THE KANSAS PEACH, 47 



"There is no question about it. I am very particular about this. 

 It is hard to restore a devitalized tree or plant. Their vigor is the 

 source of profits. They must be able to respond to generous tillage 

 or this work is lost." 



"How about thinning the fruit? I understand you picked off and 

 threw awa}' several thousand bushels of this fruit in a year when any- 

 thing in the shape of peach crop would sell at big prices. It must 

 have taken a good deal of nerve to do this." 



"Well, no; it does not require any nerve. It is the source of my 

 profits. It is true that, in addition to extreme pruning on many trees, 

 we picked off even three or four peaches where one was left, but I 

 could not afford to devitalize my trees and lower the standard of ex- 

 cellence in my fruit for any price. I shall have an enormous crop 

 next year, just as I have had for the past twenty years. Such treat- 

 ment reduces a big crop to a j^ractical certainty." 



"Do you propagate and prune all your small fruits in the same 

 way?" 



"Most assuredly. It gives me the same results and produces the 

 same returns in the cash account." 



"What about manuring?" 



"We feed heavily on potash in the form of wood ashes, which I 

 buy by car-loads, and liberally on phosphoric acid in the form of 

 ground bone, and very sparingly of nitrogen, relying on very thor- 

 ough tillage to secure the proper wood growth." 



"What about your method of cultivation ?" 



" We use the gang-plow first, early in the spring, and then the 

 Breed weeder every four or five days ; always after every rain. Of 

 course, we never allow a weed to establish itself." 



"Then you believe in shallow cultivation ?" 



"Yes; we go just deep enough to maintain a loose earth mulch to 

 admit air to the roots and conserve moisture. I can always rely on 

 'horse-leg' irrigation." 



"How late do you continue this cultivation ?" 



"It depends on the season and the amount of fruit on the trees. 

 If well loaded we continue a little later, but if heavy rains come we 

 sow oats about the middle of August, as a cover crop to hold snow 

 and protect the roots during the winter and add surface humus to the 

 soil in the spring." 



"Why do you sow oats ? why not use rye ?" 



" Because you have nothing alive and green in the spring to get rid 

 of. Rye pumps the water out early, and we do not want this done : 

 besides, it lodges around the trees and is hard to get rid of. I have 

 tried everything suggested and find oats by far the best." 



