30 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan., 



Question. Would you recommend cutting out branches 

 inside ? 



Mr. Augur. Yes, sir. * 



Question. Mr. Augur says, " Cease cultivation about the 

 middle of summer." I suppose a majority of growers, in 

 cultivating a peach orchard, would be apt to plant potatoes. 

 We cannot very well avoid cultivation of the ground when 

 we dig potatoes. 



Mr. Augur. Yes ; that is one thing to be deprecated. As you 

 say, the digging of potatoes does cultivate the ground a good deal, 

 — mellows it up. In planting potatoes in our peach orchards, I 

 would advise the planting of the Early Rose, or some very 

 early ripening potato. Do not dig over the ground the last 

 of August or 1st of September ; dig in July or early in 

 Ausust. 



Tliere is one matter with which I have had a little experi- 

 ence this year, and perhaps it may be interesting to you. A 

 few years ago I was in Waterbury, and Mr. Johnson, one of 

 the citizens here, told me they could not raise peaches in 

 Waterbury ; tlie climate was not adapted to them. In riding 

 to the Fair Ground, I passed a beautiful peach tree, that was 

 loaded with handsome fruit. I was so much interested that I 

 called at the house to ask the lady about it, and remarked 

 that Mr. Johnson had told me they could not raise peaches in 

 Waterbury. " Well," said she, " we can't." " Why ? V 

 " The boys steal them." We had a little difficulty of that 

 sort ; we had to watch our orchards during the ripening 

 season ; and we found that it was a very convenient tiling to 

 have a little alarm, because, when friends visited us in the 

 night, we liked to know it. Here is an article that was 

 invented by a gentleman in Middletown, of which we had the 

 first one that was made, — the model, in fact. It is on a 

 swivel, and can be loaded with powder or powder and shot, 

 and invariably, an intruder, in striking this line, which is 

 invisible, will draw the muzzle right towards himself, and it 

 operates so that if a person catches his toe, it gives the alarm. 

 One Sunday morning, we had one of these set in our orchard, 



