SITUATION. 65 



ther example. In Lycoming county, Pa., on the banks of 

 the Loyalsock, a creek so rapid that no muck is deposited, 

 but fine dry soil, peaches have been raised, though the cold 

 is often intense.* 



Sometimes the effect of unfavorable soil more than over- 

 balances that of situation. In some of the hilly parts of 

 western New- York, where the highest land is peaty, spongy, 

 or springy, and the valleys dry and firm, the latter are found 

 best for the peach. " Some years ago, we drained a shallow 

 swamp ; and though the situation is high and airy, peach 

 trees of the best bearing kinds planted there, have always 

 been unproductive."! 



The preceding facts furnish strong reasons for believing, 

 that in large portions of the northern states, where the cul- 

 tivation of the peach has been entirely relinquished in 

 consequence of the only attempts made having been in the 

 warm vallies, abundant crops might be regularly obtained 

 by a proper selection of soil and locality. Even much fur- 

 ther south, the occasional destruction of tender fruits, points 

 out the great importance of careful attention to situation. 

 The death by frost of large orange trees in Florida in 1835, 

 proves that all parts of the country are liable to such disas- 

 ters, and that no means of prevention are to be overlooked. 



Occasionally crops are saved by the artificial application of 

 a remedy, which may be briefly glanced at in connection 

 with this subject. In one case, a bank of snow covering 

 the lower limb of a peach tree, saved the fruit, while all on 

 the rest of the tree perished. In another, a row of peach 

 trees close along the north side of a fence, where snow- 

 drifts lay, were more fruitful than the other trees. Hence 

 the practice of piling snow round them has been recom- 

 mended, and in some cases practiced with success. It can- 

 not be considered infallible in any situation. It is only 

 useful where a slight reduction of temperature is sufficient 

 to prevent the starting of the buds. We can easily conceive 

 such a time, when a part of the buds start, and a part do 

 not. In one season, the lower buds on the tree, which re- 



J The skilful cultivator, as he values the size and quality of his fruit, will rendily 

 distinguish between a rich soil consisting chiefly of spongy muck and peat, and a dry 

 and firm soil rendered fertile by a due admixture of these substances, and potash, 

 lime, and good manure. 



t D. Thomas, Traas. N. Y State Ag. Society, vol. I. 



