108 PEACH CULTUEB. 



occasion. This requires negotiation, correspondence, 

 interviews, and some responsibility. Some people do not 

 know how or where to go about it ; others, are too cau- 

 tious to enter upon it ; while others, again, have not in- 

 terest enough to undertake it. Were it not for the 

 extortionate charges of the railroad companies, they would 

 transport nearly all the peaches. As it is, the boats take 

 a very respectable portion. These evils, however, will 

 correct themselves as the importance of the trade increases. 

 The boats will either make complete arrangements for 

 carrying from all accessible points ; or the companies 

 will reduce their rates by rail to a reasonable figure. At 

 present the boats carry for fifty per cent less than the 

 cars, and make more money than by any other freight. 

 Such a business will soon attract the attention of steam- 

 boat men seeking employment for their vessels ; especially 

 as the hight of the peacli trade occurs at a season when 

 there is usually a dearth in other freights. 



CHAPTER XX. 



PICKING. 



The planter, having procured liis baskets, selected his 

 route and means of transportation, and engaged his con- 

 signee, now patiently awaits the maturity of his fruit. 



The picking commences with the earliest varieties 

 about the tenth of July, and the season closes with the 

 latest about the end of September. 



But in old orchards there are often some trees that ripen 

 their fruit in advance even of the earliest varieties. They 

 are decayed or diseased, and the fruit is not perfect, and 

 often small and of very inferior flavor. The peaches are 



