HORTICULTURAL EXPERIMENTS AT SAN ANTONIO. 25 



weeds appear, there will be practically no necessity for hand labor 

 in keeping the orchard free from weeds, except near the trees. 



Planting distances. — The distances apart of planting the trees 

 should be greater than is customary in regions of greater rainfall. 

 In the test orchards the trees were spaced 15 to 17 feet apart, but 

 this is much too close for the trees to do well after they reach full 

 size. Peach trees should be not less than 25 feet apart, and a greater 

 distance may be advisable. Plums may be planted somewhat closer 

 together, but it will be found in the end that wide spacing will give 

 more satisfactory results. 



Green-manure crops. — The soils of the San Antonio region are often 

 lacking in organic matter. Green-manure crops or stable manure 

 will do much to correct this condition. Cowpeas were first used as 

 a green-manure crop, planted late in July. As that is the season of 

 the year when droughts are most likely to occur, it was found that 

 this crop was not wholly satisfactory. Later, Canada peas were 

 introduced as a winter-cover and green-manure crop. This has 

 proved the best of any so far tried. The Canada peas should be 

 planted as soon after the first of October as possible, or at about the 

 time oats are ordinarily sown. Satisfactory results have been 

 obtained by planting with an ordinary grain drill, seeding at the 

 rate of about 90 pounds per acre. The crop is plowed under the 

 latter part of February or early in March. The best variety so far 

 tested is known as the Golden Vine (S. P. I. 30134). It has been 

 grown here for the past two winters in comparison with several other 

 varieties and is the only one that has survived a temperature as low 

 as 15° F. above zero. 



SUMMARY. 



There is comparatively little authentic information regarding the 

 possibilities of fruit culture in the vicinity of San Antonio. Conse- 

 quently, the greater part of the farming population is poorly supplied 

 with fruit. 



The horticultural work of the San Antonio Field Station included 

 not only the testing of a large collection of varieties, but tests of 

 resistant stocks have also received much attention. 



A number of limiting factors govern fruit production in this region. 

 The soil conditions are unfavorable for many fruits. The climate is 

 too severe for such fruits as oranges and olives and too mild for apples 

 and cherries. The rainfall is sufficient for most fruits if the trees are 

 spaced at somewhat greater distances than in more humid climates. 



The early attempts at peach growing were made with seedlings 

 from the early Spanish importations. The later introductions con- 

 sisted largely of varieties of the North China, Persian, and Peen-to 

 races, none of which has proved wholly successful. 



With the introduction af the Honey peach a new type was found 

 which has proved particularly well adapted to the conditions. The 



