Vol. LIX. No. 2654. 
NEW YORK, DECEMBER 8, 1900. 
II PER YEAR 
A CHALLENGE TO PEACH GROWERS. 
MR. 8TRINGFEI.LO W RELIEVES IN HIS METHOD. 
A Chance for Maryland Growers. 
I read with great interest Prof. Johnson’s account 
of that old mammoth Maryland peach tree (page 749), 
which, without the friendly aid of plow and cultiva¬ 
tor, has attained such vast proportions, and if those 
implements are really a benefit to fruit trees, surely 
there must be some¬ 
where, peach trees of 
equal size and produc¬ 
tiveness. In order to 
locate them, I offer 
through your columns, 
a reward of $25 to any¬ 
one in the United 
States who will point 
out any such peach 
tree, that has been 
plowed and cultivated 
with ordinary regu¬ 
larity. According to 
orthodox horticulture 
there is absolutely no 
good reason for the 
existence of that old 
monument of neglect, 
and especially for its 
singular habit of “nev¬ 
er missing a crop of 
peaches, and frequent¬ 
ly bearing so heavily 
that the branches are 
broken,” as Prof. 
Johnson relates. Of 
course, according to 
my views, the problem 
is easily solved. Being 
of the “Crawford type” 
it is plainly a seedling, 
and having come up 
where it has escaped 
the plow, its entire 
root system is in a 
natural condition, just 
like any forest tree, 
and it is only doing its 
duty. Just reflect, Mr. 
Editor, how different 
would be the situation 
to-day in Maryland, if 
all the peach trees 
that have been planted 
in the 26 years since 
that seed peeped above 
ground, had done only 
half as well! That 
they would have done 
equally well, had they 
been treated with the 
same “masterly inac¬ 
tivity” that was meted 
out to that old tree, I 
am perfectly convinced 
and I purpose with 
your permission to 
demonstrate it, at my own expense. You pick out a 
fair, unprejudiced man in the heart of the former 
Maryland peach district, who has no San Josd scale 
on his grounds, and let him select an acre on which 
a peach orchard has in the last few years died of the 
yellows. Have him lay off the rows 20 feet apart, 
and mark places for the trees the same distance, ex¬ 
cept one row, which must be set 10 feet apart in the 
row. Next, let him thoroughly pound the earth with 
a heavy square-end piece of timber for a space of two 
feet every way from the point where trees are to 
stand. After thoroughly compacting the ground, drive 
holes six or seven inches deep and about an inch or 
more in diameter and after dropping in a little fine 
soil, insert the trees, pressing them firmly down. Next 
pour in slowly a cup of water and a handful of pul¬ 
verized earth at the same time until the holes are 
full. Then apply two pounds of Mapes, preferably, or 
any other good tree fertilizer to each tree, scattering 
evenly over the four-foot circle. In addition to this 
he must as an experiment apply two pounds of cop¬ 
peras (sulphate of ir~n) to one row, pulverizing it be¬ 
fore doing so. A mulch of hay or straw sufficient to 
keep down weeds must then be placed on the four- 
foot circles around the trees. Finally, drill in thinly 
cow peas in rows two or three feet apart on the 
ground between the tree rows. I omitted to say that 
all lateral roots must be cut close from the trees and 
the tap roots of 20 trees cut off six inches uelow the 
crown, 20 trees five inches, 20 trees four inches, 20 
trees three inches, 10 trees two inches and 10 trees 
one inch. Tops must be cut back to six inches above 
the ground and all growth allowed to remain the first 
year without trimming or pruning. 
I send inclosed a list of 22 varieties from which 100 
trees can be selected in lots of 10, which I will de¬ 
liver to the experimenter, express charges prepaid. 
The varieties mentioned are: Elberta, Emma, Sneed, 
Matthew’s Beauty, 
Greensboro, Triumph, 
Carman, Susquehanna, 
Alexander, Amelia, 
Crosby, Crawford, Fos¬ 
ter, Wager, Mountain 
Rose, Oldmixon, 
Stump, Heath Cling* 
Salway, Chairs. I will 
pay also for the cow 
peas, copperas and fer¬ 
tilizer, for which bill 
can be sent to me here. 
Moreover, if any one of 
the trees that lives one 
year, dies during mv 
lifetime (I am now 62) 
I will send tne owner 
a $10 bill. All this on 
condition that no plow, 
cultivator or other im¬ 
plement disturbs the 
soil, or stock be al¬ 
lowed among the trees 
until they begin ,o 
bear, when I would ad¬ 
vise that hogs have the 
run of the orchard, 
first ringing or split¬ 
ting their noses. The 
cow peas are to rot on 
the ground the first 
year and mower run 
twice a year between 
the tree rows for three 
years, clippings al¬ 
lowed to remain where 
they fall. I insist on 
the trees being plant¬ 
ed where an orchard 
has died of the yel¬ 
lows. Those I send 
will be June-budded 
trees with tap roots, 
from east Tennessee. 
I will say that I cured 
ordinary chlorosis or a 
yellowing of the leaves 
last Summer on young 
grapevines and ' peach 
trees by applying one 
pound of pulverized 
copperas around each 
one, and would sug¬ 
gest that some one ex¬ 
periment on peach 
trees with the genuine 
“yellows.” Would also 
say that I experimented fully eight years ago with 
Bordeaux Mixture and also a liquid made by slak¬ 
ing rock lime and sulphur with boiling water, for 
bitter rot on Keiffer pears, after picking. Boxes thus 
treated showed just as much rot as those not treated. 
Now send the name of your man, and I will have the 
trees he selects forwarded. h. m. stringfellow. 
Lampasas, Texas. 
R. N.-Y. -We print Mr. Stringfellow’s letter in full. 
We believe thai he is fully responsible, instead of 
