586 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
Sept.  10 
Hail  to  the  Peach  Chiefs! 
HOW  THEY  RESCUED  A  CONNECTICUT  FARM. 
Chemicals,  Clover  and  Careful  Culture 
A  Yankee  peach  factory ;  a  hale  old  peach  tree  ;  what  it 
owed  to  culture ;  xtablc  manure  a  criminal ;  neigh¬ 
borly  advice  ;  lww  fertilizer  waiter*  multiply  ;  over 
the  fence ;  Crimson  Clover  started  ;  chemicals  give 
peach-color;  “77.  C.  top  U.  C.  all." 
A  Forty  Mile  Long  Village. 
From  South  Glastonbury,  Conn,  to  Springfield.  Mass., 
a  distance  of  40  miles,  runs  a  highway  through  the 
towns  of  Glastonburjq  East  Hartford,  South  Windsor, 
East  Windsor  and  Enfield  in  Connecticut  and  Long- 
meadow  in  Massachusetts.  The  scene  through  which 
it  runs  is  unique — there  is  nothing  like  it  in  the  coun¬ 
try.  For  the  whole  40  miles,  it  seems  like  a  continuous 
village,  the  houses  being  close  together,  while  in 
reality  it  is  peopled  by  a  strictly  farming  community. 
The  farms  along  the  road  all  have  a  frontage  on  the 
Connecticut  River  and  extended  originally  three  miles 
from  it.  The  early  settlers  naturally  secured  as  much 
of  the  river  front  as  possible,  because  the  lands  along 
the  river  were  very  rich.  The  original  farms  thus 
varied  in  width  from  40  rods  to  a  mile  and  were  three 
miles  in  length.  As  the  years  went  on  and  the  farm¬ 
ers’  sons  grew  up,  the  farms  were  divided,  and  gen¬ 
erally  lengthwise,  so  that  each  should  have  his  share 
of  the  coveted  river  front.  In  this  way  the  original 
farms  have  been  subdivided  until  the  average  frontage 
is  only  about  20  rods  and  these  narrow  fronts  with 
their  homesteads  make,  as  we  said  before,  a  continuous 
village  of  the  highway  all  through  these  towns.  Of 
course,  since  the  original  subdivisions,  later  ones  have 
occurred,  and  many  have  been  halved  and  quartered, 
by  cross-cuts.  Much  of  this  highway  has  along  its 
side  magnificent  elms,  sycamores  and  maples,  with 
trunks  three  feet  in  diameter,  making  it  a  most  de¬ 
lightful  drive. 
Among  the  owners  of  these  sub-divided  farms  to-day 
are  Messrs.  G.  H.  &  ,T.  H.  Hale,  of  South  Glastonbury, 
who  own  40  acres.  It  has  been  in  the  family  since 
1038,  when  it  was  taken  by  a  grant  from  its  Indian 
owners.  The  fame  of  these  gentlemen  as  successful 
peach  growers  in  Connecticut,  where  peach  growing 
had  been  supposed  impracticable,  induced  a  repre¬ 
sentative  of  The  Rural  New-Yorker  to  visit  them. 
We  were  cordially  received  by  Mr.  J.  II.  Hale  and 
given  every  opportunity  to  examine  their  orchards, 
driving  through  them  all.  In  addition  to  the  orchards 
on  their  own  land,  the  brothers  have  leased  75  acres 
in  that  vicinity,  most  of  which  is  planted  to  peaches, 
and  part  of  them  are  now  in  bearing. 
What  Started  the  Peach  Business  P 
“  What  first  made  you  think  peach  growing  might 
be  made  a  success  in  Connecticut  ?”  said  The  Rural. 
“  Do  you  see  that  large  peach  tree  on  that  hill¬ 
side  ?”  said  Mr.  Ilale  pointing  to  it.  “  That  tree  is 
perfectly  healthy  and  is  known  to  be  over  60  years 
old.  Originally  there  was  a  fence  there  and  the  tree 
was  no  doubt  a  seedling.  Its  trunk  is  16  inches  in 
diameter  and  it  will  yield  10  or  12  bushels  of  fruit  this 
season.  The  fruit  is  white-fleshed,  red-cheeked,  free¬ 
stone  and  ripens  in  the  latter  part  of  September,  about 
with  the  Stump.  That  old  tree,  backed  by  others  like 
it  here  and  there  about  the  country,  is  responsible  for 
our  venture.” 
