Vol. LVI. No. 2492. 
NEW YORK, OCTOBER 30, 1897. 
81.00 PER YEAR. 
PEACHES IN CENTRAL NEW YORK. 
SOME OF THE POPULAR NEWER VARIETIES. 
How They Were Grown and Handled. 
Late in September, The R. N.-Y. received samples 
of peaches as grown by King & Robinson, of Trumans- 
burg, N. Y. They were magnificent specimens, with 
high color and fine texture. In order to show our 
readers the comparative shape and size of some of 
these varieties, we have had them photographed as 
shown at Fig. 294. Mr. King gives the following 
account of the manner in which the peaches were 
grown: 
“The peaches sent you were from an orchard of 
1,600 trees set in the fall of 1891 and spring of 1892, 
excepting Stevens’s Rareripe which were set in the 
spring of 1893. We had a large setting of fruit in 
1895, but the peaches mostly dropped from the trees 
excepting the Early Crawford, Mountain Rose and 
ITill’s Chili, which gave us a fair crop of very fine 
fruit. Last year, there were no peaches in central 
or western New York, so that our experience in re¬ 
gard to these varieties has been limited to this year’s 
crop. 
“ Our motto from the beginning has been, thorough 
cultivation, using for tools, plow, spring-tooth har¬ 
row and grape-hoe. We plowed the orchard early 
last spring, turning the furrows from the trees ; from 
that time, we have harrowed once in two or three 
weeks until the peaches were so large that it knocked 
them off badly. The last time over, we rigged a 
little device for spreading the harrow, so that we 
could work close to the trees and keep the team in 
the center of the rows ; this was when we were pick¬ 
ing the earliest peaches. 
“We looked after the borers about June 1—as we 
have every year—finding only a few, then washed the 
trees with a wash made of soft soap, carbolic acid, 
lime and clay. We look after the borers again in the 
fall as late as we dare leave them before freezing 
weather; they are on the outside of the trees then, 
woven up in a case and covered with gum. When the 
earth is taken away from the trees, they can be scraped 
off with a trowel, hoe, or some other edged tool. 
“ We spent about $100 the last of June and first of 
July thinning the fruit, taking off from one-third to 
two-thirds from all varieties except Wheatland, 
Willetts and Globe, which did not have enough on. 
Our orchard made such a heavy growth last year that 
it was necessary to do a good deal of trimming this 
season. We began about the middle of March, cut¬ 
ting off from one-fourth to one-third of the new 
growth, also considerable out of the center of most 
of the trees to open them up and let in the sunshine. 
I told the men to sing that Christian Endeavor hymn, 
Let a Little Sunshine In, when they were trimming. 
“ About June 1, the Leaf-curl made its appearance on 
some of the varieties, worst on the Elbertas, next on 
Mountain Rose and Hill’s Chili ; eventually the last 
named lost about one-fourth of its foliage, the Moun¬ 
tain Rose one-half, and Elberta nearly all except the 
new growth on the tips. As soon as noticed, we 
sprayed the Elbertas, repeating in about one week, 
and gave the trees a dressing of nitrate of soda, about 
two pounds to each tree. We did not notice any good 
effect from the spraying, but think that we did from 
Elberta. Hill's Chili. Crosby. Globe. Wheatland. 
Willetts. 
HALF A DOZEN OF THE MOST POPULAR PEACHES PHOTOGRAPHED. NATURAL SIZE. 
Fig. 294. 
