96 THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF FRUITS. 



very little culture; yet extra labor and skill are always with it 

 most amply rewarded in its increased size, excellence, and beauty. 



The peach will usually bear in quite cold weather, even to 20 or 

 25 degrees below zero, unless the buds have been previously swollen 

 by warm weather in the fall, or unless succeeded immediately by 

 warm sunshine. Trees that have grown in improper soil, or are 

 otherwise in an unhealthy condition, will be more hable to have 

 their fruit killed by frost. 



The chief food of the peach are lime, potash, and bone-dust; 

 consequently on soils where these are naturally in abundance, or 

 where they are plentifully supplied, may it be expected to produce 

 ■ the largest crops of healthy and vigorous fruit. 



Trees thus fed, and kept properly trimmed and cultivated, will 

 live longer than those not so favorably circumstanced. 



Peaches are easily propagated from the seed. If the stones or 

 pits be properly planted in the fall, they will usually sprout in the 

 spring. To succe'ed well, take the stones before they have become 

 dry, and cover them in a pile to a depth of four to six inches, in 

 light, sandy soil. Here they will freeze and crack open during the 

 winter, and on the return of spring, and by the time the ground 

 can be made fit to receive them, they will be found to have germi- 

 nated. Take them carefully up, and plant in rows four or five feet 

 apart, and t€n or twelve inches in the row, covering them about 

 two inches deep with rich pulverized soil. By keeping the ground 

 well cultivated during the summer, and clear of all grass and weeds, 

 they will reach a height of three to five feet by tlie first of Sept. 



A few of the stones, when raised in the spring, will be found not 

 to have cracked open; these must be opened by using a hammer, 

 taking care to strike them on the edge, and not on the end, or flat- 

 wise ; otherwise they will be injured. Plant these in rows sepa- 

 rate from the others, *as it is desirable to have all in the same rows 

 as near one size as possible — and those will not be likely to grow 

 as large as the others. 



Those trees which have reached a proper growth should be bud- 

 ded the same year — in August or early Septerilber. Many trans- 

 plant the seedling trees, either because it is considered too expensive 

 to procure the budded ones, or because they are thought to be as 

 valuable, or from want of proper reflection on the subject. It is 

 true that, in some instances, nearly the same fruit as that from the 



