436 REPORT OF THB SECRETARY OF THE 



CLEARING STUMP LANDS FOR THE PEACH. 



[Tlic following letter, received from Mr. Peck, with his paper on 

 " Clearing Stump Land for the Peach," although of a private character, 

 I take the liberty to publish, with the hope that some of our St. Joseph 

 brothers will accept the situation, write us the book we need, which, 

 with Mr. Peck's assistance, should make a Michigan work for Michigan 

 men.] 



Muskegon, Nov. 20, 1871. 



A. T. Idnderman, Esq. : 



Dear Sir — Yours of 16th inst, is before me. Enclosed, 

 please find the promised essay on the Peach. Many of the 

 directions and opinions may seem arbitrary without the reasons 

 being given for them, but to do full justice to the subject would 

 require a volume instead of an essay. There is a great need of 

 a work on the Peach, adapted to this lake shore. All lists of 

 varieties that I have seen, while they are full of names of varie- 

 ties that nobody knows or cares anything about, some choice 

 and popular varieties are left out or imperfectly described- 

 A work, I think, has been published in Delaware, but I hare 

 not seen it, and have little hopes of its fitting our case. We 

 want a list of the varieties that have been fully tested here, 

 their hardiness and bearing qualities, as Avell as all their pecu- 

 liarities, fully described, and their nomenclatures revised and 

 established. Such a work should come from St. Joseph, where 

 they have had a longer experience and tested more varieties 

 than anywhere else here. 



I would gladly make a preface to such a work, but I lack 

 the experience, observation, and knowledge sufficient to fill uj) 

 the work. * * * Yours truly, 



S. B. PECK. 



