BEST COMMERCIAL PEACHES 



251 



is, however, chiefly made according to the purpose of the grower, 

 whether for early marketing, for sale to canners, for drying, or for 

 distant shipment or for late marketing. As with apples, there is 

 little use of planting early varieties (unless it be for home or local 

 use) except in very early regions. An early peach from a late re- 

 gion is killed by competition with better middle season sorts from 

 the earlier regions. 



In an early region one can plant early, middle, and late varieties 

 to advantage, and thus secure a very long-fruiting season. The 

 peach season in interior districts begins about the first of June and 

 continues to the end of November with local seedlings giving six 

 months of peaches. Of course, the very early and very late sorts 

 are only of use for marketing as table fruit. The most important 

 series is a fine succession of mid-season peaches suitable either for 

 canning, drying or distant shipment. Such a selection can be made 

 from the tables and descriptions which will be given later. 



Color is a most important item in the peach. While canners and 

 Eastern shippers use the beautiful white peaches to advantage, the 

 fashion for canning and drying is now strong in support of the yel- 

 low-fleshed clingstone varieties. The yellow freestone peaches are 

 also in greatest demand. The color about the pit is also an impor- 

 tant point. Canners demand a peach, whether white or yellow, 

 which is almost free from color at the pit, because the extraction 

 of the red color dyes the juice ; in drying, the demand just now is 

 for a yellow peach with a red center, because the colors give the 

 dried fruit a more attractive appearance. Of course there is a mar- 

 ket for dried white peaches but the preference is for yellow. 



The peaches chiefly grown in California are named in Chapter 

 XVI. 



PEACHES COMMERCIALLY APPROVED IN CALIFORNIA 



The 1920 conferences of growers, canners and nursery men spe- 

 cially mentioned in Chapter XVI gave particular attention to the 

 commercial aspects of peach varieties and reached the following 

 conclusions : 



Free-stone Peaches 



Approved for Shipping: Alexander, Decker, Early Crawford, St. John, 

 Elberta, Kale's Early, Early Elberta, J. H. Hale, Mayflower, Triumph, 

 Wheatland, Salway. 



Approved for Drying: Lovell (recommended for 25 per cent of area 

 planted), Muir (recommended for 75 per cent). 



Approved for Canning: The recommendation of the canners is that 

 there be planted 70 per cent Lovell, 10 per cent Muir, 10 per cent Elberta, 

 10 per cent Salway, and that for canning freestones all othes varieties be 

 eliminated. 



Cling-stone Peaches 



Approved for Canning: Albright, Libbee, Levi, McDevitt, Pelora, 

 Peak's, Phillips, Sims, Tuscan. 



Trie canners recommended the planting of Phillips 40 per cent, Tuscan 

 25 per cent, Pelora and Peark's 10 per cent, Albright 5 per cent, Sims and 

 Libbee 10 per cent, Levi 5 per cent, McDevitt 5 per cent. Hauss recom- 

 mended for Sutter County. 