“  How  do  you  suppose  the  tree  has  managed  to  live 
so  long,  when  most  others  died  off  ?” 
“  You  must  remember  that  it  was  directly  in  a 
fence,  an  old  wall,  which  we  have  since  removed, 
which  divided  two  fields.  One  field  would  be  plowed, 
planted  to  corn,  then  to  rye  or  wheat  and  seeded 
down.  After  a  couple  of  years  in  grass — perhaps 
three — it  would  be  plowed  up  and  go  through  the 
same  rotation.  The  field  on  the  opposite  side  received 
the  same  treatment,  though  not  at  the  same  time. 
This  gave  the  tree  continuous  cultivation  and  a  fair 
amount  of  fertilization,  as  its  roots  reached  well  out 
into  the  fields  on  both  sides  of  the  fence.” 
“  When  did  you  begin  planting  peach  trees  ?” 
“We  planted  a  few  about  20  years  ago,  but  those 
are  all  gone.” 
“  How  did  it  happen  that  they  were  so  short-lived  ?” 
“  We  fertilized  them  with  stable  manure  and  killed 
them — too  much  nitrogen.  I  would  prosecute  a  man 
for  damages  if  he  should  spread  stable  manure  in  my 
peach  orchards.” 
“  When  did  you  plant  next  ?” 
“We  began  in  earnest  about  15  or  16  years  ago.  We 
were  badly  handicapped  in  the  beginning.  My  father 
died  when  my  brother  and  myself  were  but  boys, 
leaving  my  mother  the  farm,  burdened  with  a  debt 
representing  one-third  of  its  value,  incurred  in  a  pre¬ 
vious  settlement  of  the  estate.  Of  course,  we  had  a 
hard  struggle.  With  no  capital  to  help,  we  found  out 
that  if  we  were  ever  to  be  successful,  we  must  do 
something  different  from  the  t(ype  of  farming  6P@b  &U 
about  us;  so  we  struggled  on,  having  faith  in  the 
peach  business.  We  reasoned  that  if  that  old  tree 
could  live  and  bear  fruit  for  more  than  60  years,  other 
trees  might  be  made  to  do  the  same  thing,  so  we  per¬ 
severed.” 
Chemical  Fertilizers  are  Stout  Enough  ! 
“  What  did  your  neighbors  think  of  your  work  ?  ” 
“  Here  and  there  was  one  who  thought  we  might 
succeed,  but  the  great  bulk  of  them  thought  we  were 
a  ‘  little  off  ’  in  our  work.  ‘It  is  a  pity  to  see  the 
boys  wasting  their  time  and  money  in  such  foolish 
work,’  said  many,  and  we  were  generally  looked  upon 
as  being  rash  and  quixotic  to  the  last  degree.  When 
we  went  into  the  business  in  earnest,  we  had  learned 
the  most  important  of  lessons — how  to  fertilize  our 
trees.  We  used  nothing  but  chemical  fertilizers  such 
as  finely  ground  bone,  muriate  of  potash  and  wood 
ashes.  We  have  tried  sulphate  of  potash,  but  have 
seen  no  advantage  in  its  use,  to  compensate  for  its 
greater  cost.  It  is  more  readily  available  as  plant 
food  than  the  muriate  and  if  we  had  a  crop  of  peaches 
every  year,  it  might  perhaps  be  desirable.  As  it  is, 
the  muriate  fills  the  bill.” 
“  What  fertilizers  have  you  used  this  year  ?  ” 
“On  35  acres  of  bearing  orchards,  we  have  used  40 
tons  of  cotton  hull  ashes,  which  contain  27  per  cent  of 
potash.  This  costs  about  $35  per  ton.  In  addition, 
we  have  used  about  25  tons  of  fine  ground  bone  at  a 
cost  of  about  $30  per  ton.” 
“  Do  you  use  any  complete  fertilizers?” 
