f AGRIC, DEPT. THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD Other Books by the Same Author LANDSCAPE GARDENING PLUMS AND PLUM CULTURE FRUIT HARVESTING, STORING AND MARKETING SYSTEMATIC POMOLOGY DWARF FRUIT TREES THE AMERICAN APPLE ORCHARD THE LANDSCAPE BEAUTIFUL BEGINNERS' GUIDE TO FRUIT GROWING The American Peach Orchard A Sketch of the Practice of Peach Growing in North America at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century By F. A. WAUGH n Fully Illustrated NEW YORK ORANGE JUDD COMPANY LONDON KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER & CO., Limited 1913 \A) 3 COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY ORANGE JUDD COMPANY All rights reserved ENTERED AT STATIONERS' HALL, LONDON, ENGLAND. PRINTED IN U. S. A. Inscribed to FRED COLEMAN SEARS Schoolmate, Friend, Colleague in Teaching and Partner in Peach Growing 284592 PREFACE The rapid specialization of all the fruit-growing industries in North America has made the produc- tion of peaches an art by itself. To keep pace with such specialization it has been found expedient to dis- cuss the management of the several fruit crops in separate monographs. Peach growing is now a large and important industry and deserves a book of its own. The demand for such a book has existed for sev- eral years, but special difficulties have been experi- enced in meeting it. The work of preparing such a book was undertaken by the late Charles Wright of Delaware, and by the late Prof. W. G. Johnson of the Orange Judd Company, but both gentlemen died leaving the manuscripts unwritten. The writer has, indeed, experienced many tedious and troublesome delays, but has finally brought the work to completion through the help of many kind friends. In writing this book he has called to his aid a large number of prac- tical peach growers in all parts of the United States and Canada, whose help and advice he wishes most cordially to acknowledge. To interpret properly their wide and varied experience has been the author's prime endeavor. F. A. WAUGH. Massachusetts Agricultural College, 1913. Elberta Last summer when we parted, sweet Elberta! You looked quite fair enough to eat, Elberta! Yet this for absence may atone, Since last we met you've fairer grown ; Yes, though you have a heart of stone, Elberta, you're a peach! Your cheeks reflect the sunset glow, Elberta! Your rounded outlines please me so, Elberta! Your breath is sweet as summer dew; Your life blood richly flowing through Imparts a matchless charm to you. Elberta, you're a peach! You've caused me many an aching pain Elberta! I swore you never would again, Elberta! Your ripening beauty tempts like wine; Yet though your charms were all divine Touch not your downy cheek to mine; Elberta, you're a peach! I would not mar your bloom so fresh, Elberta! Nor bruise the fairness of your flesh, Elberta! I promised my right worthy mate That I would be most temperate, And gaze on you with thought sedate; Elberta, you're a peach ! I would devour you with my eyes, Elberta ! But gazing never satisfies, Elberta! Soon in your flesh so rosy bright I'll set my teeth most sharp and white, For when you're peeled you're out of sight; Elberta, you're a peach! — Mabel Stoartz Withoft, in American Florist TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. PEACH-GROWING GEOGRAPHY 1 II. CLIMATOLOGY 12 III. SOILS AND EXPOSURES 32 IV. How TO GET THE TREES 43 V. ORCHARD PLANTING 57 VI. GENERAL MANAGEMENT 67 VII. COVER CROPS 82 VIII. THE USE OF FERTILIZERS 93 IX. PRUNING AND RENOVATION 105 X. INSECT ENEMIES 120 XL DISEASES OF TREE AND FRUIT 134 XII. SPRAYING 143 XIII. MARKETING THE CROP 160 XIV. THE FAMILY ORCHARD 179 XV. BOTANICAL AND POMOLOGICAL STATUS 185 XVI. CHOOSING VARIETIES 191 XVII. VARIETY CATALOG 198 XVIII. THE NECTARINE 210 XIX. UTILIZING THE FRUIT 213 XX. HISTORICAL SKETCH 233 INDEX . ._ 237 PEACH GROWING GEOGRAPHY THE peach is generally understood to be a tree of southern climates. Its geographical distribution, therefore, runs to the southward of the apple, and yet the difference between the northern limit of peach culture and the northern limit of apple culture is much narrower than would justify the common opinion. As a matter of fact, the peach will grow successfully in all those central latitudes Avhere the apple is most successful. There are a few commer- cial apple orchards north of the limit of peach cul- ture, but there are not many. Beginning at the northeast, a few peaches can be grown in protected localities in southwestern Maine. The line marking the northern limit of peach cul- ture then passes across New Hampshire, leaving a few orchards in the southeastern part of that state. Vermont is practically outside the peach district. Peaches may be grown in all sections of Massachu- setts except high altitudes and in the northern towns. Passing westward, we find the northern limit of peach culture turning northward along the Hudson River to about the region of Saratoga and Albany, N. Y. The line then swings southward around the mountains, and northward again to the region of the Great Lakes. The lake region of New York has long been engaged in the peach business, though in recent years its importance in the markets has been eclipsed by heavy crops from many other localities. Passing westward, the line of limitation now en- ;2,L;C; Yi'THB AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD ters Canada to include an important peach-growing section in the Niagara district of Ontario, lying at the head of Lake Ontario, and a less prominent one on the northern shore of Lake Erie toward the western end. The peach district also includes south- ern Michigan and southeastern Wisconsin. The line then tends southward, touching the southern border counties in Iowa, passes across Nebraska, Colorado and Utah, and after an important break in crossing the Cascade and the Coast ranges of mountains, runs TWO-YEAR-OLD MASSACHUSETTS ORCHARD upward along the Pacific coast into British Co- lumbia. There is a southern limit also to the cultivation of the peach, though this is less well marked and less important. The ordinary varieties of peaches will not succeed on the low, warm lands of Florida and other sections immediately bordering the Gulf of Mexico. Certain varieties of the Peen-to type carry the limit somewhat farther south, but these varieties have never gained any standing in the commercial markets. It will be seen, therefore, that the peach-growing region occupies practically the entire United States, PEACH GROWING GEOGRAPHY 3 with the exception of the northern tier of states, and that in two places the northern limit runs up into Canada. It is indeed a fact that the peach is pecul- iarly the fruit of the United States of America. It is grown much more extensively and more success- fully in this country than in other parts of the world. More good named varieties have originated in the United States than in all the rest of the world put together. In Europe the peach is only a hothouse luxury, while in Persia, China, and Asia generally (the original home of the peach) its culture is so crude as not to compare with what we have in America. The distribution of peach cul-ture throughout the United States, however, is by no means uniform within that zone marked off by the northern and southern limits as described above. There are many places where peaches cannot be grown at all, and a great many more where they are not grown to any considerable extent. The distribution of peach cul- ture is extremely spotted. If one could put down the peach-growing regions on the map of the United States, it would look as though the country had broken out with the hives. These local developments of peach culture are de- termined by various conditions, which conditions are very various and deserve critical study. So far as the writer knows, no pomologist has yet given the matter the close attention it deserves, and no one has pointed out the reasons for the curious localiza- tion of peach growing, except in a few special and minor instances. Speaking very roughly, we may say that some of these local peach sections have been developed on account of favorable soil conditions. It may be that two or three counties or a dozen farms are espe- 4 THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD cially favored in the way of peach soils, and these advantages being recognized, the peach has been de- veloped in these particular sections. In other cases the cultivation of peaches has been localized by the presence of favoring bodies of water. The peach is notoriously sensitive to winter freezing and to damage by spring frost. Both of these elements of climate are ameliorated to some extent by prox- imity to large lakes, and this doubtless accounts for the development of peach culture in such regions as the Niagara district of New York, the lake shore of western Michigan, and in the Niagara district in Ontario. In a good many cases, however, the determining reason seems to have been extremely human. There have been men at the bottom of the whole business. These men have had faith in peach growing, faith in themselves, and the brains and the grit to make a success of the business. Nearly all industries, especially agricultural industries, go by neighbor- hoods. When two or three men succeed in a given line, they open up a market for their products and at the same time they teach their neighbors the methods of growing and selling. Thus a great many industries are developed more because there are suitable men to take the lead than because natural geographical or meteorological conditions are espe- cially favorable. It may be worth while to run over the map hur- riedly and point out where some of these small peach-growing districts are located. It is mani- festly impossible in a small compass to make a com- plete and comprehensive statement of the question, so the peach-growing localities pointed out in this essay must be accepted merely as samples of what PEACH GROWING GEOGRAPHY 5 may be found on careful and detailed study of the map of any particular peach-growing state. Beginning on the northeast, with Massachusetts, we find that the commercial development of peach culture is confined almost wholly to the town of Wilbraham and its immediate vicinity, in the south central part of the state. In Connecticut, the prin- cipal peach-growing regions are in the Connecticut Valley, in New Haven and Hartford Counties, and to some extent along Long Island Sound. The towns which have received most notice are, South Glastonbury, Wallingford, Middlefield and Durham. In New York state, the principal peach-growing regions are along Lake Ontario, in Wayne, Monroe, Orleans and Niagara Counties ; along Lake Erie ; in the central lake regions along the shores of Lake Cayuga, Lake Seneca, Lake Canandaigua, and Lake Keuka ; and in the southeastern portion of the state, especially in Ulster County. In New Jersey, peaches are grown extensively and in most parts of the state, and although the southern part has had the reputation in the past of being the peach-growing region, orchards are now being developed exten- sively in the north central portion of the state, espe- cially in Hunterdon County. The southern central portion of Pennsylvania sup- plies the chief peach-growing section of that state, including York, Adams, Franklin and Cumberland Counties. The old peach-growing region of Mary- land was along Chesapeake Bay, where, in fact, peaches are still grown extensively, although there is no part of the state where peaches do not succeed. The recent successful commercial development has been in the mountains of the western section, espe- cially in Washington County. Delaware, being a small and very uniform state in the very center of 6 THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD the peach district, can hardly be divided up into dif- ferent sections. Peaches are grown commercially all over the state. As we go southward into Virginia, we find, as we might naturally expect, that the peach-growing region recedes from the coast toward the moun- tains. Therefore the best peach regions are among the foothills of the Blue Ridge, and especially in the Piedmont section and the Shenandoah Valley. In West Virginia, Hampshire, Berkeley, Morgan and Mineral Counties have become noted for the com- mercial production of peaches. This in general means the extreme eastern panhandle of the state, although peaches are grown locally in many other parts of West Virginia. In North Carolina, peaches are grown commer- cially in small spots, especially among the foothills of the mountains. The central districts about Southern Pines, Candor and Leavitt have grown the most peaches in recent years. South Carolina also has important peach districts in the neighbor- hood of Ridge Springs, in Spartanburg County, in Aiken County and elsewhere. Georgia has received more notice as a peach- growing state in recent years than almost any other spot on the map of North America. This has been on account of the large development of orchards in the central portion of the state. The points most mentioned have been Marshallville, Fort Valley, Rome and Mount Airy, the last being in the north- ern part of the state. Considerable quantities of peaches of the Honey and Peen-to types are now being grown in northern and central Florida, though the common kinds of this fruit are hardly known in that state. In Alabama, peach-growing regions have been de- PEACH GROWING GEOGRAPHY 7 veloped in Cullman County, Winston County, and the northwestern portion of the state generally. Mississippi has not gone so far as neighboring states in modern commercial peach growing, though fruit is produced successfully in many parts of the state, particularly in the northeastern section. The principal peach-growing section of Ohio is along the shores of Lake Erie, in the northern part of the state. Kentucky peaches are produced mostly in the eastern and western portions of the state. In eastern Kentucky, there are many small spots along the foot of the mountains where peaches grow very successfully, although in the past the principal orchards have been developed along the lower levels in the western portions of the state. Tennessee also has its thousands of acres of splendid peach land, both along the foothills of the mountains of east Tennessee and in the Cumberland Valley. The localities where peaches are now mostly grown are Bradley County, Rhea County, Hamilton County and McMinn County. The peach-growing industry has been developed for a great many years in Michigan, the bulk of the crop coming from the shores of Lake Michigan and southwestern counties. Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Grand Haven, South Haven and St. Joseph have been generally known as peach markets. The prin- cipal peach-growing regions of Indiana are in Wash- ington County and the southern portion of the state. In like manner Illinois grows most of its peaches in the southern one-third of the state. Iowa is generally considered outside the peach belt, but a few counties in the southern tier and especially in the southwest corner of the state have developed a considerable peach business. Missouri is extremely varied in topography and thus presents PEACH GROWING GEOGRAPHY 9 a particularly spotted appearance with regard to the production of peaches. The southern counties of the state in the Ozark region — for instance, Howell and Oregon Counties — have made special reputation in the past few years. There are, however, many such localities throughout the southern half of the state and along the Missouri River where peaches can be successfully grown. Likewise Arkansas has made a mark in the peach trade during the past few years, the districts particularly attracting attention being those in the hilly northern portions of the state. The regions along the Arkansas River in the western part of the state including Crawford, Franklin, Sebastian and Johnson Counties have been planting large orchards, and bringing them into successful bearing. In Nebraska and Kansas peaches are a fairly un- certain crop, but they are grown chiefly in the east- ern counties. The eastern counties of Oklahoma grow peaches successfully, but no commercial dis- tricts have been developed to the extent of receiv- ing special notice. Many places in Texas grow this crop with success, but the most important commer- cial sections recently developed are in the north- eastern portion of the state about Tyler, Morrill, Jacksonville and Garrison. Colorado, Utah, and the other states of the Rocky Mountain regions grow quantities of very fine peaches, but the sections are usually small and con- fined to narrow valleys, between the mountains, where excellent soil, irrigation facilities, and protec- tion from winds combine to produce most favorable conditions. In Oregon, the conditions are somewhat the same as in the Rocky Mountain section ; that is, the peach- growing districts are highly localized by conditions IO THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD of soil, irrigation and protection by mountain chains. The noted fruit-growing sections in the Willamette Valley, the Hood River Valley, the Rogue River Valley, and the Umpqua Valley, although their rep- utation rests chiefly on the production of apples, also grow peaches very successfully. California has long been known as a peach-grow- ing state, having produced quantities of peaches for consumption throughout the central and eastern states. The Sacramento and the San Joaquin val- leys are generally known as the chief peach-growing regions, but Fresno and Placer counties, and many other sections of the state produce peaches commer- cially. What does all this peach geography mean to the man who wants to grow peaches and trade them for silver dollars? Does it mean that he must move into one of these highly developed localities and merge his business with that of the successful