THE KANSAS PEACH. 99 



Stephen Stout, Axtell, Marshall county, has lived in Kansas for twenty 

 years; has a peach orchard of 1100 trees of budded varieties, planted eight years, 

 part on clay and part on loam: he prefers clay soil where the top is washed off, 

 with a northeast slope. His varieties are Early York, Alexander, Amsden, Old 

 Mixon Free, Elberta, Champion, Foster, and a few others. Has discarded the 

 Smock and some others on account of shy bearing and poor quality. He would 

 recommend for market and family use for his locality Early York, Amsden, 

 Elberta, Champion, and Old Mixon Free. He prefers to plant June buds, one 

 year from pit, 14x20 feet, the rows running north and south, trimmed accord- 

 ing to roots and condition of the tree. His earliest are Early York and Alex- 

 ander, ripening June 20, in 1896. Had a few peaches on the trees the 17th of 

 October, 1898. The cold of the past winter did not hurt his peach trees very 

 much. The Elberta and Champion appear to have escaped injury. He has 

 very few curculio and sprays to protect the buds, and thinks there is something 

 in it. He says: "We are searching for a solution to keep the buds from swell- 

 ing during thn warm spells in cold weather and to protect them from colds spells 

 during the spring; we have hopes of success." No other insects trouble his trees. 

 He had some peach curl last year, causing the blooms to drop off and ruining the 

 crop on the trees. He grows corn among his trees until they come into bearing, 

 but never allows stock among them. He does not irrigate. He picks and ships 

 in peck baskets, rejecting all small ones. His best market is in the West, but 

 he sells anywhere he can, receiving last year $1.50 per bushel. He sells his ref- 

 use at some price at home, and believes they would pay if planted largely in his 

 vicinity, if properly handled. He says further: "Most of the old peach trees 

 are badly damaged — froze and split open — and will die; young orchards not 

 damaged badly, and will recover." 



James M. Williams, Home, Marshall county, has 400 peach trees grow- 

 ing; fifty are seedlings, twenty or twenty-five of which are nice. They are on 

 rich, black, limestone land, which his experience demonstrates is best. He 

 likes an east or south slope. His varieties are Champion, George the Fourth, 

 Early York, Bergen's Yellow and Hyslop Cling. Champion has done best 

 with him. He planted two-year-old trees, 12x14 feet, closely top-pruned, and 

 all bruised and broken roots trimmed. Does not prune or head in bearing trees ; 

 has tried it but can see no benefit. His earliest is York, June 15. Cold of last 

 winter killed all his trees. He grows corn and potatoes among his young trees, 

 and allows stock, especially hogs, to pasture among the trees after the fruit is 

 gathered. Picks carefully and sells in orchard; people come for them and pay 

 $1 to $1.50 per bushel for early, and fifty to seventy-five cents per bushel for later 

 ones. "Peach crop for 1898 was tolerably good quantity but quality very poor, 

 with the exception of the Champion and a few other varieties I cannot name, 

 seedling fruit being small and wormy. The fall of 1898 was dry and hot and I 

 think most of the peach trees died ; I know they are dead now. Some of my 

 peach trees froze so hard that they cracked open. I have set out, within the 

 last fourteen years, 500 peach trees, and have had but two good crops off them. 

 I have come to the conclusion that it is money lost to invest it in peach trees. I 

 have noticed several peach orchards and find the trees in bad condition, and crop 

 for 1899 a failure. Some peach growers claim that the extreme cold winter is the 

 cause of it, while others claim the dry and hot fall of 1898 is the cause. I will 

 say that the thermometer registered 34i degrees below zero at my place on Feb- 

 ruary 12, 1899." 



