LAST WORDS. 173 



non-keeping varieties, at rainous prices, while during late winter 

 and spring, late-keepers will sell at fair rates. Or thousands of 

 bushels are either wasted in the orchard, or made into cider, or fed 

 to stocli, at a loss. 



Those wlio plant for home use only, are also extremely apt to fall 

 into this mistake. In an orchard of fi^ty trees for home consump- 

 tion, at least forty should be winter apples — most of them late- 

 keepers — such as will, with proper handling, last into mid-summer, 

 until the early fruits come again. The other ten should be choice 

 selections of early and la^e summer, and early and late fall, in order 

 to have a regular succession. Of course these suggestions are to be 

 varied according to circumstances. 



Many planters, having acres to spare, and means, desire to ex- 

 periment on varieties. They select, very properly, a great many 

 varieties ; yet even they sometimes mistake, by taking too many 

 trees of a kind. One tree of each sort is enough to experiment with, 

 if the design is to enter into it largely. And even then, it is a ques- 

 tion whether it might not be more cheaply done, by top-grafting 

 several sorts into one tree. 



The above suggestions will apply equally to the planting of pears 

 and some other fruits. 



A word to peach-growers everywhere — especially throughout the 

 West and South. The markets are full of small and insignificant 

 seedlings, which bring a poor price by the side of good, large, culti- 

 vated sorts. To the growers of all such, we say — cut them down; 

 do not encumber the ground with trees that bear such fruit. Fill 

 their places with such as will sell, and be in demand as soon as seem. 

 It is not uncommon to see peaches in large quantities, in some of the 

 Western markets, going slowly at forty and fifty cents per bushel 

 while by their side are others that are readily sold at two dollars 

 per bushel. There is no profit in that sort of fruit-growing. Yet 

 the writer is well aware that a poor peach is better than none ; but 

 there is no excuse for having a poor peach. The budded varieties, 

 and the seedlings that are known to come true to the parent stock 

 (and there are such, valuable peaches, too), are the only ones that 

 should be planted^ either for home use or for market. 



Plant -plamt ! Plant the best, always, if to be obtained ; if not, 

 plant such as can be had. Of those that grow on . trees, and tera^)! 



