144 THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



THE PEACH AND ITS CULTURE. 



Address, State Fruit Growers' Convention, San Jose, Cal., December 2-4, 1913. 



By Chas. F. Collins, County Horticultural Commissioner of Tulare 



County, Visalia, Cal. 



The peach (Prumis pcrsica) is supposed to be a native of China but 

 is now grown in all temperate elimate.s of the civilized world. It has 

 been cultivated since prehistoric times and to-day ranks among the 

 most important fruits of the world. About 300 varieties are cultivated 

 in the United States and classified as clingstone and freestone; white- 

 fleshed and yellow-fleshed. In practically all parts of California below 

 an elevation of 4,000 feet, some varieties are grown more or less ex- 

 tensively, but the foothills of the Sierras and the broad valleys of the 

 Sacramento and San Joaquin are recognized as the home of the peach. 



Many expensive mistakes, however, have been made in California by 

 planting peaches in localities not adapted to peach culture, _ and the 

 commercial planter should give the matter of soil and location most 

 serious consideration before planting. It has been clearly demonstrated 

 many times over, and at an expense of thousands of dollars, that the 

 peach will not prove a success on shallow soils. In soils underlaid with 

 hardpan, even at a depth of three or four feet, dynamiting for each 

 tree is advisable. Alkaline soils should also be avoided, as the peach 

 on its own roots is very sensitive to alkali. Even under most favorable 

 conditions and best management the average commercial orchard seldom 

 exceeds twelve years of profitable service. 



Peaches are always propagated by means of seeds. Probably the most 

 common method is 'to bed the seeds or pits in the fall by excavating to 

 a depth of four inches an area of sufficient capacity to hold the required 

 amount of seed not over two layers deep. Spread the pits evenly oyer 

 the bottom and cover with a layer of burlap or' old sacks over which 

 place earth and keep moist. In IMarch the seeds will crack open and 

 sprout. Carefullv remove the covering and transfer all seeds which 

 have sprouted to the spot desired for the nursery, planting in rows to 

 a depth of four inches and six inches apart in the row. The soil should 

 be in a moist condition and thoroughly pulverized to a depth of sixteen 

 inches. The plants are cultivated like any other crop until large enough 

 to be budded with the desired varieties, which may be done any time 

 from June to September or when the trees have attained nearly the 

 diameter of a lead pencil and while the sap is flowing so the bark will 

 slip readilv from the wood. Buds should be secured from trees known 

 to be healthy, vigorous and heavy, regular producers of the best quality 

 of fruit. In other words, pedigree your fruit stock as you would your 

 live stock. This is the most important step in the whole process, as 

 under no other circumstances can the best results be even hoped for. 



In this enlightened age, a stock breeder would be considered daft for 

 breeding cayuses and mustangs, but hmidreds of fruit growers continue 

 to breed "mustang" trees and vines when with a little care in selection 

 of stock for budding and grafting the yield could easily be increased 

 50 to 100 per cent. If a breeder of swine, which are mostly slaughtered 

 before the age of two years, finds it profitable to select the best sires and 

 dams for his purpose,^ how much more so might the breeder of trees and 

 vines from which he expects fifteen to fifty years of service. 



