128 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



vantage. One of the best orchards I ever grew was grown on a 

 grass sod fall-plowed and then given good application of commercial 

 fertilizer made np of phosphoric acid and nitrogen. As the trees reach 

 a beaming age I like to occasionally seed down to clover and turn under 

 the following Maj'. This providing a supply of humus and some 

 nitrogen. 



The soil of the orchard must be kept fat with all of the three essential 

 elements of plant food, viz: Nitrogen, potash, phosphoric acid. Humus 

 must first be provided for and then maintained throughout the life of 

 the orchard. This can best be done by the use of cover crops such as clo- 

 ver, oats, peas, sand vetch, etc., and an occasional light application of 

 stable manure. After the trees reach a bearing age, we figure to feed 

 them the following ration annually: Potash and bone meal, then we 

 expect the following results annually: Large crops of high grade col- 

 ored fruit together with a good hardy wood growth with plenty of ma- 

 tured, hardy fruit buds for the succeeding year's crops. 



THINNING. 



The thinning of the fruit is another very important factor in grow- 

 ing of choice fruits. The peach often sets many times too much fruit, 

 which necessitates a great deal of labor in the thinning. This Avork 

 should begin soon as possible after the husk or calyx drops; commenc- 

 ing with the earlier varieties first and continuing to thin according as 

 the varieties ripen. 



I know of no other labor in connection with the growing of the peach 

 which requires so much exercise of our nerve as this work. We are all 

 inclined to leave too much fruit on our trees, especially during the sea- 

 sons when the orchards are bearing heavily. 



We usually thin to one fruit in a place, running from six to eight 

 inches apart when trees are heavily laden Avith fiiiit; however, if trees 

 have only partial crop the work consists largely in thinning out the 

 clusters and inferior fruit if any. This work when system'atically per- 

 formed lessens the amount of the labor required for harvesting, increases 

 the size and uniformity of our fruit which enables us to get much better 

 prices. 



CONTAGIOUS DISEASES. 



I know of no better or opportune time to send a note of Avarning to 

 groAvers throughout the peach growing sections of our state, relative to 

 the control and care of contagious diseases Avhich affect the peach, viz : 

 Yellows and Little Peach. 



As far as can be learned, no section of the state is entirely immaine 

 from the ravages of these tAA'o deadly diseases. While traveling over 

 400 miles through the Avest Michigan fruit belt from Grand Rapids north 

 along the lake shore to Frankfort and return the past summer, the pres- 

 ence of both YelloAvs and Little Peach Avas cA^eryAvhere noticed. Up to 

 the present time no remedy has yet been found to control these tAVO 

 dreaded diseases. Our methods of controlling these tAvo diseases have 

 been along the folloAving lines: First see to it that all diseased trees are 

 taken out and immediately destroyed. We make it a practice of going 

 over our orchards just before the first picjdng of each variety and exam- 

 ining every individual tree from both sides "of the trees and every tree 



