The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1901-10-10

peaches. The crop throughout the
"a u.,x whole country 10
~ estimated to be
about 75,OO0,0 900
bushels, and rather over than under
that amount. The prolonged drought
in some parts of the country has af-
fected it somewhat, but not to any
great extent, and the hot weather OF
July has helped to atone for the back
ward summer in developing the fruit,
says the New York Sun. Finer peaches
and larger quantity of them to the
acre are being produced every year,
and this Is due not only to careful til
lage and cultivation, but also to ruth
less thinning of the fruit when it first
appears on the trees. The old-fash-
ioned peach grower would have
thought it tsheer lunacy tocut OFF three
fourths of the peaches just as they
were beginning to develop. Yet it is by
just that method that more bushels of
peaches are now being produced from
the trees than they would bear If they
were not interferred with, and the
fruit is improved and brings higher
price. Another important point about
thinning out the fruit is that as L re-
suit of the operation only one-fourth
OF the usual number of peach stones is
Il
these is the greatest drain upon the
vitality of the trees, Il profitable econ
omy Is effected and regularity of yield
from season To season is promoted.
The peach came from China originally
and reached Europe by way of Persia
and America by way of England and
Holland, The peach season now has
been greatly heightened by the ship
ment to our markets in refrigerator
cars, sent at express speed, of south
ern and California peaches. Immense
tracts in Georgia are now solely occu-
pied by peach orchards, a single one
of which will pack and ship more than
5000 peaches a day in July, which is
the height of the season down there.
1t isn't necessary any longer, in these
days of refrigerator cars, TO pick the
fruit before it has come to its full ma
turity, and trust to it ripening on the
way to market after it is picked. The
peaches are allowed to ripen on the
trees and are picked so far $ possible
just before they begin to soften. The
pickers are trained to know the right
stage at n glance. Every peach, as
everybody knows, has its sunny and
its shady side. 1t is by the hue of the
shady side that the degree of ripeness
is judged. To insure al the peaches
getting the benefit of the sun the or
chard is divided by straight avenues in
to rectangular blocks. After the
peaches are picked they are sorted in
to three grades, according to quality.
This is expert work. Outside of the
three grades all peaches overripe for
shipment are put aside for the evap-
orator. and the grower makes his profit
on them dried. Scientific gardeners
are trying to introduce into this coun-
try some of the peach-growing meth
DDS of France and England, which pro-
duce wonderful peaches, though few.
Over there peach trees are usually
trained fiat against wall with
southern exposure or on a trellis foot
or SO away from such wall, and only
few branches of each tree are allowed
to grow. Then most of the peaches on
these as soon as the fruit develops
from the flower are cut Off, only o
dozen or two, sometimes a score at
most, being allowed to develop. Such
peach tree as this doesn't look much
like a tree. But the few peaches that
are allowed to ma ture on ii are marvels
of beauty and juicness, and half doz-
en- of them in cottou-lined basket
cost from three TO eight dollars in the
markets.