PEACHES 



1533 



peach is a perishable fruit, and while 

 experimenters are improving the Yari- 

 eties so that they will stand a longer 

 shipment than formerly and improving 

 the shipping methods by improved re- 

 frigerator car service so that they can 

 be conveyed in good condition for a much 

 longer distance than formerly, yet there 

 is always some loss from long shipments. 

 The loss is not alone in the extra price 

 of freight paid for long shipments as 

 compared with short, but in the fact that 

 there are dangers of wreck, delays and 

 gradual deterioration of fruits, the cost 

 of which it is hard to estimate. Further, 

 peaches that are shipped long distances 

 must, in order to reach the markets in 

 good condition, be picked before they are 

 ripe enough to have developed the finest 

 flavor. For this reason fruits shipped 

 from the Pacific coast to the Eastern 

 states are said to lack flavor. The great 

 problems of the grower and shipper are 

 concerned with discovering just the right 

 time at which the fruit must be picked 

 to give it the proper flavor and still leave 

 it firm enough to reach the market with- 

 out breaking down. With the discovery 

 of methods of handling which will leave 

 the fruit absolutely uninjured and yet 

 be economical, and very quick transporta- 

 tion under conditions which bring the 

 fruit to its destination free from bruises 

 and decays, these difficulties will be rap- 

 idly eliminated. 



Preparation of Soil for Planting 



There is nothing difficult about plant- 

 ing a peach orchard, nor in preparing 

 the land for planting, any more than 

 there is in preparing the land for corn, 

 wheat or oats. Deep plowing is always 

 better than shallow plowing, and there- 

 fore the deeper the better for peach 

 trees. 



After plowing the land should be well 

 pulverized by disking or harrowing, or 

 both. Sometimes it is better to disk, 

 harrow and drag. For instance, if the 

 land is grassy or soddy, it should be 

 disked to cut the sod, then harrowed to 

 pulverize it, then if it is not fully pul- 

 verized, or if it is uneven, there is noth- 

 ing better than a good, heavy drag, which 



every farmer knows how to make. In 

 climates where irrigation is not prac- 

 ticed and where there is likely to be 

 insufficient rainfall at any time we can- 

 not emphasize too strongly the impor- 

 tance of pulverizing the surface soil in 

 order to retain the moisture. Where irri- 

 gation is practiced the land must either 

 be sufficiently leveled so as to run the 

 water over all parts of the orchard, or 

 the water must be piped to the high 

 points where it can be distributed to 

 every part. 



If it is necessary to plant an orchard 

 on unirrigated lands where the rainfall 

 is inadequate, then the moisture can be 

 increased by plowing a deep furrow and 

 back-furrow, making a trench in which 

 to set the trees. When the showers come 

 the tendency will be for the surface water 

 to drain into the trench and the roots 

 get more than when it is scattered evenly 

 over the soil. 



If, on the other hand, it is necessary 

 to plant in wet land, the same process 

 of back-furrowing will make ridges on 

 which the trees can be planted and get 

 less moisture than on the level surface. 



Planting on Old Peach Land 



The question as to the advisability of 

 planting a peach orchard on land where 

 peaches had formerly been grown has 

 been discussed. 



It is not advisable for the following 

 reasons : 



1. There are in every orchard fungus 

 and insect pests which attack the roots 

 of trees, some of which may have caused 

 the death of trees in the old orchard. 

 These rapidly spread to the roots of the 

 young trees, and because they are small 

 and the number of pests proportionately 

 large, make it difficult for the trees to 

 survive or to make a vigorous growth. 



2. The soil is likely to have become 

 exhausted in the spot where the old tree 

 stood. The theory has been advanced 

 that excretions of the old tree are re- 

 sponsible for the failure of the new one. 



However, if it seems necessary to plant 

 a young orchard on the site of the old 

 one, it may be done successfully by pull- 

 ing out, in so far as possible, the stumps 