men who have already established reputations? This depends a good deal on the man and on his present sur- roundings. Doubtless the beginner who is foot- loose would do better to produce peaches where he knows that peaches can be grown and where some one else has done the pioneer work of developing methods and opening up markets. From the nature of the case, the production and marketing of peaches can be better managed in those localities where the trade is centered. At the same time, there is a fine opportunity for any man who is a level-headed fruit grower to pro- duce and market peaches in regions outside the pres- ent recognized peach districts. There are in this country hundreds of thousands of acres of land which will grow peaches successfully and which have never yet been tested. If a man is willing to PEACH GROWING GEOGRAPHY II make mistakes, and can afford the expense of doing it, he has the chance to develop a local market of his own and make good money out of it. It is rather important, however, in going into the business in this manner to have a suitable local market in view. In the big peach-growing centers the sale of the product depends upon long shipments, and these can be most successfully arranged in those districts where the offering of a large product gives the op- portunity for special fruit trains, refrigerating sta- tions and all the highly organized facilities of mod- ern marketing. As a matter of fact peaches ought to be grown much more extensively for local markets. The peach is a fruit which suffers severely from long ship- ments, and it has been in many ways a misfortune that the modern peach-growing industry has been so largely developed in the wholesale way. Those men who are able in the next few years to develop small orchards in localities where the peach is not now grown, and who can place their product directly upon the home markets, without the damage of long shipments, and without the expense of multiplied middlemen, will find more profit in it than many of the big growers in the most famous peach regions. II CLIMATOLOGY THE principal horticultural fact in the climatology of the peach js the relative tenderness of the tree toward cold. The peach is generally rated as dis- tinctly less hardy than the apple tree, though com- mercially considered this difference is less than the popular imagination has painted it. Practically speaking, the northern limit of commercial peach growing does not lie so very far south of the north- ern limit of commercial apple production. Still, it does lie distinctly to the south, and the peach tree is obviously more tender during severe winters than the apple. Twenty degrees below zero may be taken as the practical limit of cold resistance for the peach. When temperatures run lower the peach trees are always in danger and usually sustain greater or less damage. The amount of this damage is influenced by many collateral circumstances, chiefly the fol- lowing: 1. Duration of the cold weather. Long-continued low temperatures do greater injury than those which last for only an hour or two. 2. Varieties. Some varieties are considerably hardier than others. 3. Condition of trees. Vigorous, healthy, well- grown trees will stand a good deal of freezing, while weak, starved trees and those which have been al- lowed to overbear will die outright in very mod- erate weather. It has often been claimed that peach trees easily make a too vigorous growth, and that in 12 CLIMATOLOGY 13 such cases the new wood does not mature properly and is therefore especially liable to winter injury. The writer, by extended experiments and observa- tions on this point, has fully satisfied himself that this danger either does not exist or has been greatly over-magnified. The instances of trees made sus- ceptible to winter injury through too much vigor are rare ; the cases of damage through weakness and starvation are to be seen by thousands every year. Good orchard management should endeavor to se- cure sound wood with well-formed terminal buds before the leaves fall in autumn, but any further worry on this point would be like the anxiety of a man who should fear that his pigs or calves were growing too fast. 4. Character of the soil. Trees on deep, well- drained soil will stand more freezing than those on thin, dry land or on heavy, wet land. 5. Ground protection. In certain cases the pro- tection of the ground by snow or by a good cover crop helps the trees materially to withstand inclem- ent winter weather. It is possible at this point to make a distinction of no very great significance between two forms of freezing damage which occur on peach trees. The first form is that of twig injury, only the tips of young and immature twigs being killed. This may be really serious, but is not so grave a matter as the second form, which consists in the killing of main branches or trunks. Even in the latter type of damage, and in what appear to be extreme cases, trees may make recovery. That is, they will not die outright, but may be rejuvenated and made to bear commercial crops for several years. They will be weakened, however; the tops will be straggling and ill-balanced, the trunks will usually be black and 14 THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD dead at the core, and the trees will soon break down under loads of fruit or stress of wind. This ques- tion of the recovery of frozen trees is treated fur- ther in the chapter on Pruning, page 116. The northern limit of peach culture has been de- fined as the line of twenty degrees below zero. As a matter of fact, the peach is grown in home gardens in an amateur way as far north as those regions where twenty-five degrees below zero is an experience of every few years, but commercial orchards are hardly a safe proposition where even twenty degrees below zero may be expected every winter. There is also a southern limit to peach growing, and if this limit is not so precise, it is none the less positive. The southernmost areas in the United States, for example, are outside the peach belt. This fruit is practically unknown along the Gulf of Mex- ico, and in Florida can be grown only on the highest lands in the most northern counties. Peaches of the Honey type, and especially of the Peen-to groin (see page 188), may be grown much farther south than the common sorts ; but as these are not market varieties and never likely to become such, we may understand that the southern bound of the peach section runs approximately along the northern line of Florida, across the southern counties of Alabama and Mississippi, crosses Louisiana somewhere amidstate and sets off a zone of 50 to 100 miles wide all along the Texas coast. In Arizona, New Mexico, and California the limits of peach culture are fixed by a multitude of local conditions so variable and so complex that they cannot be safely stated in general terms. The commercial grower of peaches, however, is not so much interested in the extreme limits of cul- CLIMATOLOGY 15 ture as in the range of profitable peach growing. Looking at this question, we find that this fruit suc- ceeds over a great range, and that the limits of suc- cessful commercial culture run pretty close to the actual bounds of physiological safety on both the northern and the southern edge. Perhaps it will be instructive to make a comparison with the apple, a fruit which has been much more carefully studied. We may say, then, that the commercial culture of the peach runs not quite so far north as the suc- cessful culture of the Baldwin apple and as far south as the successful culture of any kind of apple. Now Dr. J. K. Shaw has shown that the best development of the Baldwin apple lies along that line which re- ceives an average temperature of fifty-six degrees during the growing season, March to September. The most southern apple zone, that in which such distinctively southern varieties as Yates and Shock- ley succeed, is characterized by a longer growing season and by an average summer temperature of sixty-six to sixty-seven degrees. So we may say that these two thermal zones mark the real bounda- ries of practical peach growing. Our comparison with the apple ought to be car- ried one step further in order to bring out an impor- tant difference. In the studies already referred to, Dr. Shaw has shown that for each variety of apple there is an optimum summer temperature, and that most varieties come to their best development only when grown pretty closely under these conditions. Thus the luscious Grimes is at its best when it has an average summer temperature of sixty-two de- grees, the Yellow Newtown pippin requires an aver- age of sixty degrees, while Northern Spy gets along with only fifty-five to fifty-six degrees. The various varieties of peaches, however, are l6 THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD much more versatile. Carman or Mountain Rose or almost any other variety may be grown in full perfection from central Georgia to central New York and Michigan. There are some varieties, of course, which are plainly local in their preferences; but such localizations do not seem to be due chiefly to requirements of temperature. It is possible, of course, that a closer study of the physiology of the leading varieties of peaches will reveal more definite preferences, and that further experience will tend to localize varieties, as it has in the field of apple culture; but it still seems fairly certain that all the standard varieties of peaches may be grown indif- ferently over a pretty wide range of territory. KILLING OF BLOSSOM BUDS The commonest form of winter injury occurs in the killing of the blossom buds, rather than in the outright killing of the trees. This trouble is more frequent for the simple reason that the blossom buds are killed by much shorter and milder periods of freezing. Bud killing falls into two very distinct cases, and the distinction at this point is of material impor- tance. In one type of injury the buds are killed by freezing while in a more or less dormant state dur- ing the winter; in the other type the buds are killed by frost after they have partially or fully opened. Temperatures of nearly twenty degrees below zero, sometimes more, are necessary to kill dormant buds of hardy varieties during the winter. On the other hand a frost which lowers the temperature to twenty-eight or thirty degrees for an hour or two at blossoming time will sometimes serve equally well to wipe out a crop and make the peach grower CLIMATOLOGY 17 postpone for another year the purchase of his new automobile. These two forms of bud killing have often been confused in the discussions of peach climatology, but such confusion is wholly unnecessary. Special attention should be drawn to the fact that the killing of peach buds by late spring frosts is distinctly a local trouble, and that the localities seriously affected are much less widely distributed than is popularly supposed. There are thousands of square miles of good peach country in North America where bud- killing spring frosts are unknown, and thousands of miles more where they are so infrequent as to be almost negligible. There are other regions, to be sure, where the crop is too often lost in this stage; but on the whole the peach-growing industry has suffered a serious slander in this matter. Winter freezing of buds cannot be prevented by any methods which are practicable in commercial orchards. In small private gardens, where a little extra trouble and expense can be put to the prob- lem, reasonably good results can be attained. These methods all look toward the protection of the buds and the young wood from the action of the cold weather. The simplest attempts are made by wrapping the fruiting branches of the trees just as they stand in the garden, in much the same manner as rose bushes are sometimes wrapped for winter. One of the commonest and best materials is corn stalks, which are tied on the fruiting branches in large bundles ; or the whole tree may be completely encased in corn stalks until it becomes one immense corn shock. Coarse swale hay is also used very appropriately for this purpose. Other materials which come in suitably to this undertaking are floor mattings, old clothes, gunny sacks and newspapers. l8 THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD Newspaper is a famous non-conductor of heat, as everyone knows who has ever buttoned a paper un- der his coat to save him on a cold ride. A modern Sunday paper furnishes material enough to cover several trees four layers deep. The colored "art" supplement is especially recommended for weak and diseased trees. A certain farmer told me that he always used Republican papers on his trees, but he did not state that this was because of their superior insulating properties. A more elaborate method of protecting peach trees in that geographical zone where they are liable to winterkilling, consists in laying them down upon the ground and covering them there. The writer has seen this method practiced with entire success — with such success, in fact, as to make it a profitable commercial transaction. With this method in view the trees should be headed low and should be main- tained with small bushy heads, but not too thick. The laying down should be practiced every year, be- ginning with the third or fourth winter. The method is as follows : Just before the ground freezes a trench is dug about 5 feet long and 18 inches deep along the south side of the tree and 3 feet distant from the base of the stem. A similar trench is dug parallel with the first and running along the north side of the tree. The roots encoun- tered in digging these trenches, especially the north- ern trench, are cut off with the ax. The tree is then pulled over to the southward until it lies practi- cally flat on the ground. It is pinned in this posi- tion by two or three forked pegs carefully driven over the main branches. The entire top is then cov- ered with any good material which happens to be at hand. The best of all material, wherever it is avail- able, is evergreen boughs. In sections where a rea- CLIMATOLOGY 19 sonably heavy snowfall may be expected, the snow is the chief dependence, but the evergreen boughs are needed to catch and hold the snow. When pine, spruce or hemlock trimmings are not to be had, corn stalks, straw or waste hay can be used. Unless the snow drifts can be induced to lie upon the peach trees this covering of corn stalks or hay will have to be pretty liberal. TREES LAID DOWN FOR WINTER As late as possible in the spring, usually after the blossom buds begin to open, the covering must be removed and the trees set upright again in their places. It will be necessary to hold them erect by tying them to strong stakes or posts set to north and south of each tree ; and it is of considerable im- portance in making these ties to see that the ropes do not chafe or cut the trees. Usually the trees will 2O THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD have to be protected with burlap bandages under the rope ties. Moreover, these stays usually require readjustment and repair several times during the summer. It is a taxing and puttering job, and no one should undertake it who does not like to be al- ways fussing about in his garden. There are a good many such men ; and it will not be quite off the point if I add here that I never knew a mean or dishonest man in the lot. Perhaps those who have not tried it will be shocked at the severe root pruning involved in the prescrip- tion. It is true that three or four main roots have to be severed in preparing some trees for laying down. But root pruning is just exactly what these trees need under the circumstances. The tops require to be closely pruned to keep them in bounds for the laying down process, and the root pruning only serves to restore the balance between top and bot- tom. If it happens to go somewhat farther in particular cases its influence is to induce greater fruit- fulness in the trees, and a high degree of fruitful- ness is plainly to be desired in trees with which so much pains are taken. The timid amateur horti- culturist will be further reassured when he begins digging for the second year's laying down, for he will find that the tree has very largely repaired his supposed injury by the formation of great masses of fine active fibrous roots. Thus when this practice is carried out annually certain trees soon become habituated to it, as it were, and thrive under it. A somewhat different method of arriving at the same end was invented several years ago by an old Vermont friend of mine, Mr. Joseph Macomber, a very capable horticulturist in many ways. By this method Mr. Macomber has been able to eat his own Vermont-grown peaches almost every summer for a CLIMATOLOGY 21 good many years. The tree is taken in hand during its first year in the garden and the main stem is bent to a horizontal position, the bend being made as near the ground as possible. The tree is then trained so as to develop this horizontal trunk to a length of 6 or 8 feet in a manner very much like that em- ployed in training horizontal pear or apple trees. It is simply necessary to have a wooden rod or pole set horizontally at the proper height (8-14 inches) from the ground, and to keep the young leader tied to this as the tree stem grows. This will require a little attention every week or ten days during the rush of the growing season. When this main stem has reached a horizontal length of 6 or 8 feet it is given another right-angled bend and turned to its natural upright direction. On this upright shoot the head is formed in the usual manner. The complete tree, therefore, consists of a normal bushy head connected with a normal root 8 feet to one side by an abnormal horizontal trunk. By a simple, safe and easy process of tor- sion this head can now be turned side- wise down to the ground, staked there and covered in the ***'S*WS®BSBBL same manner as