143 PEACH CULTURE. 



could be seen ; and yet it was many miles from the pine 

 region proper, and only a few scattering trees were in the 

 neighborhood. This effort of Nature to restore the equi- 

 librium furnishes the key to the apparent difficulty. The 

 peach was a profitable crop, and planters were very loth 

 to change it for anything else, and too avaricious to re- 

 turn any portion of their profits to the soil that had pro- 

 duced them. The consequence was their orchards be- 

 came diseased for the want of food, and literally died of 

 starvation. And it is no wonder no remedy has been 

 discovered, because the nature of the disease was never 

 known. What medicine does a famishing man want but 

 wholesome food ? But when a whole district is culti- 

 vated in peaches until the soil is exhausted the tree fam- 

 ine becomes general, and it also becomes almost impos- 

 sible to supply the necessary food for all ; then nothing 

 better can be done than to cease planting, and let the old 

 and diseased die. It is only adding to, and perpetuating 

 the calamity to bud from the diseased trees. 



The remedy is to plant no more trees than you can 

 properly till. Do with them as with corn, and for the 

 same reason, and you need not fear the Yellows. If you 

 have good land, and the means of keeping it good, you 

 can plant to the extent of such means. But stop at the 

 limit of your means of fertilization. No good farmer 

 will plant fifty acres of corn, when he has only the hands 

 to till, or the means to fertilize, twenty-five ; no more 

 will the orchardist, peaches. The secret of success is to 

 do no more of anything than you can do well. 



Planters who have orchards already afflicted, we coun- 

 sel to eradicate the trees at once, and plant no more near 

 them. If a new orchard is to be planted, get healthy 

 trees, and plant them on the other side of the farm from 

 the old orchard. 



SYMPTOMS. 



The symptoms of the Yellows are principally two : 

 1. PREMATURE KIPENIKG is first in order of time. On 



