Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1905-09-27
peaeh GROWING /. the south.

now well started in the work of gather
ing and shipping their great peach
harvest. From the last week If May
until the latter part of July carload
after carload of these delicious pink.
checked globes are sent rom this
region to all parts of the north, east
ward TO the Atlantic coast, and even
across the Atlantic ocean, and west
ward nearly to the Rocky mountains,
says a Mississippi correspondent OF
the New York Evening Post The
harvest this year is fair, though it by
no means equals the great crop OF
1904. Last year, the yield broke al,
previous records, an. convinced the
country that the fruit-growing pos
sibilities of the central belt of the
| south were almost beyond computa-
ton. 1t Is wonderful how the area OF
peach 7wing has expanded during
the last lew decades in this country
This area, too, has been extended
over so many degrees of latitude that
the term of the ripe peach has been
! prolonged from six weeks to more
than four months,-an advantage that
accrues, he" 7, rather to the distant
city dweller lnah to one residing in
| the peach country itself The latter
enjoys a short-lived profusion OF the
luscious fruit, while If ones home be
in Chicago or New York, one may have
fresh peaches from the middle of May
until the md of September
census bulletin on the subject,
issued early in 1902. first informed the
public of a fact till then imperfectly
noted by horticultural journals ano
fruit dealers, that the principal area
of peach-growing had shifted from the
east to the south. Once Delaware.
New Jersey, and Maryland were the
leading states in peach production, but
during the decade of 1S90-1900 these
states were not only forced to the
rear by increase of orchards else
where, but actually lost ground THAI
they once held. The number of peach
trees in Delaware fell off during tina,
time 46 per cent, in New Jersey So
per cent. Or, the otner hand, the DIS
tricts of the middle SCUM, during the
same time, had come into unexpected
prominence rs sources of fruit -upply.
j Georgia lad increased her peach.
growing area us per cent, Mississippi
III per cent, an Louisiana 1873 per
cent.
Raising peaches pays today in mis-
country as it never did before In
! Georgia, no less than 100000 young
peach trees have come into bearin.,
younger in the commercial orchard
business, but flushed successful,
enterprise in this line probably
gathered the first fruit in these two
years from nearly l,000000 trees in
her young orchards. The peach tree,
it may be remarked in passing, is
hardly second to. the apple tree In It's
remarkable adaptability to different
soils, and it may be made to flourish
provided the tillage given is such as
will make up any deficiencies that may
exist in the elements of the soil-in
mary every locality where winter
temperatures Ae not too severe.
! Commercial orchards exist, in fact,
and their owners harvest satisfactory
! crops, On soils as widely different as
the stony hillsides of New England,
the light pine sands of Delaware ana
New Jersey, the eroded sandstones OF
Pennsylvania mountain sides, the
Ieavy yellow clay hills of Michigan,
the stiff red clay land of South
Carolina, the lod lake bottoms of west
err New York made up Of clays and
gravel, and, finally, on the black
rrair.e soils of Kansas.
Nevertheless. the peach tree has a
favorite soil. This is a light, sandy
surface. with a clay suvsoil. a kind
of land which it finds abundantly in
the states of the middle south, by
which fact its thrifty growth there Is
explained. And when we add to this
the future fact that most commercial
growers in this section are scientific
norticullTists, wno feed their or
chosen fertilizing material, the fine
crops of fruit now being harvested by
orchardists of this section are fully
Iccounte4 fol.
The comparative newness of these
wonderful sounern orchards renders
them peculiarly interesting. OF
course, it all began WITH the re-
1 frigerator car When this was once
in opera on, it became plain to the
fruit grower that distance from a
market, If on the line of a raIlroad,
was no bar to the prof.o.ole raising OF
fruit. This led nor cui,urists from
the eastern s. ates. lie ]. H. Haze a
successful peach grower Of Con-
necticut, to Wis Georgia and
Alabama, and examine the orchard
product there. Their favorable i'm,
preston was proved by the purchase
of large tracts Of land, which they inn
medlately set out in large orchards.
The largest peach orchard in the
world is near Fort Valley, Ca. IN
Houston county II is the property
of Mr. Hale. and now contains 800. UJ0
peach trees. There are other magni-
ficent orchards at Ba,sGround ana
Marshallvtlle. and at may other points
in the same state. Besides supplying
all local demand in Atlanta, Savannah,
and other cities, last year the Georgia
( r-,hords shynraS e 000 rar.lOadS NJ