de- scribed for the fore- going method (page 19). When the blos- soms begin to open in the spring the cover- MR. MACOMBER'S METHOD OF TRAINING 22 THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD * ing can be removed, the tree top easily returned to an upright position, tied to its necessary stake, and the summer begun in the pleasant prospect of a crop of peaches in September. This method of Mr. Macomber's avoids the rude necessity of trenching and root pruning, accomplish- ing the same ends by milder practices. The annual laying down and setting up is rather easier; but it need not be forgotten that this is partially offset by the labor of training the tree to form its peculiar horizontal trunk. And once more it may be observed that these methods are only for the devoted ama- teur gardener, not for the cow farmer nor the com- mercial fruit grower. DAMAGE BY SPRING FROSTS The killing of opening buds or expanded blos- soms by late spring frosts is quite another story, and a serious one, especially for the reason that it most frequently occurs in regions where peach growing is otherwise safe and profitable. The methods already outlined for the prevention of dam- age by winter freezing will usually serve also to carry the trees past danger of spring frosts, though not always. But these methods are too difficult and expensive to be of much avail in commercial orchards, so that when spring frost injury is to be directly prevented different methods are adopted. Those most widely used are whitewashing, smudg- ing and heating. WHITEWASHING The method of protecting peach trees from frost by whitewashing seems to have been invented by CLIMATOLOGY 23 Dr. J. C. Whitten, of the University of Missouri. At any rate Dr. Whitten has been the chief exponent of this method and has made the most extensive ex- periments with it. It consists in spraying the bear- ing parts of the peach tree with whitewash during winter and spring on the theory that the white stems reflect instead of absorb the heat from the sun's rays. It has been shown by Dr. Whitten and other experi- menters that the blooming of peach trees and other fruits is dependent upon the local absorption of heat and is almost absolutely independent of root ac- tion. For instance, the branch of a fruit tree brought into a greenhouse will blossom even while the por- tion of the tree outside the greenhouse is exposed to zero temperatures and while the roots still stand in frozen soil. The experiments have shown further that peach twigs which have been whitened will actually main- tain a temperature several degrees lower than twigs covered with black or left in their natural color. Furthermore — and this is by far the most important practical test — the blossoming of peach trees is ac- tually retarded by this method by a period of from 2 to 10 days. Dr. Whitten has recently stated that in the orchard of the Missouri Experiment Station peach trees have been treated by the whitewashing method for 10 successive years. This treatment has been given to alternate rows, adjoining rows of trees being left always without treatment. During this lo-year period there have been four good peach crops and five failures on the non-treated orchard and one partial crop. The whitewashed rows have failed but twice during the same time. In other words, the treated trees have yielded three crops more in 10 years than the untreated trees. In this connection one should not overlook the fact that a 24 THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD crop saved in a year of general disaster brings a large price in the market, so that these three extra crops of peaches may be credited with more than average returns. The method has not been widely adopted, though it is rather hard to see why it should not be more popular. Whitewashing is easy and cheap, and the results seem to be such as to pay well for the work. Whitewash for treating peach trees is made in the usual way from stone lime, the object being, of course, to get the heaviest coating of white lime on the peach twigs. It has been found that the white- wash will adhere better if a considerable amount of skimmed milk is added to the water. Salt will also serve the same purpose. The whitewash is always applied with a spray pump, using a fine nozzle. From two to four sprayings are commonly required, though the former number is likely to suffice, if ap- plied at the proper time; that is, just before warm weather may be expected in the spring. From four to six quarts of whitewash are required for the treat- ment of each tree at each spraying. Dr. Whitten estimates that the total cost of four sprayings does not exceed 10 cents a tree. In this connection we should not entirely lose sight of the fact that there are occasional beneficial secondary effects from this lime spraying. It has long been customary among unskilled farmers to whitewash trunks and branches of fruit trees with a view to kill insects and fungi. This purpose is actually served to a considerable extent. Mr. W. T. Macoun in his Canadian experiments found that spraying with whitewash in the manner recom- mended for frost protection would almost com- pletely clear apple trees of oyster shell bark lice. It would seem feasible, furthermore, to combine the CLIMATOLOGY 25 whitewash treatment with the spring application of lime-sulphur so essential in fighting the San Jose scale. SMUDGING There has long been a theory among fruit grow- ers that orchards could be protected from late spring frosts by the use of smudges. The principle on which this treatment rests is that a heavy blanket of smoke lying over an orchard prevents the radiation of heat from the soil and that a slight economy of heat secured in this way at the proper time will be sufficient to save the trees from damage. This method has probably been used more frequently in the United States for the protection of citrus orchards than in any other connection. It has never proved very successful nor found general favor in actual practice. It is doubtful if any practical peach grower of sound judgment is placing any reliance on this method at the present time. It is to be observed in connection with this method, of course, that the purpose is to produce a smudge and not a heat. Material is used, there- fore, which emits a dense smoke rather than that which blazes and burns easily. The old-fashioned method is to start a series of fires along the wind- ward side of the orchard using good strong burning kindling at the outset. As soon as these fires are fairly under way they are blanketed with consider- able quantities of wet brush, wet hay, old, damp straw or any similar material which is conveni- ently at hand. ORCHARD HEATING In recent years there has come into somewhat extensive use in certain sections, especially in Rocky 26 THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD Mountain districts, a different method, namely, orchard heating. This method depends upon the direct temperature secured by burning the neces- sary amount of fuel in the orchard. Four fuels have been generally used: (a) wood, (b) coal, (c) bri- quettes, (d) oil. Where wood is plentiful and cheap, as it is in many sections of the Rocky Mountain states and the west coast, it is prepared in convenient sizes and placed in piles throughout the orchard ready for lighting. When frost is threatened these piles are fired and the blaze kept going by the addition of more wood until the sun warms the air beyond the danger point. In many sections coal is available at a low price and can be used in the same manner, except that special fire pots are usually required. These are offered for sale by western manufacturers and serve to burn the coal rapidly and economically. The usual estimate is that where coal can be had at $2 to $3 a ton, this method will be more economical than the use of oil at $5 to $6 the 100 gallons. There is a good deal of argument over this point, however, the estimate not being accepted by all fruit growers. Briquettes which are not available in many parts of the country, vary considerably in composition, so that their value cannot be easily estimated. They are composed of coal dust, tar, sawdust and other refuse materials made into the size and form of ordinary building bricks. If they have a consider- able proportion of good inflammable material, they will burn well and give a reasonable amount of heat. They are not widely used, and not likely to be. The standard fuel for heating is oil. However, there are many different kinds of oil and many grades in the market, and one of the most serious CLIMATOLOGY 2? problems at the present time is to secure the right kind. Experience agrees that only the best grade of oil should be used, oils with a paraffin base being greatly preferred to those having -an asphalt base. The best of these pass under various commercial names such as "smudge distillate" and "slop distil- late." Oils which leave a considerable amount of unburned residue are difficult to use and less eco- nomical than the higher priced oils. In many cases, also, the oils are found to be mixed with a greater or SIDE-HILL STORAGE FOR OIL less proportion of water, which is a serious detri- ment. The water makes the fires sputter, and in many cases causes the pots to boil over. In every case, of course, the water absorbs a large amount of heat from the fire during its evaporation, thus wast- ing the fuel enormously. At the present time it does not seem possible to direct any fruit grower to any particular brand of oil which he can buy with the certainty that it will be perfect. It is necessary, therefore, for every man to take the most stringent precautions on his own be- half, remembering that the high-priced oils are pretty certain to be better than the cheap, heavy oils. 28 THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD If a car of oil can be allowed to stand for 48 hours after delivery before it is drawn off from the tank, the oil will largely separate and leave the water at the bottom. The oil can then be dipped or drawn off the top, leaving a certain amount of water be- hind. This same precaution, however, ought to be exercised by the shippers before the oil is forwarded. When the oil is received it is usually necessary to store it in some sort of a tank. Two types of tanks are now in common use: (a) cement, (b) galvanized iron. The cement tanks are generally preferred, where they can be constructed. They should be placed at some distance from other farm buildings on account of the dangerously inflammable character of the oil which they are to hold. Such tanks should always be arranged so the oil can be drawn off by gravity into the tank from which it is distributed to the orchard. If the storage can be placed on a fairly steep side hill, it will be possible both to fill and to empty this reservoir by gravity. Such an ar- rangement is obviously most economical. The typical method of using is to burn the oil in small galvanized iron pails about the size and shape of a ID-pound lard pail. The ordinary com- mercial pail holds about one gallon of oil, but larger sizes are offered in the market and are preferred by some growers. Various modifications of this form have been invented and patented and are now being sold in large quantities. Each has its advantages and its disadvantages. One of the most important improvements is the introduction of an air draft by which the oil is more fully consumed. The best heater is the one which gives the most hot flame and the least smoke, for in this method the smudge is not sought for, the object being to heat the air di- rectly. CLIMATOLOGY OIL BURNERS FOR ORCHARDS 3O THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD These fire pots are placed throughout the orchard early in spring before the danger season arrives. They are used at the rate of from 50 to 100 to each acre, and it seems to be good practice to lean toward a larger number. It is sometimes claimed that 15 to 20 heaters to the acre will do the trick, but experi- ence does not sustain this view. Some care needs to be exercised also in placing the individual burners so the flame will not injure any tree. They should not be placed, for instance, directly beneath an overhanging branch. The natu- ral and proper place for the burner is at the center of the square equally distant from four trees, but this precise spot is not always available. In all such cases judgment must be exercised, which simply means that cheap hired help cannot be used for setting out the oil burners. It is usually desirable to have some definite plans for frost warning. In sensational magazines it is easy to read stories about automatic frost alarms which touch the button and ignite all the oil pots by an electric current, thus taking care of the or- chard while the owner snores comfortably in bed. Such stories, however, are useful only for the con- sumption of credulous and unsophisticated city peo- ple. An automatic frost alarm working like a $i alarm clock has its value, but should not be de- pended upon wholly. The local weather service and the telephone exchange can usually be interested in this matter in any fruit-growing district, and have been known to give invaluable help at times of dan- ger. At any rate, it is necessary for the orchard owner to be very much on his guard at the critical season, and if necessary to sit up nights watching his own orchard. As soon as it appears that a frost is imminent the CLIMATOLOGY 31 fire pots have to be lighted. If there are several acres of orchard with 50 to 100 pots to the acre, this becomes somewhat of a chore of itself, as the work has to be done rapidly and at two or three o'clock in the morning when the land is apt to be dark and the work otherwise unpleasant. Special lighting torches have been patented and are offered for sale, and these are probably well worth while. At any rate it would be found very trying to strike a sep- arate match for each fire pot. This method of orchard heating has apparently come to stay. In all those regions where there is constant danger of late spring frosts and where con- ditions are otherwise favorable, this seems to be the most certain and economical method. Some- thing depends, however, upon the topography, upon the presence of currents of air and other local con- ditions. A good deal remains to be learned about orchard heating, and even after the general princi- ples are better understood than they are today, there will always be need of careful adjusting of the methods to the requirements of each particular orchard. Ill SOILS AND EXPOSURES THE American fruit books have always promul- gated the theory that the peach tree requires a light soil. In fact, a sandy soil has often been mentioned as the most desirabe type, though this has nearly always been modified to exclude poor, dry, sandy land and such as is deficient in plant food. Prob- ably this represents the popular conception of good peach land, but the experience of leading peach growers in the United States in recent years does not altogether bear out this theory. As a matter of fact, the peach tree does prefer a reasonably light, warm soil. A fair comparison would be made by saying that the peach should have soil somewhat warmer and lighter than that required for the apple. No fruit tree will flourish on soil that is wet. Proper drainage is absolutely indispensable. Both upper soil and subsoil must be free from water, and an impervious subsoil any- where within 2 or 3 feet of the surface will render the land worthless for peach growing. While it is true that peaches have been grown to some extent in light, sandy soil, such locations have been suc- cessful only when the soil contained also a reason- ably large amount of available plant food. A study of the situation as it prevails throughout the whole United States shows clearly that the lighter, warmer soils are more successful in the northern states, while farther south heavier soils are more commonly chosen. This fact appeals to horticultural judgment as being sound in theory 32 SOILS AND EXPOSURES 33 also. In general, however, the question sums up in the statement that peaches require medium soils, neither very light nor very heavy, and that, espe- cially in the southern states, any well-drained soil of good physical texture will be successful with peaches, no matter how much clay it contains. An old rule which has often been given by the au- thor for the choice of apple soils cannot go very CLEARING STONY PEACH LAND, HALE ORCHARDS tar wrong also in the choice of peach soils. Ac- cording to this method of judgment, one would choose for apple growing any soil which is thor- oughly well adapted to potato growing. In the middle and the northern states this means rich loam and gravelly well-drained soils. All such land, however, is well suited to peach growing also, and if we modify the rule in favor of somewhat warmer, 34 THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD lighter, sandier soils for northern climates, we will have marked out a standard of judgment which will be fairly safe in selecting peach lands anywhere north of Pennsylvania, Missouri and Kansas. In order to give a somewhat simpler basis of com- parison to a wider geographical range, we may say that so far as soil quality is concerned, land well suited to corn and cotton growing will prove satis- factory for peaches. This refers to the quality of the soil only and not to the location, altitude or ex- posure. The best corn lands, to be sure, are often the flat bottoms along rivers, whereas peach orchards succeed only on similar soils placed on higher eleva- tions and suitably drained slopes. My friend, Mr. H. J. Wilder, of the U. S. Depart- ment of Agriculture, when asked about this subject of soils for peaches, made the following statement : "It is a matter of common observation that peaches require a deep, mellow soil ; but what con- stitutes those conditions on a soil that could be classed as fairly strong, thereby favoring a satis- factory growth of tree to yield a maximum amount of high quality fruit, with lowest cost for maintain- ing the productivity of the soil, is not so easy to determine. Bed rock anywhere near the surface is bad, though stones do no harm. Many orchards in West Virginia, western Maryland and Pennsyl- vania are underlain by unbroken shale at 18 to 30 inches. They suffer in all weather extremes — either wet or dry. Impervious, clayey subsoils are nearly as bad. Friable clay loams or sandy clays are the heaviest subsoils that should be used, and when overlain by a foot or so of sandy loam or fine sandy loam, they give good results. Many of the Georgia orchards are so located. "A desirable range of soils adapted to peaches SOILS AND EXPOSURES 35 might be thus stated: A surface soil ranging from sandy loam to a friable, mellow, light loam from 8 to 12 inches deep, underlain by a subsoil ranging from heavy, sandy loam to very friable clay loam. Light, sandy soils underlain by subsoils equally light are in much less favor than formerly. They are too susceptible to lack of moisture to maintain a uni-- form tree growth, and in a dry year the average grower rarely secures fruit equal in size to that from a soil somewhat more loamy. With a loam surface soil the subsoil should not be heavier than a loam. A friable and mellow clay loam or loam subsoil, on the other hand, is desirable where the surface is a sandy loam or sand, unless early ripen- ing is desired, in which case a lighter subsoil might enable one to gain- a day or two in the marketing of early varieties — an advantage which at times would prove very profitable. "Good color of fruit is most easily obtained on light, sandy soils. Good size of fruit and yield to the acre are most easily secured on soils more loamy, such as fine, sandy loams and light, friable loams. On the latter soils, well-balanced soil management and open pruning will help the coloring. In general such a combination will probably yield the highest profits, though varieties vary somewhat in their adaptation to soils." Taking up the country throughout, a great diver- sity of soils are available for peach growing, al- though they nearly all fall under the broad defini- tions given above. In the New England states light, sandy or gravelly soil is nearly always preferred. This is commonly spoken of as light, sandy loam, though it must be remembered that the soils of New England are so diverse and are located in such small areas that it is very difficult to specify closely. 