The Opelousas courier., 1901-01-12
Peach Growing in shogsoutla.

reIlSQed Iudu IuG pSdSA' AASAC; ~
hardly an acre Of tillable soil inbthe
United States where some Of thes nu-
merous varieties Of this deliciousef ruit
cannot be successfully grown.
During the present year by farpthe
largest r Of this fruit ever PRO
duced here has been4.marketed with
more or less Of profit to- the growers.
Over large areas insect; depredations
and fungoid diseases have provedi es-
pecially disastrous, yet, taking the
country as a whole, while there is
nothing to encourage e~xtravagant
hopes Of profit, it may be safely said
that there Is nothing to suggest dis"
enlargement.
Sc far as many portions Of thejSouth
are concerned, the outlook for peach
growing is unusually hopeful. Hither-
to we have had everything to encour.
age the industry, except one, and that
is a nearby sale for the fruit. Just
] now, In a quiet way, and in a great
many places, an Industrial revolution
is in progress which promises to
change all this. The marketssare coms
ing this way. Every cotton factory
every mill, every furnace OF foundry
or machine shop Of any kind means
more mouths to feed and more home
demand for fruit, and, when that
"good time coming is here, it will be
here to stay, and the day Of giving
two-thirds OF every bushel Of peaches
grown to the railroads and trusting
'Iuck" and commission men for the
other third, will only be remembered
as an unhappy incident Of early and
bye-gone days.
Whenever, therefore, the rapid
growth Of cities, especially manufac.
turing cities, promises a home market.
the peach grower may consider his
prospects especially good, and those
who are first to take advantage Of
such favorable conditions may expect
the largest rewards. .
Those who are contemplating the
planting Of new peach orchards can
not be too careful in the selection OF
soil. preparation Of the ground, and
the choice of varieties to be grown. So
far as the first is concerned, a sandy
loan with a clay subsoil and good
drainage give best results. The prep.
aration Of the soil can hardly be too
thorough. If the ground selected has
been previously cultivated, 1t should
be well plowed, narrowed, and, IL not
already rich, moderately fertilized In
the late summer or autumn before the
trees are set. II a crop Of cow peas
has Just been grown on the land so
much the better. A great deal depends
on the way the trees are planted. This
work should never be trusted to Or
binary farm laborers. Healthy and
vigorous trees q year old should be
selected, shortened in to not more than
two feet Of stem to encourage low
branching. A good soaking Of water
should be given at the time of planting
and a mulch Of straw, pine needles or
some other moisture holding material
should at once be applied.
Those who plant a peach orchard
with the expectation that it win care
for itself after it is set out, had bet
ter abandon the business before they
begin. No fruit tree responds more
promptly to care and proper culture
or is more certain to resent inattena
ton and neglect. Clean culture, alum
dant fertilization, careful and SYSTEM
attic pruning and a vigilant and de-
termined fight with insect pests and
fungoid diseases are the essential con-
ditions of q favorable result.
The selection Of proper varieties for
any given locality is also a matter re-
luiring the utmost care. Almost every
Seach growing region has special eli.
matte and other conditions, which
make it unwise to depend upon the
advice Of men at a distance. The eS-
p~erience of local growers is always
worthy Of attention, and generally to
be preferred to those which, however
good a showing they may make else
where, have yet to prove their fitness
for the particular region for which the
selection is to be made.
Probably the greatest mistakes that
are likely to be made by peach grow
ers are in the matter of fertilization.
The peach tree is blessed with a vigor.
Jus appetite and it will consume and
make profitable use of about all the
plant food that the most liberal grow
er will supply. OF course, no general
prescription will answer for all soils.
but in most cases a half pound OF so
Of a fertilizer containing four OF five
per cent. Of nitrogen, eight OR nine OF
3hosphoric acid and ten Of potash may
adyantageously be worked into 'the
Soil, a yard OF so in all directions
around the tree where it is first plant
ed. Each spring a fertilizer Of similar
character should be given in increas.
ing proportions, until, when. the tree is
III full bearing at five O. six years OF
age. as much as a ton or even a ton
ami a ha!f per acre Of such a fertiliz'
n may he probably employed.
When there is a fair market for the
4, MT, peach, growing, thus conducted,
atll always prove a paying business.
Otherwise managed, or rather misman.
-ged, it will be likely to be anything
Tut renuneratiye.-Norman Robinson,
Southern Pines, N. C.
That imam gets used to anything
Aas been shown again by the extra
ordinary cases Of GOODNESS under fire
nc the front in the South African war.
At Labuschagns's mex a private in the
deadly zone Of fire tore open a letter