136 THE KANSAS PEACH. 



1). M. A«laiiis, Rome, Sumner county, has 200 peach trees, 150 of which 

 are seedlings, and four of these bear fine fruit. They grow on upland. Believes 

 damp, black soil, where they will get the moisture, is the best. He has Amsden, 

 Lemon Cling, Elberta, Crosby, Salway, Hill's Chili, and Mrs. Brett. He set a 

 new orchard last spring of Elberta, Crosby; Salway, Hill's Chili, Hale's Early, 

 and Mrs. Brett. He would add Amsden for family use. He plants two- or three- 

 year-old trees, pruning top about one-third and smoothing injured roots. Not 

 more than half the buds of the early varieties are killed, but all the late ones are 

 dead. Late varieties cook in the sun. Curculio troubles him some; no disease 

 known. Grows corn and hoed crops among trees. He sells to neighbors, in the 

 orchard, on the trees, at twenty-five to fifty cents per bushel. Thinks they would 

 not pay as a business. "The greater part of the trees in this county have been 

 injured by the dry weather of the last few years and overbearing when young. 

 Three-fourths of the old trees are dead or dying. There is no commercial orchard 

 here. We planted sixty trees thirteen years ago. The ground slopes slightly to 

 the east, and there is a dry-weather creek forty rods from it. The south end of 

 the orchard is a few feet lower than the north end. On the lower ground the 

 trees are all thrifty, while on the higher ground many are dead or dying. We 

 have always thinned our peaches as soon as they began to grow. Our trees have 

 stood the dry weather better than those that have not been thinned. We get 

 more bushels, and they are of better flavor, and the trees are not injured as much 

 as those that are not thinned. Borers injure the trees some. Last spring I 

 planted fifty budded trees, and seed, right where I wanted them to remain, for 

 100 trees more. I planted them in a draw in black ground, and intend to keep 

 them headed back and cultivated without any crop for a year or two longer. I 

 do not know enough about varieties to recommend them by name to others." 



tJoliii A. Mag-ill, Roper, Wilson county, a resident of the state for thirty- 

 two years, has .350 bearing peach trees, 200 of which are budded to Harper's 

 Early, Hale's Early, York, OldMixon Free, Old Mixon Cling, Heath Cling: these 

 trees have been planted from fifteen to twenty years, in red limestone, but he 

 says he would prefer black loam, with a northeast slope. He has discarded 

 Hale's Early, as they rot on the trees. He would recommend, for commercial pur- 

 poses, Harper's Early, Crawford's Early, Old Mixon, Stump, Heath Cling, and 

 for family would add more Heath Cling and Old Mixon. He would plant trees 

 one year from bud, twenty feet apart each way, with the top trimmed to correspond 

 with the quantity of roots. His earliest is the Harper, coming last of June. His 

 latest is a seedling coming the last of October. Thinks the cold snap did no in- 

 jury to his peach orchard. Says sometimes his seedlings cook on one side whila 

 on the tree and that curculio bothers his early varieties. He has never sprayed. 

 He grows corn, potatoes and beans among his trees and turns in swine to eat the 

 fallen fruit. He picks and markets in bushel baskets, discarding all not first- 

 class, selling in home market and to railway men, at from forty cents to one dol- 

 lar. Feeds all refuse to hogs. He does not think it would pay to plant largely 

 for commercial purposes. The Harper's Early peach, referred to, was discovered 

 in the orchard of Mr. Harper, in Guilford township, Wilson county, Kansas, fif- 

 teen or twenty years ago. It is about the size of Hale's and nearly two weeks 

 earlier. 



L. L. Lovett, Toronto, Woodson county, has 120 peach trees from three to 

 thirteen years of age; they are on red limestone land, on which soil they do well, 

 but he would prefer a soil with more sand. He likes a northern aspect. Twenty- 

 five of his trees are seedlings; fifteen of these are valuable; of budded fruits 



