1847. 



GENESEE FARMER. 



243 



i%^ 



HORTICULTURAL DEPARTMENT. 



CONDUCTED BY P. BARRY. 



Peaches. 



The Peach Crop, in this section, has been the 

 roost abundant we remember to have seen. — 

 Trees have broken down, in all directions, under 

 their load, owing to the neglect of a proper thin- 

 ing. The backwardness of the early part of the 

 season, cool nights during August, and the ex- 

 cessive load have together retarded the ripening 

 process as much as ten days or a fortnight be- 

 yond the usual period. The early varieties par- 

 ticularly have been belated. The Early Tillot- 

 son, Early Purple, Sweet Water, Early York, 

 Cole's Early, Haine^s Early, Cool edge'' s Favor- 

 ite, &c., have nearly all come in at once. 



The above are all fine varieties, and have 

 been sufficiently tested here to enable us to rec- 

 ommend them for Early Peaches in Western 

 New York. The three latter varieties are but 

 recently introduced here ; this is the second 

 year they have borne with us, and they have 

 proved first rate. 



Cole^s Early Red is an uncommonly produc- 

 tive, medium sized fruit ; deep red on the sun- 

 ny side, of a rich and delicious flavor, farexccling 

 the Early Purple in this respect, and ripening 

 about the same time, or perhaps a few days later. 

 Cooledge''s Favorite, a Massachusetts peach, is 

 a fruit unsurpassed bv any we have ever seen, 

 in any place, for beauty and excellence. It is 

 remarkably productive, the tree is one of the 

 hardiest, fruit of medium size to large, about as 

 large as the Sweet Water, with a bright crimson 

 cheek, and mottled all over with great beauty 

 and delicacy. This must be a popular Peach 

 everywhere ; if we had only two trees, one 

 should be of this. 



Haines'' Early Red has borne with us this 

 year for the second time, and proves to be a 

 fruit of great excellence. The tree is one of 

 the most vigorous and hardy, and bears abund 

 autly. The fruit is large, and uniformly so, re 

 sembling the Grosse Mignene or Royal Ken 

 singtott of this section ; skin, pale in the shade 



deep red in. the sun ; flesh, greenish white, 

 abounding with a sweet fine flavored juice. — 

 This Peach has been tasted and examined by 

 hundreds of persons on our grounds this season, 

 and without an exception it has been pronounced 

 first rale. It will be a popular and very valua- 

 ble early orchard variety for the market. 



The Snow Peach .is a regular and productive 

 bearer, and is now (Sept. 14,) beginning to 

 ripen. It is a beautiful and delicious fruit. It 

 is perfectly distinct, being white as snow, almost, 

 both skin and flesh. 



George the Fourth and smooth leaved Royal 

 George, or Bellegarde, prove very fine large 

 fruits — ripe this season about the 8th to 14th of 

 September. 



Those that we have mentioned are all white 

 fleshed freestone Peaches, and all what may be 

 called early sorts. The best yellow fleshed 

 peaches are the Jacques, Crawford's Early Mal- 

 acatoon, Yelloiv Alberge, and Red Cheek Mala- 

 catoo7i—a\\ large, productive, delicious fruits, 

 well adapted for the market, and all ripening 

 before the 20th of September, in ordinary sea- 

 sons. The Morris' White Rare R'qje, Old 

 Mixon free, and WeWs free, are large, fine, 

 later varieti(}s, and the Lemon and Orange clings 

 are among the best of that class. 



We believe those we have mentioned cannot 

 be surpassed for market varieties in this or more 

 northern sections. We have not mentioned sev- 

 eral fine varieties that do well here, nor the 

 Crawford's late Malacatoon, as we have not yet 

 seen it ripened here. 



The abundant crop this season, such as we 

 have not had for many years, and may not again 

 for some years to come, has reduced the price 

 to something like a fair reasonable standard, 

 affording to thousands of persons who before 

 never tasted a good peach, to indulge partially in 

 that luxury. For a week or ten days Early 

 Purple, Sweet Water, &c., sold at S2,50 to $3 

 per basket — then they came down to ^1, and we 

 believe less. But even at the lowest, large fine 

 specimens sold for $2 to .S2,.50 ; yet a dollar a 

 basket is high enough, and our fruit growers 

 have no reason to complain. At that rate a good 

 five year old tree will produce 4 to 5 or more 

 dollars — a most ample remuneration. We re- 

 joice to see peaches growing plenty and cheap, 

 and hope they will continue to do so until the 

 whole working population of our cities and vil- 

 lages will be able to eat plenty of good peaches, 

 and until our Canadian neighbors, and those who 

 cannot grow peaches in our own State, may be 

 supplied with choice Sioeet Waters, Cole's 

 Haines, Kensingtons, Crawfords, Jacques, &c., 

 instead of the miserable, stony, sour, hog peach- 

 es now shipped to them, and that we have really 

 felt ashamed to see leave the shores of our fine 

 peach growing country. 



