A NORTH JERSEY PEACH FARM. 
ALL THE EGGS IN ONE BASKET. 
[KDITORIAL CORRKSPONDENCK.] 
Suit the Crop to the Locality. 
Almost CTcry locality seems to he peculiarly adapted 
for some special agricultural product. Success usual’y 
comes when the right prolucts and the right locality 
come together that i*, if the combination is seconded 
by the right individual. Thus it comes about that 
certain parts of our country are celebrated for their 
dairy products; others for wheat; still others for beef, 
mutton or perk ; some for various kinds of fruits ; and 
so on through the long list of food products. Some of 
the finest fraits are produced upon land of little value. 
Certain localities in northern New Jersey are noted 
for their peaches; and in this year of great scarcity 
in the South and on the Delaware Peninsula, these 
were filling, and carrying them'to the barn ready for 
sorting, I gathered from him the particulars of peach¬ 
growing as he practices it. 
Getting the Land Beady for Peaches. 
“ What preparation do you give land for planting a 
peach orchard ? ” I asked. 
“ None in particular ; we fit the land generally for 
corn, mark it out both ways, and with a plow, furrow 
out the marks where the rows are to be; these should 
be not less than 20 feet apart each way. Two men 
with a shovel will then set the trees very rapidly as 
many of them will not need any deeper digging than 
the furrows. The roots of the trees are dipped in a 
pall of water, held in position, the earth thrown in 
and tramped around them, the surface leveled, and 
the job is done. Two good men will probably set 
out 500 trees in a day.” 
Smock. I find that it is better to grow the peaches 
that come in the market during the regular peach 
season ; there is then more of a demand, and, although 
the supply is large, they sell better than either very 
early ones or the very late ones, which are out of 
season.” 
Taking Care of the Trees. 
“What crop do you grow in your young peach 
orchards ? ” 
“Corn the first year, and sometimes the second. 
Buckwheat is an excellent crop for a peach orchard, 
but oats and other grains are bad. We don’t grow 
any crops after the trees begin to bear.” 
“ What treatment do you give the orchards then ? ” 
“They are simply cultivated to keep them clean. 
We plow them in the fall, setting the plow as shallow 
as possible so as not to run over two inches deep. 
Then through the summer they are kept clean with 
THE OLD MARE AND HER COLT! TAKEN FROM LIFE IN PUTNAM COUNTY, N. Y. Fio. 160. (See Page 621.) 
orchards are giving gcod returns. Most of these 
orchards are on the hills and slopes, it being generally 
considered that the lower ground is not so sure for 
peach production. This year, however, the case seems 
to be different, for the growers in some localities say 
that on the lower ground, peaches are best, while 
some of the higher located orchards are a failure. 
During the second week iu September, I paid a visit 
to one of the successful orchardists in Hunterdon 
County, Mr. John Dawes, whose farm is located some 
two miles back from Stan'^on on the Lehigh Valley 
Railroad. Mr. Dawes’s principal crop is peaches. He 
raises a little wheat and some rye, “ just to keep in 
atraw,” as he remarked. He considers a peach crop 
more profitable than auy other to grow. That he is 
prosperous, the farm and surroundings bear witness. 
While riding behind a sleek and sturdy pair of mules 
through the orchards with Mr. Dawes, helping to 
giather up the baskets of peaches which the pickers 
“ Do you buy your trees from the regular nursery¬ 
men ? ” 
“ No ; generally most large planters raise their own 
trees, and others usually buy of their neighbors. 
Such trees cost about 84 per 100.” 
“ How old trees do you set, usually ? ” 
“ One year from the bud; these are the best for our 
purpose.” 
“ What varieties do you grow principally ? ” 
“ The earliest we have is Waterloo, but this doesn’t 
amount to much as it often rots badly, and doesn’t 
bring very much money. We have the Crawfords, 
Globe, and several other of the common varieties. 
One excellent peach largely grown here is the Wil¬ 
liamson’s Choice. It was propagated from a tree 
growing in the orchard of Mr. Williamson, who saw 
that it was an extra good one, and he gave it his 
name. It may be simply an improved Crawford or 
something similar. One of our latest varieties is the 
the use of the spring-tooth harrow. What we need is 
a tool that we can run close up to the rows under the 
trees without bringing the horses so near to the latter. 
Deep plowing is bad for peach orchards. Over the 
fence yonder is a neighbor’s orchard which has been 
too deeply plowed, and doesn’t do nearly so well in 
consequence. I think it would be j«st as well after 
the trees come to bearing to let them go without cul¬ 
tivation, were it not for the weeds.” 
“ What fertilizers do you use ? ” 
“ None. I wouldn’t use barnyard manure if I had 
any quantity of it; the results in the orchards of those 
who use it are not at all favorable. I have used 
kainit, and once 1 used a car-load of ashes, but I 
couldn’t see that they did a particle of good. 
“ How about pruning the trees ? ” 
“ I think possibly the best time of any to prune is 
in J une, although the trouble is that we are so busy 
then that it is likely to be overlooked. Many prune iu 
