The Planting of the Fruit-Farm 91 



Japanese Abundance ripens in the Lake Shore 

 Valley about the first of August, and by careful 

 selection of varieties the farmer may have plums 

 from this time till snow flies. He may well re- 

 member that one plum tree, well cared for, pro- 

 duces many plums. He may plant several varieties 

 in order to have succession of fruit, but he will not 

 plant many trees save of the variety which he 

 knows will prove profitable commercially. Other- 

 wise he will litter his land with fruit he will not 

 know what to do with. He will have too much to 

 use or give away and not enough to sell. 



Peaches, next to apples, command the market, 

 but no section of our coimtry shows uninterrupted 

 health of its peach orchards. The tree has many 

 enemies. It is rather long-lived, as many still 

 in bearing in the Valley have passed their first 

 quarter of a century. During this period many va- 

 rieties have come and gone. Weather rather than 

 climate seems to determine the fate of the peach 

 tree. The climate may be peach but the weather 

 may prove "yellows, " *' scale, " ''black-knot, *' 

 or some other evil in form of insect or fungus. 

 The tree requires a well-drained, light, fairly rich 

 soil. It is a rapid grower and needs vigorous 

 trimming. Wet, heavy land is not for peaches. 

 As one travels over America he will see more 

 extinct peach orchards than of any other fruit. 

 Varieties are legion and each peach area has its 

 favorites of soil and climate, of grower and of con- 

 sumer. In peaches as in plums, it is color, size, and 



