44 



twigs caused by this pest and take energetic control measures 

 if necessary. 



Curculio causes serious damage in three ways: (1) by caus- 

 ing heavy drop of the young fruit during the few weeks fol- 

 lowing fruit setting; (2) by blemishes on the fruit from the 

 egg punctures; and (3) by furnishing an opportunity for in- 

 fection by brown rot through the egg punctures, the last 

 being more serious than often- realized. The adult insect 

 passes the winter in rubbish along fence rows, in neglected 

 fields and near-by woods. Care should be taken to locate 

 the orchard away from the immediate vicinity of such places 

 or to clear them up as the case may be. The chief preven- 

 tion, however, is spraying as discussed later. 



5. Marketing Conditions. 

 After one has overcome the limiting conditions of produc- 

 tion, the efforts of the commercial grower go for nothing unless 

 a satisfactory market is at hand. Fortunately for the Massa- 

 chusetts grower he has a first-class market at his doorstep. 

 The only difficulty that arises is that he is likely to have a 

 crop only in years when peaches are abundant and the price 

 consequently low. Great profits in growing such perishable 

 fruits as peaches are secured only when a combination of 

 good prices and a good crop occurs. It should therefore be the 

 effort of the grower to get, so far as possible, a crop in years 

 when other growers fail. Means of attaining this rather difficult 

 aim, in part at least, will now be considered. 



Establishing thk Peach Orchard. 



From the foregoing discussion it follows that one should 

 direct all efforts towards overcoming these limiting factors and 

 especially the most important and difficult one of winter- 

 killing of fruit buds. Several factors not previously men- 

 tioned may be considered in establishing the orchard. 



Soil. 

 The importance of local elevation, slope and protection from 

 sweeping winds has been mentioned. Peach trees succeed on 

 a wide range of soils, but it is in all cases imperative that the 



