Slimed or preserved. It may be held for ten days in cold 

 storage, but the luscious flavor generally suffers. The period 

 of successful distribution from tree to consumer is commonly a 

 matter of less than a week. A grower, therefore, with several 

 thousand baskets of peaches ripening faster than his available 

 labor force or the railroad will handle them, is certain of plenty 

 of exercise for his mind. 



Peach growing is an intensive business which calls for skill, 

 energy and persistence. It is decidedly not a lazy man's game, 

 but played right it is attractive and profitable. 



In a discussion of modern developments in peach growing 

 some items of status should perhaps receive first attention. 



The severe winter of 1917-18 seriously injured and killed 

 thousands of peach trees in eastern and middle western peach 

 regions, only those in especially favored districts escaping. 

 During the period of the war, labor was difficult and expensive 

 to obtain, and orchards not producing full crops were frequently 

 left uncultivated. These two factors have resulted in a marked 

 reduction of the peach orchards that are now in condition to 

 produce good crops. 



The United States census for 1910 was taken when the peach 

 industry was just recovering from the attacks of the San Jose 

 scale, and that of 1920 will be taken just after heavy reduction 

 due to the effects of war and freezing. The high point reached 

 in 1915 will never be measured in figures. 



Together with this reduction in the number of vigorous or- 

 chards, there is a marked shortage in the number of nursery 

 trees ready for planting, and a correspondingly increased price 

 upon those that are available, which all points toward good 

 prices for peaches during the next year or tw^o if the crop is 

 properly distributed. 



The acreage of bearing peaches can be reduced suddenly, 

 and it can also "come back" quickly, and the present shortage 

 in peach nursery stock will be overcome much more quickly 

 than that of apples. Even now everything resembling a peach 

 pit has been collected and has gone into the ground for the 

 next year. In some districts we may look for a mad rush to 

 get aboard the peach wagon. 