“  No,  sir.  The  manufacturer  of  these  uses  $10  worth 
of  nitrogen,  $10  of  potash  and  $10  of  phosphoric  acid, 
and,  in  his  arithmetic,  3  times  10  is  40.  It  is  not  so  in 
ours,  and  we  buy  our  potash,  our  phosphoric  acid  and 
our  nitrogen  as  we  want  them  and  use  them  as  our 
different  soils  demand.  No  two  orchards  or  fields  need 
the  same  treatment.  I  don’t  mean  to  say  that  the  use 
A  Colorado  Potato  Digger.  Fig.  239. 
of  complete  fertilizers  may  not  be  profitable  for  very 
many — no  doubt  it  is — but  we  can  do  best  as  I  have 
indicated.” 
Getting  Down  to  Figures. 
“  How  long  has  this  orchard  been  planted  ?”  said 
The  Rural,  pointing  to  one  loaded  with  fruit. 
“  It  was  planted  just  15  years  ago  last  spring.  ’ 
“  How  many  crops  have  you  taken  from  it  ?  ” 
“  Seven,  and  the  one  on  it  now  will  make  eight.  The 
first  was  300  baskets,  followed  by  200,  2,000,  600,  5,000, 
600  and  3,000.  The  crop  this  year  will  be  fully  4,000 
baskets.  Add  it  up  and  you  will  find  the  total  for  the 
entire  time.” 
“  That  foots  15,700  baskets.” 
“  Well,  you  can  figure  up  yourself  whether  that  pays 
or  not.  This  orchard  is  on  leased  land.  On  the  other 
side  of  the  fence,  you  see  the  land  is  the  same.  That 
field  has  been  lying  fallow  for  several  years.  It  is 
pow  being  plowed  up  will  be  planted  to  rye,  I 
would  not  take  the  crop  as  a  gift  if  I  had  to  pay  fo 
the  labor.  Fifteen  thousand  baskets,  at  a  dollar  a  bas¬ 
ket,  would  be  just  $1,000  a  year  for  the  life  of  the  or¬ 
chard  of  15  acres,  or  about  $67  per  acre.  Of  course, 
our  peaches  bring  much  better  prices  than  $1 ;  these 
figures  are  only  used  as  a  comparison.” 
“  How  many  acres  have  you  here  in  peaches?  ” 
“  We  have  94  acres  here.  We  have  started  large  or¬ 
chards  in  Georgia  in  addition  to  our  business  here. 
There  we  have  set  out  101,000  trees,  which  will  begin 
to  bear  next  season.” 
“  How  many  acres  of  the  94  which  you  have  planted 
here  are  in  bearing  ?” 
“  About  35.  Next  year  and  the  year  after  will  find 
them  all  in  bearing.  We  are  trying  Crimson  Clover 
this  season :  you  can  see  that  it  has  come  up  finelj\ 
We  sowed  22  acres  of  our  orchards  with  it.” 
“  Will  it  stand  your  winters  ?” 
“  Probably  not :  but  it  grows  very  late  in  the  fall — 
much  later  than  the  common  Red  Clover,  and  it  will 
gather  nitrogen  for  us  for  two  months  to  come.  We 
sowed  it  the  last  week  in  July.” 
Train  TJp  a  Tree  ;  How  it  Will  Grow. 
“  How  do  you  trim  your  trees  ?  ” 
“  We  trim  every  year.  When  we  set  them  out  we 
cut  them  down  to  a  short,  bare  pole.  Next  year  we 
leave  such  shoots  as  are  needed  for  a  symmetrical 
head,  but  shorten  them  from  one-third  to  one-half. 
After  that  we  thin  out  as  seems  necessary  and  head 
back  fully  one-third  every  year.” 
“  Do  you  thin  out  the  fruit?” 
“  Oh  yes,  with  a  full  setting  we  pull  off  more  than 
half.  For  a  long  time  we  found  it  very  difficult  to 
get  our  employees  to  do  this  work  thoroughly.  It 
seemed  like  such  a  waste  to  them.  One  of  our  best 
men,  a  Swede,  came  to  me  once  with  tears  in  his  eyes 
and  begged  to  be  allowed  to  desist ;  but  after  a  few 
seasons,  they  see  the  utility  of  it  and  do  the  work  very 
well.” 