36 THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD In New York state, the preference for sandy or gravelly loam is still more emphatic. The value of a clay subsoil, very widely recognized in states far- ther south, begins to make itself felt in the more suc- cessful peach regions of New York state. In New Jersey the sandy or gravelly type of soil is preferred, underlaid either with gravel or friable clay. In Del- aware and Maryland, the sandy loams of the Chesa- peake Peninsula are found to be excellent for the growing of peaches. About the only point to be guarded against in choosing soils of this type in this locality is a deficiency of plant food. Except in ex- treme cases such deficiencies can be made good by careful soil management, the use of barnyard manures, green manures, cover crops, etc. In the important peach regions of West Virginia and a part of old Virginia, special soils have been developed with great success. These are known as the black cherts and the sandy red shales. These soils, full to overflowing with small broken stone, and which seem to be on first sight almost impossi- ble of cultivation, have proved to be remarkably adapted to fruit growing, and especially well suited to peaches. In the Canadian peach regions, as one might expect, the sandy loams are particularly preferred, and open gravelly subsoils are found more satis- factory than softer clay. The same conditions pre- vail largely in the peach-growing regions of Michi- gan, where there are thousands of acres of sandy loam devoted to this crop. Gravel and clay lands are used more frequently than in Canada, and are not considered desirable unless exceptionally well drained and in the best of physical condition. In the central states, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Ken- tucky and Tennessee, the reddish clay and the roll- SOILS AND EXPOSURES 37 ing sandstone soils are generally preferred. This seems to be, however, more a question of topography than of soil composition. Throughout these central states the sandy and loamy soils are presented most- ly in flat, level prairies or in low-lying bottom lands, TYPICAL WEST VIRGINIA PEACH LAND which are unavailable for peach culture on account of altitude and exposure. The. famous peach regions of Georgia and neigh- boring states are mostly upon sandy loam with clay subsoil. There are, however, in these southern states many excellent peach orchards on red clay, meaning in this case the red soils of the rolling foot- 38 THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD hills. The light, sandy coast lands of the Carolinas are used to some extent for peach growing, but in general are not so successful as the red loams and clays on higher altitudes, as mentioned already. Once more, however, it should be pointed out that this is probably less a matter of soil than of topog- raphy. Texas and Arkansas are developing important commercial peach orchards at the present time, chiefly upon warm, sandy land or on sandy, alluvial loam underlaid with clay subsoil. In this latitude a certan amount of retentive clay is desirable either in the peach soil itself or within easy reach in well- drained and friable subsoil. In Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma light, warm, surface soils with strong subsoils are largely pre- ferred. In the mountain states where peaches are now an important crop the soils are extremely va- ried. It is impossible to specify any one type as representing the development of the peach indus- try in that section. Red, sandy loams have been found very successful in Colorado. The rich mesa soils are generally desirable, but this is partly on account of their value for irrigation. California has long produced peaches in commercial quantities, chiefly on deep sedimentary loams, usually of pro- nounced sandy type. A state, however, covering such a wide range of latitude and such great ranges of altitude, with such diversity of soil, would natu- rally use land of very different types. It ought to be said, in summing up this general consideration of peach soils, that the value of any particular type seems to depend more upon physical character than upon actual chemical composition. The plant food may easily be supplied in the form of fertilizer, since the peach tree is one of the easiest SOILS AND EXPOSURES 39 of all orchard trees to feed. The peach is, however, if anything more sensitive than the apple to defects of drainage or to the presence of hard, impervious strata of improper physical condition. GOOD PEACH LAND IN WEST VIRGINIA EXPOSURES All the farmers' institute speakers on orchard management, and on peach growing in particular, have from time immemorial made a great point of exposure. We refer here to slope, the direction in which the ground slants. The recommendations on this matter have been very positive, and the only trouble has been that they did not agree. A careful review of present knowledge shows conclusively that this point has been greatly over-emphasized. 4O THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD So much would easily appear from the contradic- tory nature of the advice given. One peach grower (perhaps it would be better here to refer to peach lecturers rather than to peach growers) has insisted vehemently on an east slope; the next man has spoken earnestly in favor of a north slope, and has warned his hearers against the dire disaster which always comes to peach orchards on south slopes; while another lecturer or magazine writer has said that the south slope is best by all cdds. I have re- cently sent a questionnaire to leading growers in all the peach regions of Canada and the United States asking, among other things, which exposure they found best. With a deep suspicion that all this ex- posure worry was fol-de-rol anyway, I asked point blank this question, "Does exposure make any dif- ference?" The 152 replies to this direct question were distributed as follows: No, 60 Yes, 49 Not much, 43 Probably these figures put the case quite as strongly in favor of the exposure theory as the facts would warrant. Michigan and New Jersey gave the largest number of votes in the "Yes" column, and it is fair to believe that exposure makes more real dif- ference in these districts than in some others. Yet the force of the positive answers (those voting "yes") is considerably weakened by the diversity of ideas among the voters. Some recommended north slopes, while other men in the same states recom- mended south slopes. As nearly as any guiding principles can be sifted out of this large mass of genuinely expert testimony the case seems to stand as follows. SOILS AND EXPOSURES 4! 1. The importance of exposure has been greatly exaggerated. In a large majority of cases the points of the compass may be ignored. 2. Nevertheless there are exceptions to this rule. These exceptions apply to particular localities. The question is an extremely local one. 3. Slope is most important in middle latitudes, and in districts where weather damage (either from spring frosts or winter sun scald) is most frequent. 4. South slopes may be desirable in infrequent cases, especially for early ripening varieties, or where high color is a matter of prime importance. 3. North slopes may be best in a few cases where the principal dangers are climatic, especially the danger of sun scald. 6. Most persons who consider exposure to be a factor in the location of peach orchards prefer east or west slopes, or frequently quartering slopes, as northeast, or northwest. 7. Under any circumstances a moderate slope is to be preferred to a steep one, both with respect to the effect of the slope itself and especially with regard to the management of the soil. ALTITUDE The discussion of exposures is frequently con- fused with the question of altitudes. Sloping land gives much better air drainage than flat land; and high sloping land is therefore commonly preferred Tor orchards of all kinds, simply because the cold moist air easily runs off such territory to lower levels. This problem of air drainage, however, is quite a different one from the question of exposure toward particular points of the compass. All grow- ers prefer land slightly elevated and such as lies so 42 THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD as to have this good atmospheric drainage. Per- haps the value of this factor is also over-estimated in some cases, but it is well to be on the safe side in this matter. A good circulation of air probably has some value in keeping down certain diseases; and in localities where frost damage to buds and blossoms is to be apprehended during the spring, this air drainage has a most decided value. However, it is never safe to lose sight of facts, and the fact here is that many of the successful com- mercial orchards of the present day are growing on perfectly level land and sometimes at distinctly low altitudes. Bottom lands surrounded by higher hill lands do not come into this classification. IV HOW TO GET THE TREES THE first problem in starting a peach orchard is, of course, to get the trees. They may be bought or they may be propagated on the farm where they are to be grown. Each method has its advantages and disadvantages. Home propagation has generally been undertaken either by men starting large or- chard enterprises or by amateurs having small gar- dens. Those of the former class have had in view such advantages as reduction in cost of trees, cer- tainty of delivery when wanted, securing trees relia- bly true to name and immunity from damage which often occurs in shipment. Men of the amateur class have propagated their own trees for the sake of getting special varieties which they could not buy from nurseries, in order to have trees true to name, but chiefly for the fun of the work. Probably the home propagation of peach trees has fallen off considerably within the last few years, although it would be hard to prove this by statis- tics. There appears to be a growing tendency among the large orchard companies, however, to leave prop- agation to the nurserymen. The nurserymen really have many important advantages in growing peach trees, such as soils especially adapted to the busi- ness, experienced workmen, and all the facilities for digging and handling stock. The nursery business has been so well systematized in the last few years, errors in naming have been so largely eliminated, deliveries have so far improved, and the prices of nursery stock have been reduced so near to the 43 44 THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD cost of production that it hardly seems feasible for the fruit grower to compete with the nurseryman. Either business is a big undertaking by itself and very few men can succeed in both lines, no matter how good their opportunities. However, the peach trees have to be propagated by some one, and a brief description of the best methods should be given here. This will be less directly useful to the nurseryman than to the ama- teur who amuses himself with a few trees in his own garden. This book is written primarily for fruit growers, and the author hardly has the presumption to suppose that he can teach the nurseryman any- thing about the propagation of peach trees. PROPAGATION The propagation of the peach tree begins with the planting of the seed. It must be understood at once that this seed is not intended to develop into a tree itself and reproduce its kind. The seed is simply planted for the growing of a stock which is after- wards budded to the desired variety. Any sort of peach seed will do, and the home gar- dener going at the business in a small way need give himself very little concern in selecting his pits. It will be well, of course, if he can secure seed from healthy, vigorous trees. Experienced growers have a prejudice in favor of taking seed all from one variety and some have especial preference for Crosby in this connection. However, this point is too trivial to occupy much attention. The two cus- tomary sources of supply for the big propagators are (a) the canning factories, (b) and the collectors of so-called southern "wild" seed. When peaches are canned at the canneries, the seeds taken out constitute a more or less important by-product. HOW TO GET THE TREES 45 They are dried, packed and extensively sold to nur- serymen. These seeds vary enormously in quality. Some are very large and run few to the bushel ; others are small and give fully twice as many trees for each bushel of seed ; some have a high percent- age of viability ; others germinate very poorly. The southern or natural seed is collected from "wild" peach trees, mostly in North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. These pits are much smaller than those from the budded varieties such as are sold from the canning factories. They there- YOUNG TREES INTERCROPPED WITH STRAWBERRIES fore yield from two to four times as many trees to each bushel of seed. This is a consideration of con- siderable importance to large propagators. The seed also gives a large percentage of germination and a very vigorous, even growth of stocks for budding. Nearly all nurserymen consider it dis- tinctly superior to the canning factory seed ; but the old theory that seed from a wild tree was necessa- 46 THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD rily stronger, hardier or healthier than that from the budded tree never was anything much but super- stition. The peach pits are bought in autumn and should be clean and dry when received. Customary prac- tice, at least among small growers, is to bury them in a moist, well-drained soil for the winter. They are placed in holes of any convenient size dug in the ground and covered with 4 to 6 inches of earth. The soil should be of such a character as to keep the pits moist, and the locality should be such as to prevent water draining into the hole and covering the pits during the winter. The seeds will freeze and thaw more or less during the winter. This has the im- portant advantage of cracking the hard shells and assisting materially in the germination. The pits are dug up at potato planting time in the spring, are sifted out of the soil and should then be immediately planted. In case the pits are not frozen, and so have not been cracked or softened, they may be gently cracked with a hammer before planting. This treatment, if carefully given, will greatly increase the percentage and evenness of the stand, but it is, of course, a slow and expensive job. Freezing is sometimes said to be necessary to germination, but this is not the fact. The seeds are planted in drills 3 to 3^2 feet apart so as to allow for horse cultivation. They are placed in the rows from 2 to 4 inches apart. They should germinate promptly and give a good even stand. The soil should be thoroughly and evenly worked and a liberal amount of fertilizer used. Indeed, the soil should be enriched before the seeds are planted. Applications of nitrate of soda between the rows during the early part of the summer will often be advantageous. It is of the greatest importance to HOW TO GET THE TREES 47 keep the young trees growing rapidly throughout the summer until budding time. For this reason seeds should never be planted except upon light, warm, well-drained, rich soil, in a high state of cul- tivation. The budding season begins, according to locality and