CROPS AND PROFITS. 187 



It will be remembered that in an early chapter I 

 made mention of certain dilapidated peach trees upon 

 the premises, which were even then showing unfailing- 

 signs of the ' yellows.' This vegetable dyspepsia has 

 long since carried them off. Indeed, there are but 

 few belts of land throughout New England where a 

 man may hope successful culture of this fruit. The 

 borer is an ugly enemy to begin with ; but with close 

 watchfulness, the attacks of this insect may be pre- 

 vented. His cousin, the curculio, does not greatly 

 affect the downy cheek of a young peach. Yet still, 

 in the absence of more tempting surfaces, he will 

 leave upon it his Turkish signet. Next, comes a 

 curious, foul twisting of the leaves, due may be to 

 some minute family of aphides ; but this can be miti- 

 gated by judicious pruning ; after these escapes, and 

 when your mouth is watering in view of a luscious 

 harvest, there appear symptoms of a new disease ; 

 the leaves cease to expand ; the fruit takes on a pre- 

 mature bloom, and a multitude of little shoots start 

 here and there from the bark, being weakly attempts 

 to struggle against the consuming ' yellows.' A.nd 

 if all these difficulties be fairly escaped or overcome, 

 there remains the damaging fact, that in three win- 

 ters out of five, in most New England exposures, the 

 extreme cold will utterly destroy the germ of the 

 fruit buds. 



