Discussion on Peaches. 89 



tion, and so they do not always arrive in as perfect condition as 

 they ought. 



i/r. ^arnarc?, of Nebraska — What'is considered the best fruit- 

 drier on this coast? 



Mr. Smith— The one they call "Old Sol." We have no better 

 evaporator than the sun, except in those localities where it is foggy. 

 I do not know all the kinds, but where I live thirteen evaporators 

 were put up this year, and before the year was over they were all 

 laid aside. I dried apricots in the sun this season thoroughly in 

 three or four days. 



President Earle — Do California fruit-growers resort to thinning? 



Mr. Smith — Yes, every year. One of the greatest difficulties we 

 find is to keep our trees from bearing too heavily. We practice 

 thinning regularly every year. The peach crop is a sure crop in 

 the central counties, as sure as the corn crop in Illinois, but in some 

 of the counties along the coast it is not always so sure. The rule in 

 thinning is to leave no two peaches closer than six inches. We 

 prune the trees regularly, cutting away from one-half to two-thirds 

 of the previous year's growth. The cultivation of peaches and apri- 

 cots is about equally profitable. 



Mr. Ohmer, of Ohio — I have tried to grow peaches, but do not 

 do it now, owing to their freezing. I prefer good dried peaches to 

 the canned fruit. This year I bought California dried peaches, 

 which were the best I ever tasted, and I am surprised that you do 

 not dry more of them. I have never yet bought a fresh peach from 

 California which I liked as much as those dried peaches, because 

 they have to be picked too early. 



3Ir. Van Deman, of Washington, D. C. — The disease called the 

 yellows prevails in the central Atlantic states, also on the eastern 

 shores of the great lakes. It is a very formidable disease, the origin 

 of which is not certainly known. It is supposed to be due to some 

 bacterial cause. The first sign upon the trees is the appearance of 

 ripening before the peaches are mature, when about half grown. 

 The leaves do not reach their proper size, and have a certain appear- 

 ance of wiry shoots on the tree. It will first attack one tree, and 

 perhaps may be soon seen on the surrounding trees, although some- 

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