VAEIETIES OF PEACHES. 



55 



Two of these locations are in Virginia, one of which is in Amherst County on Porters 

 black loam at 2,000 feet altitude, the other in Bedford County on Porters clay at 1,200 

 to 1,300 feet. The thii'd is in South Carolina at 1,000 feet altitude, on a soil similar to 

 Cecil clay, but which contains more sand than this type does. A wide range of adapta- 

 bility is thus indicated. In the latter location its season is early July, but later farther 

 north or at greater elevations. 

 Crosby. 



Occasionally this variety has been mentioned in Virginia, and usually with com- 

 mendation. In Albemarle County on Porters clay grading into Porters sand, at 1,100 

 to 1,200 feet elevation, the Crosby bears abundantly and the fruit develops to a good 

 size for the variety, but at 1,500 feet or more the fruit is frequently too small and the 

 skin covered with a fuzz too dense to be desirable. Cecil clay at 1,000 feet in Bedford 

 County also appears to be well suited to this variety. Ripening occurs the last of 

 August in the middle Piedmont sections. The buds are considered very hardy with 

 reference to low temperatures. 

 Early Crawford. 



This has long been a standard variety of wide distribution and it does fairly well in 

 the Piedmont region wherever it has been grown. At high elevations in North Carolina 

 it is said to be rather tender in bud, but when it escapes injury it develops in a satis- 

 factory manner, especially on the friable loam, which is characteristic of certain por- 

 tions of the higher altitudes. It is reported to be especially fine at some points in the 

 "thermal belt." It is also grown with a fair degree of success on Cecil sandy loam at 

 1,000 feet altitude, on Cecil clay, and on various other t^^es common to the Piedmont 

 region. As nearly as can be determined, however, from the experiences of the growers, 

 it possesses no merits which render it of preeminent value under most conditions in 

 this section. Its season is early August in Bedford County, Va. It has proved unde- 

 sirable as a "mountain peach" in certain other sections of the country. 

 Eaton. Synonym: Eaton' s Golden Cling. 



This variety is known to only a very smaU number of growers. It is apparently of 

 little value here. At widely separated points on Cecil sandy loam or soil similar to 

 this t}^e and at elevations of about 1,000 feet it grows well, ripening about the middle 

 of September. On a soil of similar character, at 2,000 feet, the tree is reported to be 

 unhealthy and the fruit is said to be knotty. " It is also unsatisfactory on Porters 

 clay at 1,300 feet in Bedford County, Va. 

 Elberta. 



This variety holds a unique place in the development of the peach-growing interests 

 of the country. More than any other, it has entered into the wide extension of peach 

 culture which has taken place during the past few years. 



The Elberta is more widely distributed and extensively grown in these regions than 

 any other sort. Under nearly all the combinations of soU, elevation, and other influ- 

 encing factors which these regions present, it is generally successful. Doubtless, there 

 are conditions more favorable to a high degree of success than others, but as no per- 

 sonal examination of the fruit has been possible, only its general beha\T.or can be 

 stated. Occasionally there has been some complaint of decay, but such reports are 

 unusual and doubtless due to local causes unless attributable to some widespread cli- 

 matic conditions which are unfavorable. Some seasons the fruit rots badly on young 

 trees which are growing rapidly, when under similar conditions the fruit on older trees 

 does not manifest this weakness, but this is quite generally true of most, if not of all, 

 varieties. Porters sand, Cecil sandy loam, Cecil clay, and Porters clay at the usual 

 elevations of these tj^es, the sandy loams of western North Carolina at 2,000 feet, the 

 red loams and red clay loams of western South Carolina and northeastern Georgia, and 

 Porters black loam with some modifications of this type at elevations reaching nearly 

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