weather, from August i to September i, and continues until perhaps the latter part of September. Whether they are ready for budding or not must be determined by inspection of the stocks themselves and not by reference to the calendar or consulting the moon. The trees should be grown to the size of a lead pencil or larger and be in a vig- orous state of growth, and the bark near the base of the stock should peel up easily when cut as the bark peels from a willow at whistle-making time. The easy slipping of the bark is the critical test. The propagator now supplies himself with a suit- able budding knife, with some strips of raffia and with scions in the form of budding sticks cut from reliable fruiting peach trees of the variety which he wishes to reproduce. Usually he takes with .him a healthy boy with freckles on his nose to do the rough work. The job then proceeds. The boy with the straw hat goes ahead and rubs the branches from the stocks for a space of 6 or 8 inches above the ground. This work should not be done much in advance of the man who is setting the buds as it will cause the bark to "set." The budder carries his budding sticks over his back in a moistened sack, which serves the double purpose of keeping the scions moist and cooling his back against the blazing heat of the August sun. It really becomes something of a chore to creep along the ground for 10 hours a day during August with one's back turned directly toward the sunlight. Each budding stick is a shoot of the current year's 48 THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD growth, usually 12 to 18 inches in length and hav- ing at the base the diameter of a very small lead pencil. From this the blades of the leaves are clipped immediately when the stick is taken from the parent tree. The petioles of the stems of the leaves are left to serve a very useful purpose in setting the buds. The budder kneels or sits beside the row of stocks and begins his work by cutting a T-shaped incision through the bark of the stock, preferably on the shady north side and as near the surface of the ground as he can conveniently work. If the stock is in proper condition, the two lips of this incision peel up smoothly from the wood beneath, so as to allow the easy insertion of the bud. The propagator then cuts a single bud from his budding stick. This little bud has attached to it a shield-shaped portion of bark and the stem or petiole of the leaf. The shield is slipped down into the T-shaped opening made upon the stock and the budder slides along to the next tree, leaving the work to be finished by the boy already mentioned, who follows after and ties the bud securely in with a strip of raffia. These ties must be examined from time to time and should be removed as soon as the buds "take." This will usually be in one or two weeks. If the ties are not removed within a month, they will be- gin to choke the stocks, which continue to expand rapidly in diameter at this season. The tie is cut by running a sharp knife longitudinally up the stem of the stock on the side opposite to the bud. These buds should grow fast to the stocks within two or four weeks after setting, but under proper conditions will remain dormant through the first winter. They should start into vigorous growth the following spring. As soon as growth is assured, HOW TO GET THE TREES 49 the stock should be smoothly cut off about an inch above the inserted bud. Care is required through- out the year to protect the bud from the encroach- ments of the stock. Very often suckers start from the stocks and quickly choke out the engrafted bud unless they are rubbed off. This work requires an inspection of the entire field with considerable care from two or four times during the early part of the growing season. JUNE BUDS For some years American nurserymen have been practicing a special method of propagating the peach, known as June budding. This differs from the process already described in the earlier inser- tion of the bud and in the different results which follow. The buds are set as early as possible in the season, which means in middle and southern lati- tudes, during the month of June. Of course the stocks are planted early and forced to their utmost growth in order to be ready for this extra early budding. While the bark of the stock does not slip as well during June as during favorable weather in August, it may, nevertheless, be handled success- fully by an expert budder. Some care is to be ex- ercised, moreover, in securing scions on which the buds are sufficiently mature for use at this time. It is customary to set the buds considerably higher in this form of budding and to leave a few good leaves on the stock below the bud. As soon as the bud has grown fast the top above the bud is cut away. Sometimes this is done at two or three oper- ations, a little at a time, as the Dutchman cut off his dog's tail, in order not to give the tree too severe a check. The raffia ties have to be removed very 53 Heath Cling — Large, round oval, white red skin, white flesh, cling, best quality, very late; kitchen and market use; originated in Maryland. Heath Free (Freestone Heath) — Originated in Massachusetts; oblong, large, green white, freestone, good, medium late. Henrietta — Medium size, round oblate, yellow red skin, yellow red flesh, clingstone, medium quality, late; market and kitchen use ; originated in District of Columbia. Hiley (Early Belle) — Originated in Georgia; round, large, creamy white red, freestone, early. Honey — Small, oval, creamy skin, white red flesh, freestone, very good quality; dessert and kitchen use; originated in New York, but more suitable for southern growing. Hynes Surprise — Small, round, red skin, creamy flesh, semi- clingstone ; medium quality, late ; dessert and market use ; originated in Kentucky. Illinois — Described as a fine white market peach. Imperial (White Imperial) — Originated in New York; round, very large, white yellow red, freestone, very good, early. Ingold, Lady — Medium size, round, yellow red skin, yellow red flesh, freestone, good quality, medium early; dessert and market use ; originated in North Carolina. Iron Mountain — Originated in New Jersey; round oblong, large, yellow green, semi-clingstone, good. Japan Dwarf (Japan Dwarf Blood) — Originated in Japan; round, medium size, yellow red, very good, very early. Jacques (Jacques' Rareripe) — Originated in Massachusetts, round, compressed, large, yellow red, freestone, good, medium late. J. H. Hale is a new peach originated by the man whose name it bears. It is a yellow fruit of the Elberta type, probably a seedling of that variety, larger and probably better, about the same season ; smooth and very attractive. The originator and introducer claims great things for this variety. Kalamazoo — Medium size, oval, red yellow skin, yellow red flesh, freestone, very good quality, medium early; dessert, market and kitchen use; originated in Michigan, and largely planted there. Kerr, Jessie — Medium size, oval, white red skin, white flesh, medium quality, very early; market use; originated in Maryland. Keyport— Medium size round oval, white red skin, white flesh, freestone, poor quality, late; market use; originated in America. Klondike— Originated in Pennsylvania; large, white yellow, good, late. Krummel, or Krummel's October— Described in glowing terms by Stark Bros. Late, yellow, freestone. 2O4 THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD Lagrange — Originated in New Jersey; round oblate, green- yellow red, large, freestone, very good, late. Large York — Medium size, round, white red skin, white flesh, freestone, good quality, early; dessert and market use; originated in England. Late Admirable — Large, round oval, green red skin, white flesh, freestone, very good quality, medium season; dessert use; originated in France. Late Crawford — Large, round, yellow red skin, yellow flesh, freestone, very good quality, late ; dessert and market use ; originated in New Jersey ; a fine old favorite and widely accepted as the standard of quality. Late Rareripe — Medium size, round oval, yellow red skin, white flesh, freestone, very good quality, medium season ; dessert and market use; originated in America. Lee, General — Large, round oblate, green skin, green flesh, clingstone, good quality, early; market use; originated in America. Lemon Cling — Large, round oval, yellow red skin, yellow flesh, clingstone, very good quality, medium season ; dessert and market use; originated in South Carolina. Extensively used by the California canneries. Lemon Free — Large, oblate, yellow skin, yellow flesh, free- stone, very good quality, late; dessert and market use; originated in Ohio. Levy (Henrietta, Levy's Late) — Originated in District of Columbia; round, late, yellow, clingstone, very good; mar- ket and kitchen use ; very late. Lewis — Medium size, round, red white skin, creamy flesh, freestone, good quality, late; dessert, kitchen and mar- ket use; originated in Michigan. Louise — Medium size, round, red skin, white flesh, freestone, good quality, early; dessert and market use; originated in England. Louisiana — Round, large, white, freestone. Lolo, Miss — Medium size, round, red white skin, creamy flesh, freestone, good quality, early; dessert and market use; originated in Texas. Lone Tree — Originated in Iowa; medium small, yellow, free- stone, very good, medium late. Longhurst— Originated in Canada ; oval, medium large, yellow, freestone, good. Lorentz — Originated in South Carolina; round, medium large, yellow, freestone, good. Lovell — Medium size, round compressed, yellow red skin, yel- low flesh, freestone, good quality, late; kitchen and mar- ket use ; originated in California. Lovett (Lovett's White) — Originated in California; very large, yellow red, clingstone. VARIETY CATALOG 2O5 McDevitt (McDevitt Cling) — California; oblate compressed, very large, yellow red, clingstone, very good; kitchen and market use ; medium season. Mclntosh — Round, large, creamy white, semi-cling, very good, medium early. McKevitt — California; white, clingstone. Mamie Ross — Medium size, round oblate, white skin, yellow flesh, clingstone, good quality, early; dessert and market use; originated in Texas. Maggie (Maggie Burt) — Texas; oval, large, wnite, clingstone, good, very early. Mary Choice — Large, round, yellow red skin, yehow red flesh, freestone, very good quality, late; market use; originated in Maryland. Mathews (Mathews' Beauty) — Round, large, yellow, free- stone, good. Mayflower — A very early, bright red, promising new variety. May Lee — An early cling variety. Miller (Miller Cling) — Very large, yellow, clingstone. Morris White — Medium size, oval, creamy white skin, white flesh, freestone, medium quality, medium season; kitchen and^ market. Mountain Rose — Medium size, round, white red skin, white flesh, very good quality, freestone, medium early; orig- inated in New Jersey; dessert and market use. Muir — Large, yellow skin, yellow flesh, freestone, very good quality, medium season ; dessert, kitchen and market use ; originated in California. New Prolific — Round oval, large, yellow, freestone, very good. Niagara — Originated in New York; large, freestone, very good, medium early. Nichols (Nichols' Orange) — Originated in California (?); large, yellow, clingstone. Oldmixon Cling — Medium size, round oval, creamy skin^white flesh, clingstone, good quality, medium season; kitchen and market use. Oldmixon Free — Medium size, round oval, creamy skin, white flesh, freestone, very good quality, medium season ; des- sert and market use ; a fine variety and a great favorite in its neighborhood. Onderdonk — Medium size, oval, white skin, white flesh, free- stone, good quality, medium season; dessert and market use ; originated in Texas. Orange Cling — Medium size, round, yellow skin, yejlow flesh, clingstone, medium quality, medium season; kitchen and market use. Orman — Originated in Texas (?). Ovieda — Originated in Florida (?) ; compressed, medium size, green white blushed, freestone, very good, medium early. 2C)6 THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD Pallas — Medium size, oval, white skin, white flesh, freestone, early; dessert and market use; originated in Georgia. Parham — Small, round, yellow white skin, white red flesh, freestone, medium quality, late; market and kitchen use; Parks (Parks' Late Cling) — Originated in Illinois; round ob- late, very large, creamy yellow red, clingstone, good, very late. Peen-to — Small, form very oblate, white skin, white flesh, clingstone, good quality, early; dessert use. This is a Chinese type of which several forms are known in Amer- ica. It is suited to southern climates, particularly Florida, though it has been fruited as far north as Massachusetts. Peninsula — Large, oblate, yellow skin, yellow flesh, freestone, good quality, medium late; market use; originated in Maryland. Phillips Cling — Medium size, oblate compressed, yellow skin, yellow flesh, clingstone, good quality, medium late ; dessert and market use; originated in California. Picquet — Medium size, round, yellow red skin, yellow flesh, freestone, medium quality, late; dessert use; originated in Georgia. Prize — Medium size, oblate, yellow skin, yellow red flesh, freestone, good quality, late; market use. Ray — Originated in Mississippi; round, medium size, creamy white red, early medium season; a very good market variety. Red Bird — A very early cling variety recommended for Cen- tral States. Red Cheek Melocoton — Medium size, round oval, yellow red skin, yellow flesh, freestone, medium quality, medium sea- son; dessert and market use. Red River — Originated in Texas; round, medium large, creamy white, semi-clingstone, good quality, early. Reeves Favorite — Large, round oval, yellow red skin, yellow flesh, freestone, good quality, medium season ; market use ; originated in New Jersey; widely planted. Richmond — Large, round, yellow red skin, yellow flesh, freestone, medium quality, medium season; market use; originated in New Jersey. Rivers — Medium size, round compressed, creamy white skin, white flesh, freestone, good quality, early; dessert and market use ; originated in England. Robert — Originated in Delaware (?) ; round, medium, yellow, freestone, very good. Royal George — Small, round, white red skin, white flesh, free- stone, best quality, medium season; dessert use. VARIETY CATALOG Russell — Medium size, round, white red skin, white flesh, free- stone, good quality, early; dessert, kitchen and market use; originated in Nebraska. Salway — Medium size, round oval, yellow red skin, yellow flesh, freestone, medium quality, late; market use; orig- inated in England. Sellers (Sellers Golden Cling) — Originated in California; very large, yellow, cling, late. Slappey — Round, medium size, yellow, freestone, very good, early. Smock — Medium size, oval, yellow red skin, yellow flesh, free- stone, medium quality, late; market use; originated in New Jersey. Sneed — Medium size, oval, green white skin, white flesh, cling- stone, poor quality, very early ; market use ; originated in Tennessee. This variety was formerly much planted as a first-early market sort, but has been very properly aban- doned by progressive growers. Snow — Medium size, round, white skin, white flesh, freestone, medium quality, medium season; dessert and market use. Stevens Rareripe — Medium size, round oval, creamy white skin, white flesh, freestone, good quality, medium late ; market use; originated in New Jersey. Stinson (Stinson's October, Stinson's Late) — Originated in Mississippi (?); round oval, large, creamy white red, clingstone, good, late. St. John (Yellow St. John) — Medium size, round, yellow red skin, yellow flesh, freestone, good quality, early; market use; originated in 'America. A great favorite in the On- tario peach district. Stonewall Jackson — Medium size, round oblate, green yellow skin, green flesh, clingstone, medium quality, early; kitchen and market use; originated in Texas. Strawberry — Small, oval, red skin, white flesh, freestone, good quality, early medium ; dessert and market use ; originated in New Jersey. Stump — Large, round oval, white red skin, white flesh, free- stone, medium quality, medium late, market use; orig- inated in New York. Suber — Originated in Florida (?); round, medium size, creamy white red, clingstone, good, early. Success — Originated in Texas; round, large, .yellow, freestone, good. Susquehanna — Very large, round, yellow red skin, yellow flesh, freestone, best quality, medium season; dessert and kitchen use; originated in Pennsylvania. Taber — Originated in Florida (?); round medium size, creamy white blushed, clingstone, good, medium season. 