34 THE CULTIVATION OF THE 



country, reaching even to the far West. There is 

 danger that such a state of affairs may precipitate a 

 condition of " bonanza-farming " in peach growing, the 

 planting of an excessive acreage, followed by neglect of 

 the details of the business, and disappointment to the 

 unfortunate neophytes. Within ten years I have heard 

 peach growing denounced as a delusion and a snare, 

 have seen magnificent trees pulled out as unworthy of 

 the soil they occupied, and now again see men who did 

 this, plant orchards and talk as enthusiastically as the 

 most enthusiastic, about the great delights and profits of 

 peach culture. 



Peach growing is like any other business, whatever, 

 that a man may follow. It demands and must receive 

 absolute attention to detail, from the very inception of 

 the idea of becoming a grower, down to the hour the 

 fruit is turned into money. Make the crop a legitimate 

 crop, say one-fifth to one-sixth of your farm, and be 

 careful when you plant, what you plant, and where you 

 plant, and most important of all, attend to what you do 

 plant, and this attention must vary with soil, location, 

 and other surrounding circumstances. There are many 

 uncertainties in the business, it is attended with great 

 and inexpressible anxieties, and is not, by any manner 

 of means, the royal and easy way to fortune that the 

 inexperienced often imagine. The vicissitudes of the 

 weather, insect-life, etc., are such that what promises 



