592 THE PEACH. 



sandy soil in New Jersey and Delaware, has led many to believe 

 that this is the best soil for the peach. But such is not the fact, 

 and the short duration of this tree in those districts is unques- 

 tionably owing to the rapidity with which the soil is impoverished. 

 We have, on the contrary, seen much larger, finer, and richer 

 flavoured peaches, produced for a long time successively, on mel- 

 low loam, containing but little sand, than upon any other soil 

 whatever. 



It is a well-founded practice not to plant peach orchards suc- 

 cessively upon the same site, but always to choose a new one. 

 From sixteen to twenty-five feet apart may be stated as the lim- 

 its of distance at which to plant this tree in orchards more 

 space being required in warm climates and rich soils than under 

 the contrary circumstances. North of New York it is better al- 

 ways to make plantations in the spring, and it should be done 

 pretty early in the season. South of that limit it may usually 

 be done with equal advantage in the autumn. 



In districts of country where the fruit in the blossom is liable 

 to be cut off by spring frosts, it is found of great advantage to 

 make plantations on the north sides of hills, northern slopes or 

 elevated grounds, in preference to warm valleys and southern 

 aspects. In the colder exposures the vegetation and blossoming 

 of the tree is retarded until after all danger of injury is past. 

 Situations near the banks of large rivers and inland lakes are 

 equally admirable on this account, and in the garden where we 

 write, on the banks of the Hudson, the blossoms are not injured 

 once in a dozen years, while on level grounds only five miles 

 in the interior, they are destroyed every fourth or fifth season. 



With regard to the culture of peach orchards, there is a 

 seeming disparity of opinion between growers at the north and 

 south. Most of the cultivators at the south say, never plough 

 or cultivate an orchard after it has borne the first crop. Plough- 

 ing bruises the roots, enfeebles the trees, and lessens the crop. 

 Enrich the ground by top dressings, and leave it in a state of 

 rest. The best northern growers say, always keep the land in 

 good condition, mellow and loose by cultivation, and crop it 

 very frequently with the lighter root and field crops. Both are 

 correct, and it is not difficult to explain the seeming difference 

 of opinion. 



The majority of the peach orchards south of Philadelphia, it 

 will be recollected, grow upon a thin, light soil, previously rather 

 impoverished. In such soils, it is necessarily the case, that the 

 roots lie near the surface, and most of the food derived by them 

 is from what is applied to the surface, or added to the soil. 

 Ploughing therefore, in such soils, wounds and injures the roots, 

 and cropping the ground takes from it the scanty food annually 

 applied or already in the soil, which is not more than sufficient 

 for the orchard alone. In a stronger and deeper soil, the roots 