2O8 THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD Tarbell — Originated in Massachusetts; round, very large, yel- low red, freestone, very good, medium late. Taylor — Originated in District of Columbia; round, large, yellow, clingstone, very good. Texas — Small, round oblate, yellow green skin, green flesh, semi-clingstone, poor quality, late ; dessert use ; originated in Texas. Thompson (Mrs. Thompson's Golden Free) — Originated in Florida; yellow, freestone. Thurber — Medium size, round oval, white red skin, white flesh, freestone, good quality, early; dessert use; orig- inated in Georgia. Tillotson — Small, round, white red skin, white flesh, freestone, good quality, early; dessert use; originated in New York. Tippecanoe — Large, round, yellow red skin, yellow flesh, cling- stone, medium quality, late; dessert and market use; originated in Pennsylvania. Toledo (Early Toledo) — Originated in Ohio (?); round, large, yellow white, freestone, good, early. Triumph — Small, round, yellow red skin, yellow red flesh, semi-clingstone, poor quality, early; market use; orig- inated in Georgia. Tree and bud very hardy, prolific, but fruit is small and very poor in quality. The variety is hardly worth growing except in the coldest regions. Troth — Small, round, white green red skin, white red flesh, freestone, poor quality, medium early; market use; orig- inated in New Jersey. Tuskena — Large, oblate compressed, yellow skin, yellow red flesh, clingstone, good quality, early; dessert, kitchen and market use; originated in the South. Victor — Round, medium size, creamy white, semi-clingstone, good, early. Victoria (Early Victoria) — Originated in England; round,, medium size, yellow red, freestone, very good, early. Waddell — Oblong, medium large, creamy white, freestone, good. A first-class midseason market peach of the Chinese cling group. Wager — Small, oval, yellow skin, yellow flesh, freestone, poor quality, medium season; market use; originated in New York. Waldo — Small, oval, white skin, white flesh, freestone, me- dium quality, early; dessert and market use; originated in Florida. Walker, Free — Large, oblate, white red skin, white red flesh, freestone, good quality, late; dessert and market use; originated in Delaware. VARIETY CATALOG 2CX) Ward Late — Medium size, round oval, white red skin, white flesh, freestone, good quality, very late; dessert and kitchen use. Washington — An old variety, which some growers recommend for the family orchard. Waterloo — Small, round, white red skin, green white flesh, semi-clingstone, poor quality, very early; dessert and market use; originated in New York. Wheatland — Very large, round, yellow red skin, yellow flesh, freestone, medium quality, medium season; dessert and market use; originated in New York. Wonderful — Originated in New Jersey; round, large, yellow red, freestone, late. Yazoo (Yazoo Cling)— Originated in Mississippi; clingstone. Yellow Rareripe — Medium size, red skin, yellow red flesh, freestone, good quality, medium season; dessert and mar- ket use. XVIII THE NECTARINE THOUGH well known in Europe and a decided favor- ite in England, the nectarine is a stranger in America. It is practically unknown here. Probably not one fruit grower in a hundred has ever seen a nectarine. It is very hard to account for this strange neglect of a good fruit. The nectarine is simply a smooth-skinned peach — a peach without the fuzz. This definition itself would imply that it was a good thing. The fuzz on the peach certainly has no culinary value ; we may even doubt its having any commercial value. The * fruit being otherwise the same as the peach, the nectarine would seem to have a decided advantage over this splendid and well-known fruit. Neglect of the nectarine in America seems to arise largely from the fact that varieties adapted to American conditions have not been introduced. For the most part the varieties which are listed in the fruit books have originated in England and are not adapted to our section any more than European varieties of peaches are. Could we have nectarines of the qual- ity of the Early Crawford peach or of the Foster or Champion, they certainly would find many friends in this country. The nectarine used to be regarded by botanists as a separate species, but it is now known definitely to be the same as the ordinary peach, with the ex- ceptions already described. Nectarines have fre- quently originated from peach seeds, and conversely peaches have originated from nectarine seeds. The 210 THE NECTARINE 211 most convincing evidence, however, of their identity lies in the fact, well authenticated in several cases, that nectarines originate by bud variation from peach trees. Furthermore, these nectarine trees sometimes revert to the peach character by bud sporting. This interchangeability of peach and nectarine shows their identity and indicates definitely the fact that they are to be propagated, culti- vated and man- aged in all ways alike. At this time it will be un- necessary, there- fore, to give any special directions for the propaga- tion or cultivation of the nectarine. We may simply reiterate the state- ment that what we need in this country are some good varieties adapted to Amer- i c a n conditions. We may hope for something of this kind in the future. Several new va- rieties of very fine quality have recently been in- troduced in Eng- NECTARINE GROWN UNDER GLASS 212 THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD land, and it is impossible to see why similar ad- vances cannot be made in this country. In England the nectarine is largely grown under glass, for which use it is often preferred to the peach. Its comparative popularity in that country may be indicated roughly by the fact that Robert Hogg in his Fruit Manual, edition of 1875, named and de- scribed 35 varieties of nectarine exclusive of syno- nyms. These were classified into 12 different groups. On the other hand a careful search through the current catalogs of American nursery firms has found only one which offered any nectarines what- ever. W. £ T. Smith, of Geneva, N. Y., include three varieties, named and described in their catalog as follows : Early Violet, medium size, yellowish green, with a purple cheek, flesh pale green, highly flavored, last of August. Elrudge, medium size, pale green covered with dark red, flesh greenish white, melting, very juicy with a rich, high flavor, beginning of September, freestone. Gawny, medium size, pale orange, dark cheek, flesh orange, melting, rich, the very best early va- riety, ripening the first of August. Professor Wickson in the Cyclopedia of Ameri- can Horticulture, states that the nectarine is grown in California almost exclusively for drying and can- ning, and even for these uses is of but minor im- portance. As compared with peaches, for canning, the output of nectarines is only about one-eighth of one per cent of that of the peach, and for drying only about one per cent of that of the peach. The varieties grown for both canning and drying are the white nectarines, because they do not color the syrup in canning and because when sulphured they make a beautiful translucent amber color. XIX UTILIZING THE FRUIT The peach is pre-eminently a fruit to be eaten fresh and raw. The ripe, juicy, luscious peach in the hand is worth two in the compote. Great quan- tities of the fruit meet their final market in this form. It is the ambition of honest American fruit growers to produce peaches so cheaply that any honest, industrious workingman may give his family a good filling up every year. Peaches can be and should be eaten fresh in large quantities by every- one. Then come peaches and cream ! The words have become the universal synonym for everything rich and luscious to the palate. Good thick cream, and plenty of it, at peach time will make any peach grower's family completely happy. There is a com- mon prejudice in favor of the yellow varieties for this sort of consumption. This prejudice has no fair foundation, aside from the fact that yellow fruit looks better on white china than white fruit does. Yellow varieties like Late Crawford or Foster are, of course, unsurpassable; but the best white varie- ties such as Carman, Champion or Oldmixon, are just as good to the taste. Perhaps the housewives of the future will arrange to serve them on yellow saucers, or even on red ones, in order to help out the color scheme, seeing that is all that now stands in their way. CANNING Next to the raw, fresh peach the canned fruit is the most acceptable; and probably one-half the en- 213 214 THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD tire American peach crop annually finds its way into cans. Doubtless everybody knows how to do the trick, but for fear someone may look into this book expecting suggestions for canning, I will insert the recipe and directions given by Mrs. Maria Parloa, as follows : 8 quarts of peaches, 1 quart of sugar, 3 quarts of water. Put the sugar and water together and stir over the fire until the sugar is dissolved. When the syrup boils skim it. Draw the kettle back where the syrup will keep hot but not boil. Pare the peaches,* cut in halves, and remove the stones, unless you prefer to can the fruit whole. Put a layer of the prepared fruit into the preserving kettle and cover with some of the hot syrup. When the fruit begins to boil, skim carefully. Boil gently for ten minutes, then put in the jars and seal. If the fruit is not fully ripe it may re- quire a little longer time to cook. It should be so tender that it may be pierced easily with a silver fork. It is best to put only one layer of fruit in the preserving kettle. While this is cooking the fruit for the next batch may be pared. It is most important that the jars, covers, and rubber rings be in perfect condition. Examine each jar and cover to se? that there is no defect in it. Use only fresh rubber rings, for if the rubber is not soft and elastic the sealing will not be perfect. Each year numbers of jars of fruit are lost because of the false economy in using an old ring that has lost its softness and elasticity. Having the jars, covers, and rings in perfect condition, the next thing is to wash and sterilize them. Have two pans partially filled with cold water. Put some jars in one, laying them on their sides, and some covers in the other. Place the pans on the stove where the water will heat to the boiling point. The water should boil 10 or 15 minutes. Have on the stove a shallow milk pan in which there is about 2 inches of boiling water. Sterilize ^the cups, spoons, and funnel, if you use one, by immersing in boiling water for a few minutes. *Some cooks insist upon silver knives for paring, because they claim that steel knives injure the fruit. If the fruit is fully ripe, and if it is scalded before paring, this dictum may be disregarded. For scalding the water should be in considerable quantity and boiling hard ("galloping," the cooks call it), and only a small number of peaches should be immersed at a f'me. A frying .basket is an excellent utensil to use. From 30 to 90 sec- 0«ris' d'p is enough. The skin will peel off in great sheets, thus reducing labor, UTILIZING THE FRUIT 215 When ready to put the prepared fruit in the jars slip a broad skimmer under a jar and lift it and drain free of water. Set the jar in the shallow milk pan and fill to overflowing with the boiling fruit. Slip a silver-plated knife or the handle of a spoon around the inside of the jar, that the fruit and the juice may be packed solidly. Wipe the rim of the jar, dip the rubber ring^in boiling water and put it smoothly on the jar, then put on the cover and fasten. Place the jar on a board and out of the draft of cold air. The work of filling and sealing must be done rapidly, and the fruit must be boil- ing hot when it is put into the jars. If screw covers are used, it will be necessary to tighten them after the glass has cooled SMALL CANNING OUTFIT and contracted. When the fruit is cold wipe the jars with a wet cloth. Paste on the labels, if any, and put the jars on shelves in a cool, dark closet. In canning, any proportion of sugar may be used, or fruit may be canned without the addition of any sugar. However, that which is designed to be served as a sauce should have the sugar cooked with it. Fruit intended for cooking pur- poses need not have the sugar added to it. Large growers of peaches everywhere have ex- perimented seriously with various methods for dis- posing of waste peaches or of taking up any excess in times of glut when it may easily happen that for 2l6 THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD several days at a time a reasonable profit cannot be realized by shipping even good grades of fruit. Canning always seems to be one of the most prom- ising methods of utilizing such peaches, and many growers have therefore established their private canneries, some on a large scale, some in a smaller way. The net result of many years of experience the coun- try over seems to show that such private canneries are not always a success, and that they are most likely to be of use to owners of small or medium-sized orchards. The extensive growers can usually arrange to turn their surplus over to some established canning fac- tory; and on the other hand the relatively large canning plants which they would require for their own use and the large personnel which they would be obliged to organize hurriedly in case of need, make too big and complicated an undertaking to carry. The writer knows of one large orchard in which a fully equipped cannery was installed at an expense of several thousand dollars. It was used one year during a glut ; but owing to inexperienced management and untrained operatives, no profit was realized. During the six years next succeeding, the peach crop moved to market properly without any glut, and the cannery was not called into requisi- tion. Whan the time came again that the plant might have been used, it was altogether worthless — the woodwork had rotted down and the ironwork rusted out. Practically it was a total loss. This experience is not universal, of course, but it seems to be fairly typical. On the other hand, the small grower who has no very well-established shipping market, but who depends largely on peddling his peaches to his neighbors, is sure to find some year that peaches are UTILIZING THE FRUIT 217 plentiful and his neighbors all- have enough. Thus he is left with a big crop on his hands. Then, with a good canning outfit, he and his family, the hired man and the hired girl can put up the bulk of the crop in good tin cans, turning them off dur- ing the winter and converting a dead loss into a clean and handsome profit. Such home canning outfits are obtainable on the market at all prices from $5 up to several hundred. A good farm outfit, capable of putting up 3,000 cans a day or more, can be bought for $100. It is easily set up and easily operated by anyone who has rea- sonable mechanical ingenuity and who is capable of any good clean piece of work at any other job. The full directions for installing and operating these out- fits are supplied by the manufacturers, so that fur- ther details need not be given here. THE CANNING INDUSTRY The practice of canning fruit for winter use is peculiar to America. In many countries it is hardly known, and nowhere is it practiced to the same ex- tent, or anywhere near it, as in the United States and Canada. The peach is the prime favorite for canning, whether in the home kitchen or in the biggest canning factories. It is the easiest to handle, it keeps the best and it comes out in the winter in the most acceptable quality. For all these reasons it is put up in enormous quantities. Gould and Fletcher have compiled statistics to show somewhat of the extent of this industry, and these figures are given herewith as showing the amounts of peaches put up in 1904 by the commercial canning factories. The amount put up in home kitchens cannot be esti- mated, but it may be roughly guessed at 50 per cent of the amount canned in factories. 2l8 THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD QUANTITY AND VALUE OF PEACHES PACKED IN VARIOUS STATES. State. Canning season of 1904. Value, season of 1899. Cases.* Value. 6S,269 30,086 17,845 1,302,715 744,715 352,244 12,762 10,060 9,767 57,128 179,838 52,989 43,868 $3,894,272 2,640,524 753,003 35,134 39,399 19,370 130,147 102,504 60,775 3,362 $4,283,165 3,103,775 758,919 10,940 72,591 2,500 167,799 Texas Utah United States Ohio New York All other States *A case is generally understood to hold 24 cans. In the statistics for 1904 "all other states" includes Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia, together with small lots in still other states not named, amounting to 14,576 cases, valued at $36,452. PEACHES FOR VINEGAR Waste peaches, those too poor or too ripe for shipping or canning, or those partially decayed, may be utilized by pressing out the juice and fermenting it for vinegar or brandy. The United States bureau of chemistry, reporting on this matter, shows that peaches contain sufficient fermentable sugar for use as vinegar stock, and that they can be successfully handled by machinery already in use for making ap- ple cider and vinegar. Other points of interest are as follows: First, but little variation was found in the composition of the same variety of peaches when obtained from different localities. Second, the peach juices analyzed were found to be rich in UTILIZING THE FRUIT 219 sugar, but were about one per cent lower in sugar than average apple juices. They were considerably richer than apples in sucrose and in acid. Third, it was found that the use of pure culture yeasts was not necessary to insure rapid alcoholic fermentation. Fourth, the ciders prepared from peaches were con- siderably poorer in alcohol than apple ciders on ac- count of the fact that peaches contain less total sugars than apples. Fifth, the presence of brown rot was found not to interfere with the alcoholic fermentation of the ground peaches, but a large proportion of the sugars was wasted by allowing the fruit to rot before fermenting. Sixth, well- flavored vinegars were produced by the use of a small quick-process generator. These vinegars were of acceptable quality, though turbid, and did not possess the distinctive peach flavor. PEACH WINE The following directions for making peach wine are taken from a French cookbook : Press the juice from the fruit and use five gallons of water to every bushel of fruit ; in other words, dilute the juice pretty freely. To each gallon of juice add two pounds of sugar. Put this mixture in an open cask or a stone jar. Allow it to ferment, skimming off the scum which rises. When no more scum appears, draw off the liquor, preferably with a siphon, so as not to disturb the sediment, placing it in a keg, which should be laid on its side in a moderately cool cellar. A sec- ond fermentation, slower than the first, will now follow, dur- ing which time the keg should be kept nearly but not quite closed and perfectly full. A small quantity of the juice should be kept at hand in a separate vessel for this purpose. This slow fermentation will last^ for three to six months, and its completion may be easily judged by the fact that no more gas is given off. The cask may then be tightly bunged up, or the wine drawn off into clean bottles and tightly corked. Further aging in wood or glass improves the appearance and the flavor. 