“  How  about  cultivation  ?  ” 
“  We  keep  the  plow,  cultivator  and  harrow  running 
until  about  August  1,  then  stop.  Later  cultivation  is 
apt  to  stimulate  a  growdh  of  wood  that  would  not 
ripen.” 
Varieties  are  the  Spice  of  the  Orchard. 
“  What  varieties  do  you  grow  ?  ” 
“  Mountain  Rose,  Early  Crawford,  Stump,  Oldmixon, 
Salway,  Elberta,  Crosbey,  Late  Crawford,  Smock, 
Keyport  White,  Ward’s  Late  and  Hill’s  Chili.  All 
these  do  well  with  us,  some  better  than  others.  I 
think  the  Crosbey  is  one  of  our  most  valuable  peaches, 
in  its  ability  to  withstand  frost.  In  Vermont,  where 
it  originated,  it  bore  crops  for  eight  successive  years. 
Hill’s  Chili  is  a  peach  of  the  Smock  type,  which  bears 
every  year.  It  is  very  hardy.  On  young  trees,  the 
fruit  is  very  large  and  fine,  but  on  older  ones  it  is  not 
so  handsome.  Come  along  and  let  me  show  you  an 
eight-year-old  orchard,  which  I  think  is  as  fine  as  any, 
if  not  the  finest  in  the  United  States.  It  contains  22 
acres,  is  eight  years  old  and  is  now  in  full  bearing.” 
The  Rural  representative  freely  admitted  the 
claim.  Every  tree  in  the  large  orchard  seemed  to  be 
loaded  with  the  finest  fruit.  The  Mountain  Rose  were 
being  picked  from  this  and  other  orchards,  and,  by 
way  of  parenthesis,  we  wish  to  remark  that  never, 
during  many  years’  observation,  have  we  seen  peaches 
of  that  variety  grow  to  such  a  size.  Had  we  not 
known  them  to  be  such  by  taste,  appearance  of  tree, 
foliage,  etc.,  wTe  would  have  at  once  questioned  his 
statement.  They  averaged  fully  double  the  size  of 
the  Mountain  Rose  as  we  have  seen  them  in  the  New 
York  markets.  The  Crawford’s  Early  were  ripening 
also  and  were  large  and  fine.  Oldmixons  were  already 
as  large  as  those  usually  seen,  while  they  will  nearly 
or  quite  double  in  size.  The  other  varieties  were 
equally  fine.  In  all  the  orchard  of  22  acres — and  we 
went  well  through  it— not  a  tree  was  to  be  seen  which 
showed  any  evidence  of  disease — the  foliage  was  rank, 
dark  green  and  healthy.  It  was  a  sight  worth  a  pil¬ 
grimage  to  see.  The  trees  have  been  headed  low  and 
a  large  part  of  the  fruit  can  be  picked  from  the 
ground.  The  Mountain  Rose  trees  were  very  beauti¬ 
ful  with  their  load  of  red-cheeked  fruit. 
“I  have  never  seen  such  highly  colored  fruit  before,” 
said  The  Rural.  “  How  do  you  get  it  ?” 
“Chemical  fertilizers  alone  are  the  cause.  We  try 
to  find  out  what  the  soil  lacks  in  order  to  produce  per¬ 
fect  peaches  and  then  furnish  it — not  grudgingly,  but 
with  a  liberal  hand.  Such  a  high  color  cannot  be  got 
in  any  other  way.” 
Packing  That  Pays  a  Profit. 
“  I  see  the  men  in  the  house  are  sorting  the  fruit ; 
how  many  grades  do  you  make  ?” 
“  Three.  Come  in  and  see  how  it  is  done.  We  have 
three  grades,  marked  with  red,  white  and  blue  labels 
respectively.  Here  is  a  red  label,  which  goes  on  our 
best  fruit.” 
The  Rural  reproduces  the  label  for  the  benefit  of 
its  readers.  The  white  label  bears  the  same  matter. 
i 
V. 
