The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1895-10-19
HOW TO RAISE GOOD PEACHES.

All fruit growers gene: ally &C.
knowledge the fact that potash is a
considerable factor in making perfect
peaches, and never has this been more
forcibly brought home to US than it is
this year when we have such an
abundant crop of them here in West
Florida, the home ofthe peach.
I have been experimenting on
certain lires in fertilizing my peach
trees and in my orchard Just now any
Ole can get an Object lesson as to re-
suIts. Trees treated exclusively to
heterogeneous fertilizers show con-
siderable gro9th Of wood and beau
tiful looking trees, but The fruit that
is on them is Of ~ infcli3v quality
and from Two 10 three weeks later
than trees treated with potash. Those
trees treated with potash exclusively
show but little wood growth and not
so much fruit but what is oft, is Of
the very best quality. The best re-
suits are from trees fertilized with
phosphorie acid and potash and sui
phste OF potash gives superior fruit to
muriate ofpotash.
have two Elberta peach trees in
my orchaod painted three years age
that measure fourteen inches in cir
cumference at the butt. They have
been heavily fertilizcd with nitro
genous materials but :he fruit on those
trees is not the half in proportion to
their size of what the trees fertiliZed
with potass and phosphoric acid have.
In setting out peach orchard l
like to dig The wholes just as large as
! can afford 10 do, four feet in diane
ter is small enough, six would be
better. The first two years Of the
tree. ,.::.:stence in the orchard it ought
to be encouraged to make all the
growth possible, therefore it is not
necessary 10 use potash at all; but the
fall before they are expected to bear
fruit, potash should be applied in ac=
cor3ance with the size of the trees.
I use about pound of sulphate of
potash to each three year old tree and
increase tue quantity every year as
the tree grows older; but when it
happens, as it often does here, that a
late spriug frost cuts off our crop it is
not necessary 10 use potash that year
as The Tree will use only lust what it
needs and no more. Potash alone I
fpd to be disappointing in results but
judiciously mixed with phosphoric
acid don't know OF any one thing
that gives better returns for the money
invested.
A we'll kept peach orchard if the
soil is Of an ordinary good character
does not require any nitrogenous
tertiliz n at ali after it gets to the bear
ing age. What l mean by well kept
is an orchard where everything iu the
shape of weeds, grass ETC., is rlowed
under several times year, and cult
7ation is kept up during the growing
. rod; as we cannot make crop OF
| fruit without cultivation no more than
we can make crop of corn without
cultivation. Cultivation in every case
being the key to success.
Here in the South we have two
growing seasons and any one can see
BY examining the trees that this is so
| The first period begins in The spring
and by the middle of June all Wooc
growth ceases, but by the beginning
Of August new growth begins anc
ex, ends to October or later. If tbi!
last growth is encouraged by using
nit: ogenous fertilizers it will make
the wood too soft and the buds. tot
tender 10 stand tie winter, it is theI
that the potash gets in its work as i
tends to make the wood already made
Of a more robust character and being
a rot feeder it makes the tree thrift,
ard hardy aud able to come through
the winter all right; for YOU mus
understand that our fruit buds do no
have a winter jacket in Florida as the.
have ii lbe Northern states; and OF
that account we have to be careful t
make our fall growth Of wood g
hardy as possible BY stopping al
cultivation after the middle OF Jul.
and applying potash late in the fall t
give the roots something 10 work 0
all winter and in the spring the tire
will come out all smiling and read
; for business with the results that "
get better crop than by waiting Il
, spring before applying the potasl
n ,,h fon hp 0ntIlJpI