The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-03-15
SOILS AND CLIMATE OF
 SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND

Washington, March 15.-The Bu- reau of Soils of the United States Department of Agriculture, has re- gently completed in Southern New England an extensive study of the soils suited to different varieties of peaches and of the climatic condi- l tions in this region influencing the commercial production of this fruit. The results of this study are reported in a seventy page illustrated bulletin Connecticut With Especial Reference to Apples and Peaches" After discussing in detail soils and climatic conditions in their influence on apple production, the author Of the bulletin writes of peach orcharding in this section in part as Allows.
 No section of Connecticut is free from fir osty injury or occasional win- ter injury, anu accumulated experi- ence has led to the establishment of most of the commercial peach ore chards along the lateral slopes of the central loWland belt. In the southern part Of the state. also at elevations below 500 feet occasional conner cial orchards have excellent results. These have commonly been establish ed at least a few miles back from the shore to avoid the loss of fruit from fstrong on-shore winds. In the north eastern part of the state the average climatoc risk is q little greater and there is a general feeling that the soils there are somewhat less favora- b1e for peaches than in the central lowIand district.
 In Massachusetts good results have been secured in the southeastern part of Worcester County. the south
 western part ef Mi1ldesex County and
 the western part Of Norfolk Countys In the Massachusetts section of the Western Highlands in and around Berkshire County the climate is gene orally considered too severe for com merciar peach orchardlng.
 The bulk Of the commercial peach growing in Connecticut is in the ter- ritory between the Sound and line drawn from little north of the southwest corner flange of the state, where it projects into New York, nor theaster1y about ten miles of South Norwa1k, thence to- Beacon Falls and F'armington, across the Connecticut south to East Glastonbury and Had dam, and thence to the southeast cor ner Of the state A line drawn through these points would run through the northernmost of the com mercial peach orchards. It happens that such a. line would roughly cor respond to the most southern of the average isother1na lines Limited States Weather Bureau0 of the six winter months which. ins1udes any material part of the state.
 lSoTs Of New England Especially Supited to Champion and
 Other Varieties
 i As result of the study of success fu1 orchards and analyses of their soils the investigators have reached the conclusion that certain classes of soi1s are best suited under given cli- matic conditions to the growing of certain varieties of peaches. The ir.I7s lr1f- is Eonly one of several factors, such as temp exposure, rainfall. and Esurface drainage, which influence or charding where climatic conditions are unfavorab1e for 9 given variety, the character of the soil is of inn- 1 portance only as it serves to offset in tsome degree the unfayorable climate. | Soil adaptedness under ConnecH- I cut conditions to some of the coIu- merciaI varieties of peaches follows: Carman and Mountain Rose sue ceed best on soils somewhat less per- lvious than the Champion, but still ldeep and well drained. The soil con l dition seems typica1ly supplied by the Ioam of the Wethersfield and the iAdidd1efield series
 The EIberta and the Belle prefer
 stronger soils than the Carman and the Mountain Rose. Loams, silty Ioams, and silt Ioanss with subsoils of similar material seem best to meet l these requirements under Connecd-
 cut conditions.
 soil, such as a light porous loam less iretentive of moisture than the heav- jest of Elberta. soils is desirable.
 Some Of the early varieties, such as lGreenboro, are less sensitive to sl1a- low conditic-.s than the varieties men toned above
 Essentials of Orcharding.
 Soils suited fO peacIoS require diff iferent treatments to maintain a nor nal balance between the vegetative and the fruiting habits of the ree- It 1 may be said, however, that certain soil conditions seem fundamenta1. For example, soils should be so deep and
 friabIe that any excess of free rnois- l ture not only disappears readily be- low the root zone of the trees but re-
 turns to that zone as capillary soil so- 1ution for the trees use as occasion may make desirable. Underlying Hedges, large stones. hardpan, and sub soils that are too c1ayey, which inter lefer with the free motion of the soil moisture should be avoided.
 I One of the essentials of sorcharding lis a. good depth of subsoil The l presence of Ilnbroken rock, large lad I ges, or hardpan within 3 feet of the 1 surface should be considered prohih- tive and a soil depth of at least feet should be insisted upon wherever pos
 sibIe, while an even greater depth is hnghIy desirable.
 While the surface soil should not be
 heavy enough to form clods, its char l acter is of much less importance than that of the subsotL
 I The importance of good local eleva- | ton can hardly be over-estimated. Even in an average season the rotting of fruit is much worse in orchards where the free and rapid circulation | of the air is in anyway impededs and in a season such as 1912 when the
 weather was hot and humid during part of the picking period, the ten- dency is much increased