130 FARMERS' INSTITUTES. 



sons stated, a dry and somewhat porous soil is preferable, but especially is a 

 -porous subsoil desirable. If that is fouud, almost any surface soil may be used 

 to advantage, though for most yarieties, and for convenience in tillage, a sandy 

 loam is the best. 



Drainage is also an important item in selecting a location. The best of all 

 drainage is the natural absorption of the soil, and if an open or gravelly sub- 

 soil can be obtained, no surface or tile drainage "«'ill probably be needed. 



Where this is necessary, however, the more thoroughly it is done the better 

 it will pay. When tile are used they should be put in with great care and 

 exactness, as it is much cheaper to finish the job at once than to have it to 

 undo and do over again in a few years. The space a tile will drain depends 

 upon the lay of the land, a much greater distance being influenced by tile laid 

 along the foot of a slope than on a level. As the first and main object of the 

 tile is to get the water off the ground as quickly as possible, care should be 

 taken not to lay it too deep, — in most cases an average of two (2) to two and 

 one half {'2^) feet beiug sufficient. 



Nearness to market is also an important consideration in selecting a location 

 for a peach orchard. If one is going into business on a large scale he cannot 

 afford to depend on small markets, and the farther a tender fruit has to be 

 carried by rail the less profit there is in it to the grower. 



As transportation by water is both cheaper and better for fruit, a great 

 advantage is possessed by those on the lake shore, with easy access to the great 

 markets of Chicago, and through them to the whole northwest. 



The next most important question to be answered is, " What varieties shall 

 I plant?"* This can be answered by examining carefully the market demand 

 and the year-book of some successful peach grower. Attention must be given 

 to the natural succession of varieties in time of ripening, so as to have fruit in 

 the market continuously during the whole season. Almost always there is 

 some demand for peaches earlier in the summer than they can ripen in Michi- 

 gan, and this causes them to be shipped to our markets from the warmer 

 regions of the southeast, but as soon as our northern fruit can be ripened its 

 superior flavor and freshness compels recognition and cash in the market. But 

 at best the call for very early fruit is spasuiodic, and can not be depended upon 

 for large quantities, as can the more healthy demand for the superior quality 

 of fruit which ripens during the middle and last of the season. These con- 

 siderations wiU lead us to plant our trees so as to have a few early peaches, 

 more following directly on, and keeping a full stock up to the end of the 

 season. 



Tlie time of rijiening will of course vary somewhat with the season and from 

 local causes, but generally lasts about three months. Some of the earliest, 

 such as Gov. Garland, Amsden, Brigg's May, or Waterloo, mature by or before 

 the first of August, while the Smock, Salway, Gudgeon's Late, and many others 

 require till near November first, and often later, before they are fit for ship- 

 ment. Between these extremes many good varieties will ripen. It will not 

 pay, however, to have too many varieties. Here, as elsewhere, experience is a 

 dear teacher, and it is wiser to j^rofit by the experience of others. Neither is 

 it safe to trust too much to the descriptions given in nursery lists nor the 

 highly-colored pen pictures of " disinterested " journalists. Better far to visit 

 the large market or trial orchards and carefully note the condition and record 

 of each variety. It is necessary that a profitable market orchard should have 

 several varieties, but it were better to have only two than two hundred, or even 

 too many. 



