FARMERS' INSTITUTES. 261 



many such orchards and many more being set, but I do not believe that 

 underdrainage can ever compensate for the bad character of that class 

 of soil. There are orchards near South Haven planted on that kind of 

 land, and you know how they succeed. Our understanding of soils is 

 not all alike; perhaps with discussion we can get together and under- 

 stand it better. The facts are stubborn and we cannot get around them, 

 and facts are what we want to get at. 



A poor drifting sand will grow certain varieties of peaches very well. 

 I know of orchards that are in sand so light that it has drifted clear into 

 the tops, and still certain varieties are doing well among those. I have 

 come to think that it requires a soil of good fertility to grow a peach 

 that is first-class in quality, and I think quality means fertility. But we 

 have to use the soil we have. We have to make the best of it, and it is 

 a pretty nice thing to understand what varieties are going to succeed 

 best. I do not know that any man can tell you what is going to succeed 

 on your land. We have got to learn it from our neighbors and our own 

 experience. 



THE IDEAL SOIL. 



The ideal soil is a sandy loam of good fertility, with a sandy, gravelly, 

 clay • sub-soil — a dry mellow clay will do. The root of the peach is 

 very sensitive, and will usually find an excess of moisture in clay that 

 will injure the roots. In 1892 we had trees in soil of that character that 

 were damaged, even pears suffered, and pears will stand much more than 

 peaches. A soil that has never retained moisture so that it will run in 

 streams will maintain good healthy roots, and without it we will never 

 have a good orchard. 



THE LOCATION IS ESSENTIAL. 



We know that atmospheric drainage is absolutely essential in certain 

 seasons. There are seasons so uniformly good, without extremes, that 

 almost any locality is successful for that year, and farmers are apt to 

 conclude that the seasons have changed and that these undesirable loca- 

 tions are desirable after all. Those people are often doomed to disap- 

 pointment, for perhaps the very next season new conditions may arise. 

 Consequently the location that is right in all particulars is worth much 

 more money to take our risks of the orchard on than the location that 

 is not quite right. I recollect that people in the vicinity of Fennville 

 had peaches planted on high land, which were all killed, and some on the 

 low land that were all saved. There the conditions that will obtain in 

 nine times out of ten were reversed, and there was a reason for it. Dur- 

 ing the night in which the frost occurred there was some change in the 

 atmosphere, there being a donse fog. All this was perplexing, but it 

 would never be safe to draw conclusions from that circumstance, because 

 it was an exceptional case. But we understand that under ordinary cir- 

 cumstances cold will run down hill as readily as water, and in that way 

 we should select our orchards. The crops are better in my opinion on 

 hills or slopes than on a high level. A few hours of absolutely quiet 

 atmosphere may destroy peaches. It is the last degree or two that does 

 the mischief. Have that in view well and you will know what to select 