22O THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD PEACH BUTTER This is one of the good old-fashioned farm prod- ucts. As made at the factories it is usually called peach marmalade, and that is also what the modern college-educated housewife usually calls hers. Gen- uine peach butter, however, is something which ought not to be allowed to go out of remembrance, and so we would better include a good working recipe recently given by Mrs. Fred Telford in the "Country Gentleman," as follows : Peach butter can be made from peaches that are overripe; that is, from peaches that are not decayed, but that are too ripe to put upon the market. First-class peach butter usually retails at about 75 cents a gallon, and since but little sugar need be added in its manufacture there is a very good profit in it for the producer when peaches are cheap. It also makes an excellent spread for children's school lunches as well as a good dish for the table. Wash the peaches thoroughly, cut out all decayed spots, peel and remove the stones. Place them in a preserving ket- tle and add enough water to prevent them from burning. Boil the peaches slowly, stirring them constantly, until they are well cooked down and smooth. Then add a little cinna- mon and about a cupful of sugar for each quart of butter. The taste of people varies, so that a little more or less sugar may be required. Continue the slow cooking and constant stirring until the entire mass is free from lumps and as smooth as it can be made by stirring. While the butter is still boiling hot, put it in glass cans and seal it immediately, using new rubbers and perfect covers. It is true that butters of this sort keep if placed in unsealed jars, but they are almost sure to mold. The mold does not entirely spoil the butter for use as food, but it makes any sort of food unattractive, and in addition lessens the food value. These mold filaments soon penetrate the entire con- tents of a quart can; and while they are usually invisible, unless a microscope is used to detect them, they soon pro- duce flavors noticeable to the discriminating taste. If the butter is kept in an unsealed jar, melted paraffin should be poured over the top. The labor of constant stirring may be partly eliminated in the following manner : Stew the prepared peaches until they become soft and then run them .through a colander. Add the same proportion of sugar as for the stirring method, and UTILIZING THE FRUIT 221 stir it into the butter until it is thoroughly dissolved and mixed. Place the butter in a stone crock, set it in a moder- ately hot oven, and stir it about every 15 minutes. This method produces just as smooth a butter, lessens the labor and the danger of burning, and eliminates burns on the arms and hands from the spattering of the hot butter. PEACH MARMALADE Those who prefer to make peach marmalade may safely follow Mrs. Rorer's recipe which is as fol- lows: Rub the peaches, but do not pare them. Cut them in halves, remove the stones, and to every pound of peaches allow a half-pound of sugar. Put the peaches in a porcelain- lined kettle, add sufficient water to cover the bottom of the kettle; cover, and heat slowly to boiling point; then stir and mash the peaches until fine, add the sugar and three or four of the peach pits or kernels (to every quart of marmalade) blanched and pounded to a paste. Boil and stir continually for 15 minutes, then stand over a more moderate fire, and cook slowly 20 minutes longer. Stir occasionally, that it may not scorch. Put away in stone jars. PEACH JELLY Peaches are not supposed to make jelly, but the following directions ought to work, as they are given on the eminent authority of Mrs. Rorer, being taken from her celebrated cookbook : "Pare, stone, and slice the peaches, put them in a stone jar, and to each half-peck of peaches allow one cup of water. Crack a dozen of the kernels and throw them in with the peaches. Stand the jar in a kettle of boiling water^ cover closely, and boil for one hour, stirring until the fruit is well broken, then turn into a flannel jelly-bag, and ^ hang up to drip. To every pound of this juice allow the juice of one lemon and one pound of granulated sugar. Put the juice into a porcelain-lined kettle, and bring it quickly to a boil; add the sugar, stir until the sugar is dissolved, then boil rapidly and continuously until it jellies, skimming the scum as it comes to the surface; 20 minutes is usually sufficient, but sometimes I have boiled it 35 minutes before it would jelly properly. 222 THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD "It is wise to commence testing after 15 minutes' boiling. To do this, take out one teaspoonful of the boiling jelly, pour it into the bottom of a saucer, and stand it in a cold place for a moment; then scrape it one side with a spoon — if jellied, the surface will be partly solid; if not, boil a few minutes longer, and try again. As soon as it jellies, roll the tumblers quickly in boiling water, then fill them with the boiling liquid. Stand aside until cold and firm (about 24 hours). Then, if you have jelly-tumblers, put on the lids; if not, cover with two thicknesses of tissue paper, and paste the edges of the paper down over the edges of the tumblers. Then moisten the top of the paper with a sponge dipped in cold water. This moistening stretches the paper, so that when it dries again it shrinks and forms a covering as tight and smooth as blad- der skin. "I do not recommend jelly being covered with brandied paper^ as in^my handset has never been satisfactory. The jelly, in cooling, forms its own air-proof covering, and if the top of the tumbler be well secured, it is all that is necessary. Keep in a cool, dark place." PRESERVED PEACHES Peaches make splendid preserves. Mrs. Lincoln's Cook Book tells how to do it thus : "Pare the peaches; or remove the skins by plunging the peaches into boiling lye (two gallons of water and one pint of wood ashes). When the skins will slip easily, take the peaches out with a skimmer and plunge them into cold water ; rinse in several waters, and there will be no taste of the lye. Weigh, and add three-fourths of a pound of sugar to each pound of fruit. Halve them, and use some of the pits, or leave them whole — as you please. The stones improve the flavor. Make a syrup by adding as little water as possible to the sugar — about one cupful to each pound of sugar. When it boils, skim till clear, then add the peaches, and cook until transparent." GREEN PEACH PRESERVES The writer has not tried it, but he has often heard of making preserves of green peaches, and he there- fore thinks it safe to introduce the directions given in a French cookbook. It is said that the fruit can UTILIZING THE FRUIT 223 be used when quite green, even the fruit taken at thinning time when two-thirds grown (it really ought to be thinned sooner) being said to make per- fectly edible and even delectable preserves. Green peaches, 5 pounds; Sugar, 1 pound for every pound of juice; Water enough to cover fruit. Preparations : First, take off the stems, place the peaches in a kettle, pour over enough water to cover well, and boil until the peaches are tender. Second, empty the kettle on a sieve, placing a dish under it to receive the juice. Third, weigh the juice, pour in the kettle, add as many pounds of sugar as you have pounds of juice, and let boil while skimming until the syrup is cooked to the degree called the great thread, which you try as follows : Dip the hand into cold water and dip the skimmer in the syrup, touch it with thumb and fore- finger, and instantaneously open it. If the preserves are cooked enough a thread of sugar will be obtained. Fourth, during the time that the syrup is cooking arrange the peaches in jars, and when the syrup is ready, pour it over the fruit, let cool, and seal tightly. DRYING PEACHES— CALIFORNIA 224 THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD SWEET PICKLED PEACHES Here we have a favorite farm home product which ought to be put up every year. Clingstone varie- ties are to be preferred, and those with red flesh are particularly recherche (which is a French word meaning greatly sought for). Mrs. Farmer's Bos- ton Cooking-School Cook Book is authority for the recipe. Yi peck peaches, 2 pounds brown sugar, 1 pint vinegar, 1 ounce stick cinnamon, cloves. Boil sugar, vinegar, and cinnamon 20 minutes. Dip peaches quickly in hot water, then rub off the fur with a towel. Stick each peach with four cloves. Put into syrup, and cook until soft. DRIED PEACHES Dried peaches are a staple article of commerce, though they are by no means plentiful nor cheap. The fact that they cost so much of the grocer leads many people to suppose that the surplus crop can easily be worked up in the drier at a profit, but this has not been the experi- ence of most of the men who have tried it in the eastern states. The com- HOME DRYER UTILIZING THE FRUIT 225 mercial drying of peaches is an industry confined almost wholly to California, where the drying is done largely under the sun in the open air. It hardly seems practicable here to enter into a discussion of the methods used in that work. In the eastern states peaches when dried are usu- ally put through one of the regular fruit evaporators. These may be bought in various sizes, some de- signed to be operated on top of a kitchen stove, and others fitted with furnaces of their own. The com- mercial fruit evaporators, of course, are even more ambitious than these, and consist of houses or kilns built especially for the work. Anyone who wishes to try the ready-made driers of any size can get full and reliable directions for operating from the manu- facturers ; and anyone who wants to build a regular drying factory had better consult the evaporation engineers. Peaches may be home dried with excellent results. The freestone varieties are best for this purpose. Mrs. Fred Telford gives the following directions : Peel the peaches, remove the stones, and spread the fruit upon drying frames that have previously been covered with clean wrapping paper. Place the frames in the direct sun- shine and cover the peaches with mosquito bar or wire netting. Place the frames far enough from the street or the road to prevent dust from falling on the fruit. Each day place the frames under cover just before sundown. Turn the peaches several times during the first day of exposure. After they have dried for some days the contents of several frames may be placed together on one frame. Peaches may be dried without peeling, but the product is not so well flavored or tender when it is cooked in the winter. Nor do the unpeeled dried peaches sell so well as the peeled fruit. After^the peaches have become thoroughly dry they should be kept in a cool, dry place, in something that will prevent all insects from reaching them. A thick paper sack, such as corn meal or pan- cake flour comes in, is excellent for this purpose. 226 THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD SHORT CAKE One of the good old-fashioned home cookery lux- uries which is never remotely imitated in the res- taurants is the peach shortcake. Now, the wrong way to make a shortcake is to prepare as a basis a sponge cake or some other sweetened substratum of the same general sort. This is what they do in cheap hotels. The right way, and the way they practice on good farms, is to make a batch of dough just as though there were to be biscuits for supper. Sometimes it is made a little shorter, but this is hardly desirable. This dough is baked in square or round baking tins, which ought to be big and gener- ous. There should be at least two of these tins of cake baked, and better three. They should be fully baked but with only a very slight browning. When done they are removed to a big platter, and between the layers of unsweetened cake are spread liberal strata of very ripe sweet peaches, peeled, stoned and sliced thin. The fruit stratum is always heavily sweetened with sugar, and may be touched up a bit with nut- meg or other spices if desired. Some rural gour- mets dress their portions with thick yellow cream ; other more delicate persons say their stomachs will not stand the treatment. For shortcomings of this sort we recommend 12 active hours a day pick- ing, packing and shipping peaches to market. PEACH PIE Peach pie is probably the best known way of cooking peaches. Here is a good New England recipe, from the land where they know what pie is : Remove skins from peaches. This may he done easily after allowing peaches to stand in boiling water one minute. Cut UTILIZING THE FRUIT 2.2J in eighths, cook until soft with enough water to prevent burn- ing; sweeten to taste. Cool, and fill crust previously baked. Cover with whipped cream, sweetened and flavored. PEACH COBBLER In the country where peaches are cheap as air, and where home consumption is the main feature of the peach market, the people who really know what the peaches are good for make the fruit harvest memo- rable with a peach cobbler. Apparently this is not an aristocratic piece of cookery. The present writer has searched all the most approved cookbooks in vain for directions or even for a mention of peach cobbler. But it is too good a thing to be overlooked, so in the absence of any cookbook recipe the author will tell how he has himself made a peach cobbler which met with liberal indorsement from hungry children, who ought to know about such matters. A peach cobbler is simply a peach pie on a large and liberal scale. Instead of being built up in a 10- inch pie tin, it is baked in the biggest dripping pan the house affords — one which will barely go into the oven. A heavy crust is provided, made shorter than biscuit dough, but not so short as the usual pie crust. Some cooks put in a lower crust for the foundation of the peach cobbler, while others prefer to do with- out the lower crust. The writer follows the former practice. Good peaches, ripe but not soft, of some rich-flavored variety, are chosen, pared, pitted and sliced. The cobbler is rilled fairly full of these sliced peaches, which are then freely dressed with sugar, also with nutmeg and any other spices which the cook's taste may fancy; the top crust is put on, some ventilating holes made as in ordinary pie de- signing, and the thing shoved carefully into a mod- erate oven. It is baked till the crust is done. Every- 228 THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD body gets a piece on his plate about as big as a pack- age of corn-flakes ; and a good many folks pour Jer- sey cream over theirs. Doesn't that make your mouth water? Try it. PEACH FRITTERS Two medium-sized sour peaches, powdered sugar, batter. Batter : 1 1-3 cups flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, *4 tea- spoon salt, 2-3 cup milk, 1 egg. Mix and sift dry ingredients, add milk gradually, and egg well beaten. Pare peaches, cut in eighths, slice eighths, and stir into bat- ter. Drop by spoonfuls and fry in deep fat. Drain on brown paper, and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve hot on a folded napkin. PEACH DUMPLINGS 1 quart of flour, 1 large tablespoonful of but- 2 heaping teaspoonfuls of ter or lard, baking powder, 1 teaspoonful of salt, T/2 pint of milk. Pare the peaches, but do not take out the stones. Put the pot over the fire with just enough water to half cover the dumplings ; or if you are going to steam them, which is much the better way, have the steamer over the pot, which should be half full of boiling water. Now put the flour into a bowl, and rub into it the butter or lard, then add the salt and baking- powder. Mix well, and moisten with the milk, using more or less, as the flour requires to make a soft dough ; that is, a dough that will roll out nicely without being sticky. Take the dough out on a baking board, roll it out about a half-inch in thickness. Now cut out the dumplings or the covering for the peaches with a large round cutter, about the s:ze of a common saucer; put one peach in the center of each piece, add a little sugar, and carefully work the dough over the peach. If you boil them, tie each one in a floured cloth, or put them into netted dumpling bags, plunge them immediately into the boiling water, and boil 30 minutes. If you steam them, place them on a dinner plate a little smaller than the steamer, stand the plate in the steamer and steam 40 minutes. Serve on the plate on which they were steamed. Serve hot, with hard sauce or sweetened cream. — From Mrs. Rorer's Cook Book. UTILIZING THE FRUIT BAKED PEACHES Mrs. Farmer gives directions as follows for bak- ing peaches : Peel, cut in halves, and remove stones from six peaches. Place in a shallow granite pan. Fill each cavity with one tea- spoon sugar, one-half teaspoon butter, few drops lemon juice, and a slight grating of nutmeg. Cook 20 minutes, and serve on circular pieces of buttered or dry toast. BRANDIED PEACHES There are a great many good people in this world, and some of them temperate to a fault, who fancy the flavor of brandied peaches. This is one of the standard methods of preparing this fruit, and need not be allowed to go out of use, though perhaps some other name might be chosen more acceptable to the W. C. T. U. The directions following are from Mrs. Rorer's Cook Book: "Take large white or yellow freestone peaches. (They must not be too ripe.) Scald them with boiling water; cover, and let stand until the water becomes cold. Repeat this scalding, then take them out, lay them on a soft cloth, cover them over with another cloth, and let them remain until perfectly dry. Now put them in stone jars, and cover with brandy. Tie paper over the toos of