194 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 

 PROPAGATION OF THE PEACH 



Peach trees for orchard planting are more easily 

 grown than those of any other fruit. The soil best 

 suited to the jjroduction of first-class trees is a medium 

 deep loam, that will not be subject to drouth, and fully 

 exposed to a good circulation of air. Much care must 

 be exercised in the selection of the seed, that coming 

 from vigorous, healthy trees being the best. Much of 

 the seed used is sold as coming from Tennessee, North 

 Carolina, etc., where it is claimed that the disease known 

 as the "yellows" does not exist. It is undoubtedly true 

 that this disease is less prevalent in the above-mentioned 

 sections, but it is thought that it may be found there, 

 and as the "natural" fruit often is less vigorous than 

 many of the budded sorts, it would seem best to use 

 seed from the most hardy, healthy and vigorous varie- 

 ties, whether budded or not. The seed should be obtained 

 as early in the fall as is possible, and be ^'hedded," i. e., 

 mixed with soil and exposed to the frost so that it will 

 germinate more readily in the spring. 



Bedding the seeds consists in selecting a rather 

 moist soil of sandy loam, where there will be no danger 

 of standing water, and making a pit from six to ten 

 inches deep, and of the size required for the amount 

 of seed to be used. In the bottom of this bed a layer 

 of seeds two or three deep is placed, then a layer of 

 soil of the same depth, treading it firmly, then another 

 layer of seeds, and so on until the bed is filled a little 

 above the level of the surrounding soil. Here the seeds 

 remain exposed to the action of moisture and frost until 

 they begin to sprout in May, when they are thrown 

 upon a wire screen, and the shells will separate from 

 the kernel if the frosting has been a success. If any 

 seeds fail to sprout they must be carefully cracked with 

 a light hammer. As the kernels are separated from 



