56 THE PEACH 



the power of decomposing rocks and stones con- 

 taining it (Stockhart Ag. Chem.) Bat if the soil is 

 employed from year to year in the growth of ex- 

 haustive crops, the salts of potash must to some 

 extent be given back in some form to prevent the 

 land from becoming sterile for the want of this im- 

 portant element of which it has been robbed. An 

 example we have in the exhausted soils of Virginia 

 by the successive crops of tobacco grown by the 

 early settlers of the country who looked upon the 

 virgin soil of their farms as inexhaustible and as 

 also the farmers in the rich Genesee Valley of New 

 York, within my recollection, entertained the same 

 views. In advertising their farms for sale, one of 

 the advantages claimed was that the barn and sta- 

 bles were located on a stream of water sufficient to 

 carry off the manure without the trouble and ex- 

 pense of carting. Although this may be so with 

 a continued succession of exhaustive crops, (all 

 crops are exhaustive if all is taken off and nothing 

 returned,) for the potash and other manurial in- 

 gredients will go faster than the weather can an- 

 nually supply them. But this is not the case with 

 our orchards, for it is well known that a peach 

 orchard improves the soil and it is the same with 

 the apple and pear orchards as may be seen in the 

 soil for years after they have died out or been re- 

 moved. I believe that an analysis of the soils of 

 any of our orchards would show as much if not 

 more lime and potash than they could have done 



