262 THE PEACH. 



mostly cracked and the germ just started ; they should then be care- 

 fully planted in rows, four feet apart, and one seed every foot in the 

 row, covered about two inches deep. The stones that are not 

 cracked by the frost should be taken and carefully cracked, by plac- 

 ing on a wooden block and striking the side edge with a hammer ; this 

 will not injure the germ, as is often done when they are cracked by strik- 

 ing the ends. Separated from the stone, the kernels should be 

 planted same as above, but in rows by themselves, as all are not sure 

 to grow, and, even if they did, would not as soon as those already 

 started, and therefore the rows in culture would often have trees un- 

 fitted for budding at same time ; or frequently those coming from 

 the last named kinds would be entirely too small for budding the 

 first year. 



It is well to know that most of the yellow fleshed Peaches have a 

 tendency to produce varieties similar to the parent ; hence the in- 

 numerable new sorts that now swell the nursery-men's catalogues, 

 and that are yearly being introduced to the public as " highly superi- 

 or" If an orchard is desired to be produced of seedlings, by select- 

 ing seeds of the Yellow Rareripe, Crawford's Early, Bergen's Yel- 

 low, Lemon Cling, and Crawford's Late, it is very probable a col- 

 lection would be obtained preserving in great measure the charac- 

 ters, qualities, and times of ripening of these varieties. So, also, 

 may the periods of ripening of each kind be, to a certain extent, 

 hastened or retarded, by selecting pits of the first or last that ripen 

 on each particular tree. 



The grower should, however, recollect that while there is a strong 

 tendency in these varieties to reproduce themselves, their capability 

 so to do is often destroyed by the intermixture, while in flower of 

 some other variety which is perhaps adjoining them only a few feet ; 

 hence, in order to feel any degree of certainty toward the raising of 

 kinds valuable, or resembling the parent, it is necessary that the 

 tree from which the pits are taken should stand perfectly isolated, 

 or certainly distant two hundred rods from any other Peach tree. 



Those who have not the dry sandy knoll whereon to place the pits, 

 to prepare them for the ensuing spring, may place them in a moist 

 cellar until nearly the close of winter ; then take them out, soak 

 them in water two or three days, spread them on the ground and 

 cover two or three inches of saw-^u i or leaf mould over them ; thus 

 exposing them to action of fro>t. ' < i! the season for planting. 



By Budding. The seed sown as above will, early in the month 

 of September, be found to have grown, in good soil, from three to 

 four feet, when they should be budded as near the ground as possi- 

 ble ; and in October one-half of the entire top should be cut back 

 not the limbs pruned off, leaving bare stems but the growth of 

 every limb should be shortened or cut back one-half; this is to pre- 



