill, the higher the
better, and if it ha3 been worn out and
thrown out, and is grown up in sedge
grass and old field pines, no matter so
that the land is sandy, gravely, or
sandy loan, it will do. In August
1 cut everything down and burn
it as soon as dry enough. Then break
as deep as possible, and pillow
as soon as it is dry enough after every
rain. I save all the ashes 1 can, buy
ing the leached if can get no other,
pillow under in March,
In April my peach seed will begin to
sprout and [ lay off the land in checks
twenty feet wide and plant the seed as
soon as sprouted and cover four inches
deep with well rotted chip manure or
top soil from the woods.
If the land is not as large as is neces-
sary to plant all my seed I plant in
what is called a ''quincunX, that is
one ntree between every four, which
gives me more trees to the acre and
makes them no nearer together. I
drive stake down by each seed, lay
the land off in four feet rows for cot
ton, having no cotton in the row of
trees.
Then for the cotton make compost
of cotton seed and phosphate, put in the
drill at the rate of 400 pounds of the
first and 200 of the latter per acre. The
land can be cultivated, if necessary,
two years in cotton. The second year
SOW BUR- clover seed between the cot
ton rows the last of July or first Of
August, and run a 2o-inch sweep just
as shallow as possible. The Bur clover
will grow through the winter and die
down in May or June, when the land
can be sown in pease. Never transplant
tree that bears a stone fruit, for it
heads OFF the top root, and never graft
one, for it will soon decay.-C c. l..
Dill in SO11f ho1,7