1230 



PEACH 



Peaches can be readily seen and handled. The fruit 

 from well-thinned trees usually sells for twice as much 

 as that from overloaded trees, and the vigor of the 

 trees is conserved at the same time; and the grower 

 has the satisfaction of selling a superior product. 

 There are two rules for the workman to observe in the 

 thinnini; "f fruit: il) n-uioval of injured or inferior 

 fruits; cJi allMW no two fniit-^ to stiiiid closer together 

 than till- .|i-i.-iiM-r wliirli li:i, l.fi-n ih-ciilrd on-say about 

 sixinclu^ lorr.arl,.,. 



Mark.:tiii,j.^\f -low.-r^ ar.- ii,-KUgcnt in thinning the 

 fruit, they are too often po-^itively careless in marketing 

 it. Even in years of low prices, honestly and tastefully 

 packed fruit brings good prices. The handsome boxes 

 of California Peaches, containing 60 wrapped fruits, will 

 sell readily for $2 to $4, whilst home grown fruit sells 

 for 25 to 75 cents a half bushel; and yet the latter may 

 be the better by the time it reaches the consumer. 



There are several faults with common methods of 

 handling Peaches. The packages are too large. The 

 fruit is not graded and selected; in fact, it is not well 

 grown. There are often no wooden covers on the bas- 

 kets, and, as a consequence, that part of the package 



nliKh -hould look the Dest is usually the most jammed 

 and crushed In obserMng the markets, one finds that 

 ((Uite half the jiackages are not full when they reach 

 llie salesman The Peaih is a dessert fruit and should 

 command a fancy price. Therefore, it should be packed 

 in dainty baskets, and the packages should be sold with 

 the fruit. Peaches in bushel baskets is a contradiction 

 of ideals: the bushel package is for apples, potatoes, 

 and turnips. 



In New Jersey and Michigan the staple Peach pack- 

 age has been the tall, wide-topped basket. Of late years, 

 however, different forms of the Climax basket ( Fig. 1674) 

 have come to be poiiular. ami in some parts of the country 

 tlipy aiv II-,. 1 i\.lii-i .1. Till- fruit always should be 

 packii!,! ' ' 'i.-r grade being carefully 



/«N,,, ii.i i> -i - 11- insect enemies of the 



I'eiich iu\- ilu l..,i, r aii.l . unulio. The borer usually 

 works in the crown of the tree near the surface of the 

 ground. The borer itself is the larva of a wasp-like 

 moth. It is an annual insect, completing its life-cycle 

 within a twelvemonth. The eggs are laid in summer. 

 By October, in most parts of the country, the larva 

 is large enough to be detected. In September or Octo- 

 ber, therefore, it is well to grub the trees. The earth 



PEACH 



is removed from the crown with a hoe or strong iron 

 trowel, and whenever a hole is discovered in the bark 

 or gum is exuding, the bark is cut away with a knife 

 until the grub is discovered. Not all the grubs can 

 be detected at any one grubbing. It is well to go over 

 the trees again the following May or June, to catch the 

 lart^e grubs before they pupate. The grubbing of trees 

 may --riiii like a laborious operation, but it is not ex- 

 prii-i\i It iloiir t'l'iiiKiirly and thoroughly. It does not 

 coiii|iar. \iiili ]iiinjiiii.' in cost or labor. It is the only 

 sur-f ami sati>.tai-tor\- wa\' to avoid injury by borers. 



The curculio attacks the fruit. Soon after the blos- 

 soms fall the small weevil or beetle, which resembles 

 a pea-bug, lays its eggs in the fruit; and from these 

 eggs a grub soon hatches, and the Peach becomes 

 wormy. The eggs are laid during a considerable period 

 — from two to four weeks — depending on the location 

 and the season. The insect is more or less dormant in 

 the cool of the morning and will drop when the tree 

 is jarred, and this allows the peach-grower a chance of 

 catching it. A large sheet, covering the spread of the 

 top, is laid under the tree and the tree is jarred quickly 

 two or three times, when the curculio falls, and it is then 

 picked from the sheet. There are various apparatus for 

 catching the curculio, all working on the above principle. 

 One of the best of these is a 2-wheeled rig, something 

 like a wheelbarrow, which carries a large canvas or 

 muslin hopper. There is an opening in the hopper op- 

 posite the operator, to allow the hopper to be wheeled 

 under the tree so that the trunk may stand near the 

 middle of the machine. When the machine is in place, 

 the operator gives the tree two <.r three quick thumps, 

 and the insects drop, I'^nallv. tli.T.' is a tin or zim- 



receptacle at the aiH\ ,,r il,. I n. r inii. w lu.'h in-.ris 



may be shaken. Tin - '■ , j . '. j '■] ' * ■n - Im - u n . ,ir]y 



in the morning, USUI , I!. i'i.i..|,lo- 



ration with the buL'-m- iiiiir'liin.' i- nuilr « nlun a w.-.-k 

 after the blossoms tall. If insci'ts are found the ojiera- 

 tion is continued. If the insects are very abundant the 

 bugging will need to be done every morning; but if they 

 are not abundant it may be necessary to go over the 

 pKantation only two or three tiiii.> a w. . k. Tin- biiii-L'ing 

 is continued as long as the in-.ii- arr fiiiinil in ^nlli- 

 cient quantity to do much daniaL'i. 'V\^■^• "r ilinr w. iks 

 will usually cover the egg-lay III- -.a-on; Imt Mini, nines 

 the catching must be continn,,! ,\,ii Lm-, r tliaii this. 

 This bugging is a laborious oj,. raiiiii, Imi if is the only 

 sure method of combating tin , nr, nli.,. I'ln- work can 

 be made much more easy anil .s|,. .lit imi-, it the groimd 



is hard and firm, to allow tin. i liim s to be wheeled 



readilv. It is well, therefore, to till the orchard as early 

 as possible, and if the ground is very soft to go over it 

 with a slicker or other compacting implement just be- 

 fore the bugging operation begins. After the curculio 

 catilniiL' is done, one may begin the thinning of the 

 fruit. All Peaches which give evidence of having been 

 attackod by the curculio are then pickeil; this is an im- 

 portant means of keeping the pest in check. 



JHxi'iixes. — The Peach is subject to many insidious 

 •tnd inexplicable diseases. Of these the worst is yel- 

 lows. The yellows is a di.stinct disease. It is not a 

 condition. It attacks Peach trees of all ages and in all 

 conditions of vigor, seeming to have a preference for 

 those that are thrifty. It is incurable, and its tenni- 

 nation is always fatal. It is communicable from tree to 

 tree. The means of communication is unknown, but it 

 is not spread through the soil, it probably does not 

 originate in the roots, it is evidently not convi yi-il 

 from flower to flower, and it is probalil\ not fr.insf.rmil 

 by means of pruning tools. It may I.,- (lis^.niiiiatial 

 by buds, even by those from branehis that <lo not yet 

 show signs of the disease. The one uninistakable 

 symptom of yellows is the red-spotted character of the 

 fruit. The flesh is commonly marked by red lines or 

 splashes beneath the spots. These Peaches generally 

 ripen prematurely, and in the second year they are 

 usually smaller and often more fuzzy than the normal 

 fruit. The second symptom to appear— or the first in 

 trees not in fruit-is'the "tip" growth (Pig. 1875). This 

 is a short growth starting from the upper or ferminal 

 buds, usually late in the season, and is characterized 

 by narrow stiff yellowish small leaves which stand at 

 nearly right angles to the shoot. Sometimes these tips 



