124: PEACH CULTURE. 



trees in the same row, not caught by the plow ; this must 

 be leveled with the cultivator or hoe. 



We need scarcely say to the tasteful planter that the 

 head rows and corners should be kept scrupulously clean. 



The culture the next spring is as described for young 

 orchards. 



Some intelligent growers hold that after the crop is 

 gathered the trees should have perfect rest until after 

 blossoming the next spring. That they should not be 

 touched, except to remove dead wood and broken or 

 injured branches, until the bloom is off ; and that they 

 should then be tilled like corn as long as the horses or 

 mules can get under the trees without rubbing off the 

 fruit. They claim that plowing early in the spring 

 opens up the soil to receive the sun's rays to the roots, 

 and thus to stimulate early blooming, and consequent 

 increased exposure to late frosts. This theory is justly 

 entitled to due consideration and should be tested by 

 experiments. 



CHAPTER XXV. 



USES. 



As a dessert the peach is a universal favorite, and in 

 its season has no rival. It is the Queen of Delicacies. It 

 ripens in perfection only in the glow of a midsummer's 

 sun ; and the hotter the weather, the more delicious are 

 its rich cooling juices. It is eminently suited to the sea- 

 son. When the weather is so hot that even eating is a 

 labor, the peach is acceptable, for it melts in the mouth 

 without exertion. It is perfectly healthy, and even me- 

 dicinal. We have known it to effect a complete and 



