The Savannah morning news., 1902-07-27
PEACHES SOLD HIGH
GOOD PRICES OBTAINED BY THE
GEORGIA GROWERS.
AVERAGE OF SIPS A CRATE
WE'RE THE NET RETURNS RE-
CEIVED BY MAI. G. NJ. RIVALS.

ments From Worth County-MOve-
ment From Fort Valley and That
Portion of the Peach Belt Now at
Its Hight-Growcrs Cutting Back
Their Trees After Shipping the
Crop-Maj. Ryals Thinks the San
Jose Scale Shows IA Decrease-Re-
CARDS Brown Rot us the Greatest
! Enemy to the Peach.
Peaches have been bringing a very
good price this season." said Maj. G.
Nj. Ryals, who has just returned from
his orchards in Worth county. yes$er
day. Those we marketed averaged
about S1.25 a crate, net, which means
a comfortable profit.
I'VE shipped by express and We
! shipped in refrigerator cars. The
peaches all stood shipment very we'll
| and arrived in good condition. Tnev
were in demand in the Northern mar
kets, and this kept the prices up to a
! figure that enabled the growers to reap
some profit
A car of peaches usually contains
about $50 crates. The best results OBJ
by Maj. Ryals from the New York
market, where he shipped one car that
did not contain nearly the average
number of crates. The car netted more
than $500. however.
Maj. Ryals said that the movement
of peaches from his place terminated
several days ago, though that from
the peach centers at Fort Valley and
Marshallville is at it's hight. Being
further to the South and, probably, be-
cause some difference existed in
weather conditions, the Worth county
Elbertas ripened earlier than those
higher up in the peach belt
Cut Back the Trees.
Maj, Ryals remained at his orchards
after the last shipments were made
in order that he might supervise the
cutting back of the trees. This is done
by the growers after the crops have
been gathered. New twigs are cut
back, and dead limbs are cut away.
This adds to the productiveness of the
trees.
One observation of the condition of
the trees made by Maj. Ryals that af-
fords him great satisfaction is the
diminution in the quantity Of the San
Jose scale that is now attacking them.
He aScribeS this decrease in the num-
berS of the scale to the war that has
been waged against it by the growers
and the attacks made upon it by it's
own parasites. Maj. Ryals holds to the
theory that the most minute of crea-
lures themselves have other smaller
creatures that prey upon them. He
subscribers to the lines about THE lit
tie tleas upon our backs have smaller
| fleas to bite EN-" etc.
Pests of the Peaches.
The San Jose scale has been regard
ed as a mighty enemy to the peach,
and the disappearance of the pest
would be hailed with gladness by the
growers. Brown rot, in Maj. Ryals'
| opinion, now ranks as the most potent
of the evils under which the Georgia
| peach has to labor, but this can be
controlled by the judicious use of Bor-
| deaux mixture and care in picking off
peaches that show the first evidence
of the ravages of the disease. The
curculio trails along as another enemy
to the luscious fruit, and many of the
| peaches this year showed the wrig-
| Cling inhabitants that are the progeny
| of the curculio.
The crop throughout the whole coun-
! try is estimated to be about $4,000, 900
/
that amount. The prolonged drought
in some parts of the country has at
! 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.
| Finer peaches and a larger quantity
of them to the acre are being pro-
duced every year, and this is due not
only to careful tillage and cultivation,
| RI rIIfh Of ba
fruit when it first appears on the trees.
The old-fashioned peach grower would
| have thought 1t sheer lunacy to cut
| 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 pro-
duced from the trees than they would
| bear if they were not interfered with
and the fruit is improved and brings
a higher price.
Another important point about thin
ming out the fruit is that as a result
of the operation only one-fourth of the
usual number of peach-stones is pro-
duced and as the development of these
is the greatest drain upon the vitality
of the trees a profitable economy is eff
| fected and regularity of yield from
season to season is promoted.
The peach came from China origi-
nally and reached Europe by way Of
Persia, and America by way of Eng
land and Holland.
1t isn't necessary any longer, in
these days of refrigerator cars, to
pick the fruit before it has come to
its full maturity, and trust to it ri
| pening on the way to market after it
is packed The peaches are allowed
TO ripen on the trees and are picked
so far as possible just before they be-
gin to soften.
The pickers are trained to know the
| right stage at a glance. Every peach,
as everybody knows, has it's sunny and
its shady side. 1t is by the hue of
the shady side that the degree of ripe
ness is judged. To ensure all of the
peaches getting the benefit of the sun
the orchard is divided by straight ave-
nues into rectangular blocks.
Scientific gardeners are trying to In
troduce into this country some of the
peach-growing methods of France and
England, which produce wonderful
peaches, though few. Over there peach
trees are usually trained fiat on a trel-
lis a foot or so away from such . wall,
and only a 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 a dozen or two,
sometimes a score at most, being al
lowed to develop. Such a peach tree
as this doesn't look much like tree.
But the few peaches that are allowed
to mature on il are marvels of beau
ty and juiciness, and half a dozen of