Planting and managing Peach Orchards. 91 



water stands near the surface of the soil, or if the land has 

 springs near the top of the ground, 1 should not deem it ad- 

 visable to plant with the expectation of very certain crops. 

 1 have lost two orchards planted in this manner, while, in an 

 adjoining field, where the land, or a part of it, was high, with 

 a dry subsoil, the trees flourished, and produced abundant 

 crops. 



Light sandy soil, or light loam, we consider the most pre- 

 ferable for planting out peach orchards, and I should judge, 

 that on many of the elevated knolls, in the vicinity of Boston, 

 the peach might be cultivated to good advantage, particularly 

 ihe earlier varieties. It is at least well worthy of trial. 

 Yours, respectfully, 



T. Hancock. 



Burlington, JV". J"., Jan. 1841. 



We have already noticed Mr. Hancock^s nursery, and giv- 

 en some account of his peach orchard, (Vol. V., p. 3G5.) 

 In the season of 1839, when we passed through Burlington, 

 the peach trees were breaking down with the heavy crops. 

 Mr. Hancock's trees were literally loaded; and so fast did 

 they ripen, that the ground under nearly every tree that we 

 noticed, was covered with the fiuit. The orchard contained 

 about seventeen acres, and was covered with healthy trees, 

 and the crop was estimated at two thousand baskets (about 

 fifteen hundred bushels,) which commanded one dollar and up- 

 wards a basket, in the New York market. The land was a light 

 .sandy loam, and would not produce, as jMr. Hancock inform- 

 ed us, five bushels of corn to the acre, unless very heavily 

 manured. The ground was not planted at all when we saw 

 it, but it had been tilled with the cultivator, to keep the sur- 

 face free from the growth of weeds, 4'C. The trees do not 

 make a vigorous growth, and consequently do not need but 

 little pruning. 



The great error in cultivating peach trees, in New England, 

 has been in planting them in too rich soil, and encouraging 

 them to make a rapid and vigorous growth: the trees, in con- 

 sequence, are overtaken by ihe cold weather, and the severe 

 frosts, of the early part of winter, before the wood is fully 

 ripe, destroy the young fiuit buds, oftentimes the young and 

 tender shoots, and occasionally the trees are killed com- 

 pletely down to the roots. The very opposite course should 

 be pursued: the trees should be set out on a light soil, and 



