10 THE KANSAS PEACH. 



ful : the tops should be low ; and the branches are brittle, and animals 

 can and will do much damage ; yet shoats or pigs will eat the wormy 

 fruit, and during the rijjening period might be allowed to j)ick up 

 such as fall. Picking and packing vary, and will have a chapter by 

 themselves. 



Owing to want of courage and determination on the part of many 

 of our husbandmen, the demand for good peaches (culls and indiffer- 

 ent ones, too) makes a market for them necessary in the orchard over 

 a large area. During the late '70s peajches were shipped in car lots 

 from our state ; but of late years, owing to the increased population 

 and prosperity of our cities, the peach crop is mostly utilized within 

 the state. In the western part of the state peach pits are planted in 

 great quantities to grow for windbreaks ; and as they — without culti- 

 vation or care — produce more fruit than the settler needs, and much 

 of it of surprisingly fine quality, therefore there is little inducement 

 for him to try the choice budded varieties: for such localities we 

 would recommend the choicest of the persistent varieties, costing only 

 a little trouble to obtain, but yielding under the same treatment a 

 choicer fruit. Dean's Orange, Barker's Rareripe, Heath Cling, Sal- 

 way and many others will give great satisfaction and grade up the 

 western seedlings. 



The severe winter of 1898 and 1899, beginning suddenly with a 

 snow-storm in October, with peaches still on the trees, and passing 

 through the extremely low temperature of February, 1899, caused im- 

 mense loss and destruction to the peach interests. But as it cleaned 

 up many worthless varieties, and the same cause affected the peach in 

 all our neighboring states — in some more disastrously than in ours — 

 therefore, if wise we will plant largely of choice varieties known to do 

 well — barring such extreme weather — in our state, and we will soon 

 be reaping our reward. 



VARIETIES RECOMMENDED. 



The following varieties are recommended for all purposes by the 

 Kansas State Horticultural Society. This list is the result of a ballot 

 taken December 11, 1896: 



Voles. 



Troth's 4 



Hale's Early 4 



Votes. 



Elberta 17 



Old Mixon Free 14 



Salway 1.3 



Smock 11 



Champion 10 



Alexander 9 



Stump the World 9 



Crosby 9 



Heath Cling 7 



Family Favorite 5 



York Early 3 



Reeve's Favorite 3 



Old Mixon Cling 3 



Foster 3 



Crawford's Early 3 



Ward's Late 3 



Mountain Rose 2 



Amsden 2 



