514 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



more pounds than the thousand, and will bring you, perhaps, double, 

 or treble the amount in money, as it is the large, high colored, 

 fine tlavored peaches that pay best. 



In my market I have graded my fruit into three grades, and we 

 market it in one-half bushel or Jersey baskets. A one-half bushel 

 basket of number ones has about one hundred to one hundred and 

 ten peaches in them, and sell for say about one dollar, and a one-half 

 bushel basket which would have sixty or seventy extra sized peaches 

 in it would sell for one dollar and a half, so that is Bryan's sixteen 

 to one taking it backwards, while the smaller sizes from unthinned 

 trees, may run 175 to 225 per basket, and be slow sale at 50 cents 

 per basket. 



As to the manner of pruning of those trees. I get a good strong 

 one year tree, and chop it oft" at the top, at time of planting and 

 pJant it out and cut it back to about eight or ten or twelve inches, 

 according to my wish, or convenience, and when it starts to grow it 

 will start out sprouts all along the tree from the base up, and those 

 you should rub off, except three or four or possibly five nearest the 

 top; let those three to five grow at will until the following season, 

 and before the growth begins, do your pruning first by cutting out 

 entirely one or perhaps two of these remaining stems that may be 

 out of place, then cut off from one-half to two-thirds of the growth 

 of those that remain, and then perhaps thin out some of the little 

 side branches from there." They will start to grow again and each 

 one of these will make a strong growth, and in the second year you 

 will treat it much the same way as you did the first. The third year, 

 . instead of doing as you did the former years, if you want peaches, do 

 a little summer pruning. Cut out the inside branches; don't cut any- 

 thing outside, but from the centre. Cut out so you have an even dis- 

 tribution of the branches, and cut off the tops of the leading main 

 branches. The third summer will usually throw those trees into 

 developing a big lot of fruit buds that will bear a crop of peaches. 

 You will likely get a good crop the fourth year. 



By my pruning methods I have perhaps the worst looking orchards 

 in America, but am lead to believe I have the greatest amount of 

 money out of them of any one in the country, and I assure you I have 

 a great deal of pleasure out of them also. 



Now, after having suggested some of the general methods of pro- 

 ducing a fine crop of fruit, I am not going into details of the culture 

 and general methods of orchard handling, because I have not the 

 time. I find that fruit well grown under the best methods of cul- 

 ture and care, needs careful picking when it is ripe, not when it is 

 green or overripe, but when it comes full grown and colored, and that 

 is the time you need to pick. You should pick over your trees from 

 four to six times to get the fruit in its most perfect ripe condition. 

 At the first picking you may not get more than a dozen specimens 

 from a tree. The next time not so much more, and the third picking 

 you will get much more, and then at your fourth picking they will 

 begin to drop, but it takes from twelve to eighteen days to get all 

 the fruit off any one tree. Then, further, you want to assort your 

 peaches. I believe you have a sorting machine through this State, 

 and they are the invention of the Devil. I don't mean these men, 

 who invent and sell them are Devils but it is the spirit of the Devil 



