132 THE KANSAS PEACH. 



orchard sloped northwest and he thinks that a good aspect. He is growing 

 about thirty-five varieties of budded fruit. He has discarded Chair's Choice, 

 Silver Medal, Brandywine, Wheatland, Reeves's Favorite, and Foster; they are 

 too tender. He would recommend, for general purposes, Elberta, Old Mixon, 

 Fox's Seedling, Lovett's Good, Lovett's White, Wonderful, Salway, Champion, 

 Sneed, Triumph, Carmine, Wardell, Mountain Rose, and Globe. He plants trees 

 one year old, fourteen feet apart, trimmed quite closely. Has not headed back 

 bearing trees, but thinks it the best way. Says Sneed is his earliest, coming on 

 July 1 ; his latest is Salway, about the 1st of October. Says some of his peaches 

 cook on the trees if not properly cultivated, the worst being the Silver Medal. 

 Curculio troubles his earliest and freestones ; no other insects trouble his orchard. 

 For crops in the orchard he grows corn and potatoes, and would allow hogs, if 

 any live stock, in the orchard. He does not irrigate. Picks from the ground or 

 a step-ladder and markets in crates from one-half to one bushel. He rejects all 

 faulty ones; retails most of his fruit in the orchard, at from twenty cents to one 

 dollar. He thinks it would hardly pay to plant largely in his locality. Of his 

 refuse he dries and cans the best and feeds the poorer ones to the pigs. He 

 thinks that nearly all the peach-tree buds are killed and some of the trees, by the 

 cold of last winter. His son, T. W. Stanley, adds the following: "I want to 

 verify my father's statements about the fruit-trees. I place the greater value on 

 Globe, Lovett's White, Mountain Rose, Champion, Brandywine, Salway, and 

 Wonderful. Wilkin's and Newington do very well. I have over 1000 trees out, 

 and have been very successful so far in having good crops of good-sized peaches, 

 and find good sale for them. My land is also clay. I think good cultivation is 

 one of the reasons of my trees doing well." 



James McNicol, Lost Springs, Marion county, has been a Kansan for 

 twenty-eight years. He has 700 peach trees in bearing and 600 soon to bear. 

 They have been planted from four to nine years, in a black prairie loam. The 

 varieties are Alexander, Hale's Early, Stump, Heath, Rivers, Early Crawford, 

 Early York, Crosby, Elberta, and Triumph. He would discard Hale's Early. 

 He recommends for commercial purposes Elberta, Stump, and Alexander, and 

 for family adds Crosby. Plants one-year-old trees, twenty feet apart, pruning 

 away three-fourths of the limbs, leaving all the root growth possible, to get moist- 

 ure. His earliest fruit comes from Alexander — July 1 to 10. Says injury was 

 considerable from cold of February, 1899 — even Bokara and Crosby were hurt. 

 Is troubled with curculio, but has never sprayed them. Cultivates in corn until 

 they bear. Markets in ten-pound baskets at retail in home town; gets twenty- 

 five to thirty-five cents per basket. Believes they would pay well planted largely 

 in his vicinity. 



O. W. Heckethorii, McPherson, McPherson county, has been in the state 

 twenty-five years, and has 700 peach trees in bearing: 695 of them are seedlings; 

 at least 600 of these bear nice fruit of good quality. These trees are planted on 

 black, sandy loam from eight to ten years, and have done well. His few budded 

 peaches are Heath Cling and Hale's Early, but for all purposes in his locality he 

 thinks choice seedlings the best, setting them out at one year old from the seed, 

 from eight to twelve feet apart, well cut back, and the roots trimmed even, to have 

 sound unmutilated wood. The extreme cold of the past winter did not harm his 

 trees. He is troubled with curculio some, but never with any other insects or 

 diseases. Grows no crop among his trees, and allows no live stock among them. 

 He irrigates from a ditch, and thinks it a great success. Picks by hand, and 

 sells in the home market only. 