the jars, and let them remain in this way one week. Then make a syrup, allowing one pound of granulated sugar and a half-pint of water to each pound of peaches. Boil, and skim the syrup, then put in the peaches, and simmer until tender. Then take the peaches out, drain, and put them in glass jars. Stand the syrup aside to cool. When cold, mix equal quantities of this syrup and the brandy in which you had the peaches. Pour this over the peaches, and seal. PEACH BAVARIAN CREAM 1 pint can or nine fresh Y2 box gelatine, peaches, ^ pint of cold water, 1 pint of cream. Cover the gelatine with the water and let soak a half hour. Press the peaches through a colander; if fresh, first stew and 230 THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD sweeten them. Stir the gelatine over boiling water until dis- solved. Whip the cream. Add the gelatine to the peaches, mix, and turn into a tin basin; stand the basin in a pan of cracked ice, or snow, and stir constantly until the mixture begins to thicken ; then add the whipped cream, stir carefully until thoroughly mixed ; turn into a mold and stand aside to harden. Serve \\ith whipped cream heaped around the base. — Mrs. Rorer's Cook Book. PEACH TAPIOCA 1 can peaches, Boiling water, l/4 cup powdered sugar, l/2 cup sugar, 1 cup tapioca, l/2 teaspoonful salt Drain peaches, sprinkle with powdered sugar, and let stand one hour; soak tapioca one hour in cold water to cover; to peach syrup add enough boiling water to make three cups ; heat to boiling point, add tapioca drained from cold water, sugar, and salt ; then cook in a double boiler until transparent. Line a mold or a pudding dish with peaches cut in quarters, fill with tapioca, and bake in moderate oven 30 minutes; cool slightly, turn on a dish, and serve with cream sauce. — Miss Farmer's Boston Cooking School Cook Book. PEACH LAYER CAKE Cake. YZ pound of butter, Y2 pound of sugar, 5 eggs, 2 ounces of corn starch, 6 ounces of flour, 1 teaspoonful of vanilla, J4 teaspoonful of mace, 2 tablespoonfuls of sherry, 1 teaspoonful of baking powder. Beat the butter to a cream; add the sugar gradually, beat- ing all the while, then add the yolks of the eggs, then the well- beaten whites, then the flour, cornstarch and baking powder; beat well; add the flavorings, mix well. Grease three deep jelly tins, pour in the cake, and bake in a moderately quick oven 15 minutes. When done, remove carefully from the pans, and stand the cakes on a towel for a few minutes to cool. Pare the peaches, cut them in thin slices. Beat the whites of two eggs lightly, add, gradually, four tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar, and then beat vigorously until stiff enough to stand alone. Put a layer of this over the top of one cake, then a layer of sliced peaches, stand another cake on top of UTILIZING THE FRUIT 231 this. Put the remainder of the white filling over the top of this cake, then another layer of peaches. Now place the re- maining cake on top of this, press down lightly, dust the top over with powdered sugar, and it is ready for use. — Mrs. Rorer's Cook Book. PEACH AND CANTALOUPE COCKTAIL Cut the ends off Gem, Jenny Lind, Rocky Ford or any good musk melon ; remove the seeds ; fill with cubes of peaches nice and ripe, adding other fruit if desired, such as bits of pineapple, orange, apple, etc. ; cover with French dressing made with lemon juice; add a dash of nutmeg and a tea- spoonful of fine currant jelly to each melon; serve very cold in crushed ice. In prohibition states these melons sometimes get a big spoonful of sherry each just before coming to the table. PEACH SHERBET At the soda fountain one often encounters peaches and near peaches, sometimes as dressings for college ices, sometimes in other forms. Peach ice cream as usually prepared is not a howling success, but peach sherbet can be made so as to satisfy the criticism of the best palate : Let best peaches, say Waddell or Late Crawford, ripen thoroughly on the tree. They should be just as soft as good peaches can get without spoiling. Peel and stone a peck of these fruits, handling very carefully. Put them into an ice cream freezer with about one-third their weight of sugar and nothing else. Stir them thoroughly while freezing. Here you have a most delectable dessert. It should not be frozen too stiff, though tastes vary at this point, and everyone should please his own. PEACH MERINGUE Pare and stew one dozen peaches, and press through a col- ander to remove the stones. Line two deep pie dishes with plain paste; sweeten the peaches to taste; fill the dishes even full, and bake in a quick oven 25 minutes. Then beat the whites of six eggs and six tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar to a stiff froth, add a teaspoonful of vanilla. Cover the pies with this meringue about three-quarters of an inch thick, and 232 THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD >ut back in the oven until a nice brown. — Mrs. Rorer's Cook put oa Book. PEACH SPONGE y*, box of gelatine. 1 pound of sugar, 1 pound of peaches, Grated rind of one and juice 3 eggs, of two lemons. Y-2. pint of boiling water, Boil the sugar and water until clear, take the scum from the surface. Pare the peaches, and slice them into this syrup. Stew until tender. Cover the gelatine with cold water and let it soak while the peaches are stewing; add the gelatine to the peaches when they are done, then press the whole through a sieve, add the rind and the juice of the lemons, and stir until cold and slightly thickened. Beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, stir them into the peaches and beat until cold and thick, then pour into a mold to harden. Make a vanilla sauce from the yolks of the eggs. Serve the sponge in a des- sert dish, with the sauce poured around it — Mrs. Rorer's Cook Book. JELLIED PEACHES Soak two ounces of gelatine in a cup of cold water. Boil a cup and a half each of sugar and cider, and the rind of one lemon, for 10 minutes ; pour the syrup over the gelatine. Put a layer of sliced peaches and blanched almonds in the mold ; fill with the syrup; chill; garnish with whipped cream. — Con- solidated Library of Modern Cooking & Household Recipes. PEACH CANAPES Saute circular pieces of sponge cake in butter until delicately browned. Drain canned peaches, sprinkle with powdered sugar, few drops lemon juice, and slight grating nutmeg. Melt one tablespoon butter, add peaches, and when heated, serve on cake. — Miss Farmer's Boston Cooking School Cook Book. ICED PEACHES Any good peaches may be easily iced by dipping first in the beaten white of an egg, then in sugar finely pulverized, and again in egg, and so on until you have the icing of the de- sired thickness. Peaches should be pared and cut in halves, and treated in this way. XX HISTORICAL SKETCH Scientific opinion now leans to the belief that the peach is native to southern China. In former times it was supposed to have originated in Persia. The oldest names which we know signify this Persian origin. But Persia was probably only a way-sta- tion in the spread of the peach from China to Europe and thence to North America. Although at the time of the first settlements in America the peach was not nearly so well known nor so highly regarded as it is today, plantings were made on this continent at a very early date. It is hardly worth while to review the records of these early plantings here ; but the general trend of peach culture, its rapid spread, and the unexpected man- ner in which this fruit made itself at home in Amer- ica can be judged from the following transcript from a famous fruit book published in Philadel- phia in 1803. This was the American edition of Forsyth's "Culture and Management of Fruit Trees," in which it was said: "Peaches are in some variety, and ripen to great perfection in the middle and the southern states; as with but a little attention they would in the more northern states of America. It is a fruit that is so natural to the country of these states, that they are ap- plied as food to hogs, also in making brandy, and for culinary purposes. They are in succession, one sort coming after another, from July to November. In some of the states, kilns are erected for drying 234 THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD and curing apples, pears, peaches, and other fruits in great quantities ; where pies are made into moun- tains of crust, thick, essential, and cheap ; and given to hirelings, as an agreeable food for all laboring people in the country, and which needs but little or no sugar. The dried fruit is packed in casks for family use ; and is sometimes exported as merchan- dize. They are generally divided into clear-stone and cling-stone peaches. The cling-stone sorts are, in France, called pavies. In a list of thirty-nine choice sorts of peaches, given by Mr. Forsyth, only six are received by the French as pavies or cling- stones; and, it seems, in France and England the clear-stone sort is preferred at their tables. "But of all peaches, perhaps of all fruits, there is none equal in flavor to the American Heath Peach, a cling-stone. It is large, weighing near a pound in common : with but a moderate attention, the editor believes, they would very generally weigh a full pound. It is backward in ripening northward of the Susquehanna; and is one of the last sort that ripens ; many weigh a full pound. Peachley's form of a vinery would perfect the ripening, and secure the fruit from thieves. "Within the states of America, clear-stone peaches are preferred for food to hogs, and for mak- ing brandy; perhaps also to be eaten in country families, with milk; but the cling-stone sorts are preferred when of a good sort, well ripened, to be eaten as fruit undressed. "It is a common fault, after having planted out an orchard of peach trees, to leave the trees to shift for themselves and travel down with old time, with scarcely any culture or attention ; and the trees are taken from the nursery, where they had become full grown, crowded and stunted, so as to be now unfit UTILIZING THE FRUIT 235 for giving good fruit when transplanted: and they are left to themselves, without any training or prun- ing; and heading-down is scarcely thought of, if known : in consequence, the fruit they yield is mean, and the orchard in the end is given up." The remarkable manner in which the peach be- came naturalized here is shown further by the fact that the botanical explorer, Nuttall, found the spe- cies growing wild as early as 1812 and as far west as Arkansas. For years beyond memory it has been one of the common wild trees all through the southern Appalachian mountains, these trees having been for many years the source of the commercial "wild" seed so much liked by the nurserymen. The development of peach orchards in the modern manner began about 1820, though a large proportion of the early plantations were of seedling trees. Ex- tensive plantings of budded trees were not made until about 1870. From this period to about 1890 many good orchards were established, particularly in Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. Later the introduction of the Honey type of peaches, and of the Peen-to, direct from China, as well as of the Spanish race (see page 188), gave a new impetus to peach culture in the South and ex- tended the plantings over large new areas. From 1890 to 1900 there came into prominence another new and distinct type of peaches, the Chinese Cling race, brought direct from China. These new varie- ties, mostly from seedlings originating in this coun- try, were found to possess qualities of great value adapting them to commercial cultivation over the entire North American peach belt. The introduc- tion of the Elberta, in particular, gave a genuine boom to the peach-growing industry. Large, new 236 THE AMERICAN PEACH ORCHARD areas were developed, notably in Georgia and Texas, but in many other states also. In spite of the extraordinary plantings made be- tween the years 1895 and 1905, the actual bearing area has recently declined. In 1900 there were, in round numbers, 100,000,000 peach trees in the United States. In 1910 the number had fallen to 94,500,000. There were, however, 42,266,000 trees growing and not yet of bearing age ; but the short-lived character of the peach tree, and the ravages of San Jose scale and general neglect are amply shown in these fig- ures. At the present time it would appear that new plantings just about balance the annual losses. INDEX Page Acid Phosphate 96 Acme Harrow 72 Age of Trees 53 Altitude 42 Barry, P., quoted 192 Basic Slag 96 Big Peach 137 Blake, M. A., quoted 100 Bone 97 Bordeaux Mixture 153 Bordeaux Mixture, Dilute 157 Botanical Status 185 Brandied Peaches 229 British Columbia Peach Grow- ing 2 Brown Rot 139 Buckwheat 90 Bud Killing 16 Budding 47 Bushel Basket 167 Buying Trees 16 California Peach Growing 10 Canada Peach Growing 2 Canning 213 Canning Industry 217 Canning Outfits 215 Chinese Cling Group 187 Choosing Varieties 191 Classification of Peaches 186 Climatology 12 Climax Basket 165 Clover 89 Columbia Group 188 Connecticut Peach Growing 5 Co-operative Selling 171 Cover Crop, Purposes 82 Cover Crops 82 Cover Crops, Disadvantages. — 86 Cowpeas 87 Curculio 130 Curculio Catcher 131 Deer Damage 77 Delaware Peach Growing 5 Derivation of Peach 185 Disc Harrow 71 Diseases 134 Distances for Planting 60 Dried Peaches 224 Dumplings 228 Dwarf Stocks 49 Elberta 193 Elements of Plant Food 93 Exposures 32 Exposures 39 Family Orchard 179 Page Fertilizer Practice 99 Fertilizers Florida Peach Growing. Florida Peach Growing. Forming the Head .. 93 2 6 .. 110 Formulas for Fertilizers ....... 100 Ill 13 Frame Work of Trees Freezing Trees Fritters ...................... 228 Frost Warning ............... 30 Fruit Bark Beetle ............ 133 General Management .......... 67 Georgia Peach Carrier ......... 165 Georgia Peach Growing ....... 6 Geography of Peach Growing. . 1 Grades of Trees .............. 54 Ground Production ........... 13 Hale, J. H., quoted ............ 175 Handling Trees .............. 64 Hardy Varieties .............. 196 Heading In .................. 113 Heading the Tree .............. 107 Heating Orchards ............ 25 Historical Sketch ............. 233 Home Garden ............... 179 Home Market ................ 175 Honey Group ................. 188 Hose ........................ 144 How to Get Trees ............. 43 Improvement of Varieties ..... 193 Inoculation of Soil ........... 85 Insect Enemies .............. 120 Iowa Peach Growing .......... 2 Iowa Peach Growing .......... 7 elly ........................ 221 ersey Basket ................ 166 une Buds .................. 49 une Drop ................... 74 Kainit ...................... 98 Kansas and Nebraska Peaches.. 9 Kentucky Peach Growing ...... 7 Killing of Blossom Buds ...... 16 Laying Down Trees ........... 19 Laying off the Orchard ........ 63 Leaf Curl ................... 137 Leavens, Geo. D., quoted ...... 102 Lecanium Scale .............. 130 Lime ........................ 98 Lime-Sulphur Mixture ......... 145 Lime-Sulphur Wash ........... 123 Little Peach ................. 137 Local Markets ................ 11 Local Nurseries .............. 52 Local Peach Culture ........... 3 Low Heads .................. 108 238 INDEX Page Macomber Method 20 Macoun, J. C., quoted 24 Maine Peach Growing 1 Management 67 Marketing 160 Marmalade 221 Maryland Peach Growing 5 Massachusetts Peach Growing. . 5 Methods of Selling 168 Michigan Peach Growing 7 Missouri Peach Growing 9 Monilia 139 Morman, Jas. B., quoted 171 Muriate of Potash 97 Natural Seed 45 Nectarine 186 Nectarine 210 New Hampshire Peach Growing. 1 New Jersey Peach Growing 5 New York Peach Growing 1 New York Peach Growing 5 Nitrate of Potash 96 Nitrate of Soda 96 Nitrogen 94 Nitrogen from the Air 84 North Carolina Peach Growing. 6 Northern Limit — Peach Culture. 14 Nozzles 144 Nursery Inspection 55 Ohio Peach Growing 7 Orchard Enemies 77 Orchard Heaters 28 Orchard Planting 57 Orchard Rotation 79 Oregon Peach Growing 9 Packages 163 Peach Borer 127 Peach Butter 220 Peach Cobbler 226 Peach Trees for Fillers 61 Peen-to Group 188 Pennsylvania Peach Growing... 5 Persian Group 187 Personal Equation 4 Phosphoric Acid 95 Picking 166 Pickled Peaches 224 Planting Operations 62 Planting Out 57 Pomological Status 185 Potash 95 Preserved Peaches 222 Propagation 43 Pruning 105 Pruning Tools 118 Quality of Varieties 195 Quantity of Seed Per Acre 92 Rabbits 77 Rape 91 Reclamation of Old Orchards... 117 Relatives 186 Rosette 136 Rotation of Fruit Plantations.. 79 Rotation Table Rye as Cover Crop , San Jose Scale , Scab , Scott and Ayres, quoted , Scott and Quaintance, quoted . Scott and Quaintance, quoted . Scott and Quaintance, quoted . Seed for Propagation , Self-boiled Lime-Sulphur Self-boiled Lime-Sulphur Short Cake , Smoothing Harrow Smudging Soil Effects Soils Soils and Exposures, Summary. Soils, Local Character Soils, Physical Character Soluble Oils Soluble Oils , Solutions for Spraying Sorting Southern Limit — Peach Culture. Soy Beans Special Pruning Problems Spray Pumps Spray Tanks Spraying Spraying Campaign Spraying Machinery Spring Frosts Spring Frosts Spring-Tooth Harrow Sulphate of Potash Summer Pruning Tankage Thinning the Fruit Thomas, John J., quoted Tillage Tillage Purposes Tillage Tools Time of Planting Tree-Jack Utilizing the Fruit Variety Catalog Variety, Rules for Choosing . . . Variety Selection Vetches Vinegar Virginia Peach Growing Weeders Weeds as Cover Crop Whitewashing Whitman, J. C., quoted Wild Peach Trees Wilder, H. J., quoted.. Wind and Ice Wine from Peaches Winter Freezing Winter Freezing Winter Protection Yellows Page 80 91 120 142 125 133 140 149 44 124 149 226 72 25 13 32 41 35 38 126 152 145 162 14 89 116 144 143 143 157 143 17 22 72 97 114 96 73 189 67 70 71 59 64 213 19S 197 191 90 218 6 76 91 22 23 45 34 116 219 n 116 17 134 YB 47638 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY