The farmer and mechanic., 1915-03-09
weekly News Letter. I. s. Depart
ment of Agriculture


ment of Agriculture
In at least 80 of our IS States there
are peach Interests of commercial i'm
portance, according to a new Farmers
Bulletin tNo. 63) of the depa rtment
on Growing Peaches" This bulle-
tin is the first Of three on the general
subject of peach growing. which will
treat of fundamental orchard opera
tIons The questions of site, propaga-
ton, planting, tillage. and soil fertil-
ity are treated in the first bulletin
| now being issued
In locating a peach as we'll as any
| other orchard other advantages must
| be considered besides the natural ones
| of climate and soil. If an orchard is
| too remote from shipping station,
| too far away from d suitable market.
| or located where ice for refrigerator
| cars can not be conveniently supplied,
it may not be possible to grow peaches
| there profitably.
Peaches may do well on q wide
| range of soil types, including even
some of the moderately heavy clay
loans and clays- But whatever the
| type, soil must be thoroughly well
drained to be suitable for peaches.
They will not succeed on poorly
| drained soils. It follows that the
heavy clay types which are SO hard
and imperVious that water does not
perco1ate through them readily are to
be avoided as a rule. Moreover. a
soil should be moderately fertile. One
very rich in nitrogen is not to be de-
sired as a general rule. since it is
| likely to induce an excessive grOwt h
} of foliage. On the other hand, the
impression which is somewhat com
mon that a poor, unfertile soil is good
enough for peaches is erroneous.
In districts in which alkali soils oc.
cur, sites should be selected with {
view to avoiding them. While tn,
, naach tree can be grown where there
is a limited amount of the alkali salts
they cause disaster if present in larg'
. quantities. It is safer. therefore, tt
: avoid them as far as possible.
\ Elevated Area Preferred.
r AS a general proposition, a site tha
is elevated considerably above tn
surrounding area is to be preferred fo
y a peach orchard. Relative elevatio
e is generally of greater importanc
: than actual elevation above sea leve
n It is a well-recognized fact thoug
: one too often overlooked in se'ectin
II sites for orchards. that cold air sci
st ties to the lower levels For this rea
l. son it is often colder at the lowe
l. elevations than it is at higher poin
"a in the same locality. This is what
W meant by atmospheric drainage
m The occurrence of frost in low place
when there is none on elevated ares
is thus explained. For the same re;
81 son peach buds are often Winterkil1e
e. or the blossoms are injured by fro
IN in the spring in low places when nea
or by orchards on higher elevations a
o. injured much less, or even escape el
Is tirelv
Is Where an orchard occupies a 81
II that is adjacent to a large body
Il water. the inheritance Of q relative
OF high elevation largely disappears. F.,
ly be a factor in the matter. howeve
NY a body Of watr must b of suffice
TN size and depth to have on aDpreciaF
IS, Influence on the local climate. r
r. cause the water warns ND in t
"a. spring more slowly than the atnlC
ne Dhere. it acts in effect as a refrige
h ator. making the temnerature in
VS. Immediate vicinity colder than it
IS at points somewhat distant from
pc For. this reason. veoetation within t
re zone of this influence advances mo
re slowly IN the spring than it does ol
lrt side Of that zone. The tendency
for the h1ossorling Of peach trees 8
ustod within the zone to be delay
~ until after the season Of spring frO
- is past.
:ht TH~the fan froe+e are 5o1aved in
les similar manner, except trat the lar
~, body of water having absorbed n7rl
- heat during the summer. cnols off
- the fall more slowly than the atm
- Dhere, and hence it tends to keen
-he temperature within its zone of inf
ire eii'e ""' i'iei 'iif'ii - "0"i'
IN
At 1t is because Of these reasons Il
eed peaches are grown with marked 81
lei, ,oo>o~~ooo,ooo
M
I'm. | summer and fall. With it's high p
centage of protein the cowpea is
excellent supplement to less nitrog
ant GUS crops, SuCh as corn, sorghum,