THE PEACHES OF NEW YORK 137 



as compact in growth and hence hardier than the average: Chili, Crosby, 

 Gold Drop, Barnard, Kalamazoo, Triumph, Wager and Fitzgerald. 



Eleventh. — In New York the varieties Crosby, Chili, Stevens, Gold 

 Drop and Elberta are named as most hardy in wood. As most tender in 

 wood Early Crawford, Late Crawford, Chairs, St. John and Niagara are 

 named. Crosby, Chili, Triumph, Gold Drop, Stevens and Kalamazoo are 

 most hardy in bud. Early Crawford, Late Crawford, Chairs, Reeves and 

 Elberta are most tender in bud. 



The average date at which the last killing frost occurs in the spring 

 also determines the limit in latitude or altitude at which the peach can be 

 grown. Even in the favored peach-regions of New York, records bring 

 out the fact that killing frosts must be expected occasionally to destroy 

 the peach-crop and there are few years indeed in which frost does not take 

 heavy toll in the State as a whole. In the twenty-five year period begin- 

 ning with 1 88 1 and ending with 1905, the peach-crop was destroyed or 

 seriously injured over a large part of New York in thirteen seasons.^ Little 

 or nothing is done in New York to protect the peach from frosts. Truth 

 is, not much can be done. Whitewashing trees delays blooming time and 

 in some seasons might prevent injury from late frosts but it is too tmcertain 

 and too costly to be worth putting in practice. Wind-breaks as often favor 

 the frost as the tree. Smudging is too expensive for the extensive system 

 of peach-orcharding practiced in the East. Failure due to frost may be 

 expected, then, when the commonly recognized precautions in selecting 

 frost-proof sites are not recognized. 



The limits of peach-culttire in New York are also determined by early 

 faU frosts and by the length of the growing season, though both are less 

 important than the winter-climate and late frosts in the spring. The 

 peach-grower must be able to synchronize three of these phases of climate, 

 spring frosts, fall frosts and length of summer season, with the blooming 

 and ripening of peaches, — to do which he must have weather data and the 

 dates of blooming and ripening of varieties of peaches. The necessary 

 data as to the average dates of spring and fall frosts and the length of the 

 growing season can be obtained from the nearest local weather bvireau and 

 in the accompanying table the blooming and ripening seasons of 181 

 varieties of peaches grown at the New York Agrictiltural Experiment 

 Station are given for the years 1910 to 1914. Blooming and ripening 



1 Hedrick, U. P. N. Y. Sta. Bid. 299: 1908. 



