The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1894-02-03
Ghe 8armer.
The Growing of Fruit.


At recent meeting Of the Farmers
Club At Trenton, New Jersey, the following
paper by Mr.. G. $. VOORHEES,, of Mine
Brook, n j. one of the prize winners with
peaches at the Worlds Fair, attracted
much attention, and has been widely pub
lished:
My experience, lie said, goes back about
1G years In the spring of 1877 an old
nurseryman, having failed to sell all of his
trees, adopted the plan of peddling his sur
plus stock to his neighbors. His price was
five cents apiece, and he made me believe
it was good bargain to get six for quar-
ter. 10 hear him talk one could imagine
that he was eating the fruit before the
trees were set With the consent Of my
mother / purchased Il half:dozen trees
With my fathers help the trees were set
three in the yard and three along the fence
where | thought they would be out of the
way, and where it was impossible ever to
get near enough to them to cultivate them
Father evidently then did not know more
than | did about peach-growing. Like a
good many other boyish fancies, the trees
were soon forgotten They showed lack
of care. Only one ever bore Il peach 1t
gave two baskets one year and then died.
That first failure | attributed to lack OF
four essentials: Lack of cultivation, lack
of grubbing or worming, lack of fertilizer
lack Of pruning.
The farm on which gained my expert
ence is 10 miles from the county seat; the
soil gray gravel the whole 80 acres now
set being practically of the same nature
The trees have been set as follows: 1881
1000; 1882, $50; 1883, 40; 1884, 1900;
1885, 200; 1890, 1900. In 1858 severe
freeze killed about 400 trees on the north
ern slope of one field We have in bear
ing since 1884, 1900 trees. Since 1884,
the first year, we have picked $4,000 bas-
kets, an average Of 1000 baskets a year.
In 1890 the buds We're killed by "A late
frost, and that year was the only one we
did not gather a good crop. Even then
we had 80 baskets for home use.
Cultivation of orchards with pillow hav-
ing proved tedious and disagreeable task
we invented cultvator, which worked ad-
mirably, and with one or two exceptions
there has not been pillow in the orchard
since the time named Our way has been,
lust as soon as the frost is out of the ground
in the spring, and the ground is fit to work,
to start the cultivator and keep it going at
intervals until harvest. The soil is stirred
as frequently as possible, a single orchard
being cultivated as many as ten times. In
this way the land is kept thoroughly clean,
and the shade of the trees prevents the
growth of weeds. This method of cult
walton our experience teaches is the proper
one. When cultivation is delayed until
after planting time the so-called June drop
is much heavier, while with our way we
have never known this. The reason is by
surface cultivation the little tendrillS
through which the trees feed retain the
maximum power to secure food. In the
other case these tendrils will be cut and
injured. As result in two days or two
weeks we have the June drop because the
trees cannot get sufficient food to further
develop all the fruit.
The pest with which peach growers have
TO deal is the borer 1t is absolutely neces-
sary that these be destroyed, either by
taking them out with knife, or, by APP
plying some penetrating solution around
the trees. Our practice has been to hoe
and grub the trees, both summer and fall,
early in june and in October. While this
does not insure the trees against all dam
age it prevents their entire destruction.
last summer we used mixture of carbolic
acid, salt, lye and sulphur This mixture
is certainly strong enough to kill all the
worms if it comes in contact with them.
Our experience in the use Of fertilizers
is quite varied They were used rather
sparingly at first, but when an orchard of
1000 trees, four years old, yielded 200
baskets Of fine fruit serious drain was
made on the food elements in the soil, and
as natural consequence the trees looked
less thrifty. Through the advice OF Pro-
fessor Voorhees, the amount of fertilizer
applied was largely increased and trees
that many other growers had said were
diving of the yellows and would never bear
again revived and have not failed of crop,
save in 1890. The lesson was plain one,
and from that time until now the food ele-
ments have been provided in still larger
proportions. 1t is my belief that the dis
ease of yelows in peach culture Is due very
largely to the insufficient supply Of food.
In the season of 1892 we harvested 1000
baskets and so heavily were the trees loaded
that many visitors said they could not
stand the strain and yield another crop.
To avoid such result, in November of the
same year We applied 2O0O pounds OF Re
ter Cooper bone and $50 pounds of acid
phosphate per acre, thus providing the trees
with an abundance of potash and phos-
phoric acid for their early spring growth.
And the season of 1898 saw more vigor-
Gus and healthy appearing tree than the
season that preceded it and developed
finer crop of fruit.
One result was observed in experiment
ing with clover As has been noted, In
1890, all the buds were destroyed. That
spring one field of Is acres, containing the
setting of 81, 80, and So, was cultivated
as usual, and seeded to clover; the whole
field had been lined the preceding year
Ii was marvellous how that clover grew
it even We'd with the clover our father;
like to tell Of The next May there was
more clover on that field. acre for acre
that could be found on any meadow fol
miles around. Now, what to do with 1t
whether to let it 90 down as a mulch oil
pillow under, or what? Something mus
be done, for the trees appeared decided,
unhealthy. They were evidently being
robbed Of their nourishment About jun
LIST the clover was plowed under In tw'
weeks time the orchard changed from
sticky yellow to the most luxuriant peacll
green. and has continued so each succeed
Ing year. Il had been left too long, how
ever, to save the crop for that season
Either the trees had been deprived o
nourishment so long as to loosen the gree
fruit, or the theory spoken of in connection
with cultivation received additional proof