28 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



February, 1911 



An Amateur's Peach Orchard 



MY ORCHARD of less than fifty trees was 

 set, primarily, to furnish choice fruit for 

 family use through as long a season as possible; 

 secondarily, to test and compare a number of the 

 old and the most promising of the new varieties. 

 It is in the latitude of, and less than a score of 

 miles from, the upper part of New York City, 

 at an elevation of probably 200 feet above sea 

 level. The surface slopes gently to the east, 

 giving good air and water drainage. 



The soil is sandy to a depth of thirty feet, under- 

 laid with red rock. It has been severely affected 

 by drouth nearly every summer. It wa? pretty 

 well worn out when the first trees were set six 

 years ago. The trees have since had practically 

 no commercial fertilizer or chemicals, but coal 

 ashes, with a small admixture of wood ashes, 

 have been applied occasionally. 



The trees were set in the yards in which chickens 

 and ducks were raised each season. The company 

 of the growing birds seems to have had a beneficial 

 effect. During the earlier years of these trees, 

 we buried within reach of their roots the mortal 

 remains of whatever fowls or chicks had wearied 

 of life's struggles; these furnished excellent plant 

 food for the growing trees. 



There was some trouble with San Jose scale 

 during the first years, it having been introduced 

 on trees purchased before rigid inspection was 

 enforced. But a thorough spraying with common 

 kerosene oil three years ago, before the buds started, 

 apparently rendered further spraying needless. 



There were one or two trees that showed slight 

 traces of the scale, but a good spraying last spring 

 cleared the trees. 



The trees have received practically no culti- 

 vation except that the ground is dug up early in 

 spring and oats sowed for the later delectation 

 of the chicks. As they grow, the oats grow less 

 and less, and bare ground is the rule for the rest 

 of the season. Sometimes oats are dug into the 

 ground, thus furnishing an incentive for the 

 chicks to do more cultivating. The treatment 

 seems to agree with the trees, judging from their 

 vigorous growth. 



Our greatest drawback, so far as fruit is con- 

 cerned, has been the liability to late frosts after 

 the trees are in bloom. Bright prospects of a 

 generous crop have been several times blighted 

 by this untimely visitation. On April 29, 1909, 

 while the trees were in full bloom, we had a heavy 

 fall of damp snow which remained on the trees 

 for several hours, and I gave up all hope of having 

 any fruit that season. But though all the trees 

 had been full of buds and a few bore heavy crops, 



Belle of Georgia peach tree one year from plant- 

 ing, showing half of new growth after having been 

 cut back 



Four-year-old Greensboro peach tree In full 

 bloom. Half or more of previous year's growth 

 had been cut away 



the others had only scattering fruits. I have no- 

 ticed that there seems to be a great difference in 

 varieties as to their resistant power over unfavor- 

 able conditions. 



When the trees were set, the broken roots were 

 cut off smoothly and all branches removed, leav- 

 ing only a straight stick. From the top of this, 

 three, four and five of the strongest shoots were 

 allowed to grow. Pruning these consisted in cut- 

 ting off half or more the next spring. Little summer 

 pruning was done except to rub off any shoots 

 that started on the body or about the base of the 

 tree. Pruning in after years had consisted in 

 cutting out weak shoots, interfering branches and 

 shortening remaining ones from one-third to two- 

 thirds according to circumstances. I have been 

 told that I was pruning the trees "to death," 

 but their appearance three months afterward 

 belied the accusation. The trees were set in rows 

 twelve feet apart, the trees in the second row being 

 set opposite the spaces in the first row, and so on 

 alternately. This plan gives more space to each 

 individual tree. 



We aim to set a few more peach trees in the spring 

 of each year; we do not plant these trees in the 

 fall. There are not more than two trees of any 

 kind. Sometimes, unfortunately, when new trees 

 come into bearing, we find they are not what 

 the labels indicated, so we have to try again, and 

 wait a few more years before tasting the fruit 

 of some much-desired variety. Our present 

 assortment gives us ripe fruit every day from late 

 July until almost the end of October. We are 

 planning to set a few more trees that we think 

 will lengthen the season at each end, and make a 

 round three months of peaches. 



VARIETIES FOR A CONTINUOUS SUPPLY 



In late July, we have the Greensboro, a very 

 large peach, an early variety of the best quality, 

 and handsome in appearance. Triumph follows 

 a few days later. With us, this needs thinning 

 severely. Champion comes next, a handsome, 



creamy-white peach of excellent quality. Follow- 

 ing closely in order comes Carman, Belle of Georgia, 

 Mt. Rose, Foster, Oldmixon, Elberta, Wager. Dr. 

 Cummings is much later, of extra size and quality, 

 but not a heavy bearer. The full bearers under 

 adverse conditions have been: Belle of Georgia, 

 Reeves' Favorite, Greensboro, Triumph, Champion, 

 Mountain Rose, Banner and Iron Mountain. Tri- 

 umph and Banner are small fruited, but under more 

 favorable conditions, on older trees, and with more 

 severe thinning, would do better. Iron Mountain 

 is a lusty, late variety with huge fruit. It is not 

 a handsome peach, but of best quality. Pickett's 

 Late is also among the last to bear — yellow, of 

 medium size and excellent quality. 



New Jersey. F. H. Valentine. 



Cast-off Cracker Boxes for Seed- 

 lings 



FOR the indoor starting of vegetable seedlings 

 we found the ordinary cardboard cracker 

 boxes very satisfactory. We made three sizes: 

 one by cutting each box into two equal parts, 

 setting each on its end, which we used for potatoes, 

 tomatoes, beans and other large seedlings. A 

 smaller size was made the same height as the width 

 of the box and used for plants that required less 

 depth, or for any plant in its early stages, trans- 

 planting to a deeper one when necessary. The 

 entire box, placed horizontally, with the cover 

 folded back to reinforce the inside, was useful 

 for groups of seedlings or for sprouting corn or 

 peas in sand. 



Of course, these boxes are not durable and are 

 inclined to mold, but for temporary use they 

 make good substitutes for the little individual 

 flower pots and are much less expensive. The 

 only work required, beside cutting the box to the 

 desired size, was to tie a string around it, to keep 

 the sides from spreading. Transplanting to the 

 open garden was especially easy with these boxes, 

 because they were simply unfolded from around 

 the roots, without disturbing them. The potatoes 

 pushed their roots through the cracks, so we took 

 the precaution to line with paper all boxes planted 

 later. Some drainage is necessary, and this we 

 supplied with charcoal. 



A good supply of cracker boxes, saved up for 

 early spring, will be the means of having vegetables 

 ahead of the season, as they can be started in a 

 sunny window, hardened to outdoor conditions 

 in some sheltered spot, and then set out in the 

 garden when the proper time comes. 



New York. I. M. Angell. 



Try starting vegetable seedlings in cracker boxes. 

 Transplanting will be wonderfully easy 



