8o6 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
November 11, 
road with some good material that will “pack,” or ce¬ 
ment itself firmly to the underlying stones with which 
most soils are plentifully supplied, so as to present a 
smooth and hard upper surface to the wheel. This 
property is not possessed by the soil, which has been 
prepared by nature for a seed-bed for vegetation and 
filled with organic matter. It soon works loose from 
the underlying stones, in the form of mud in wet 
weather and dust in dry weather, leaving the stones pro¬ 
truding to pound the wheels in a manner that is familiar 
to all travelers in the Empire State. As a rule the 
stratum of earth just below the soil can be expected to 
pack in a satisfactory manner. Shale, gravel, hardpan, 
slate and even some kinds of clay make a very good 
surfacing material. We secured good drainage by 
bringing the roadbed to a good crown with the road 
machine. This was done at a cost of about $40 per mile. 
Along this crown where the beaten track is located, 
we spread a thin layer of shale, using about a cubic 
yard to each rod of road on the higher ground, and 
more on low places. This gives a beaten track equal to 
the high-cost roads in nearly all kinds of weather. 
Future work will consist only in keeping the gutters 
scoured out so as to secure good drainage and applying 
new surfacing material to the crown of the road as it is 
worn out by use. Both of these items are necessary in 
all roads if they are to be kept good. o. w. mapes. 
THE LAND OF COW PEAS AND CLOVER. 
Farming on the Delaware Peninsula. 
Part III. 
About the most complete use of green crops for fer¬ 
tilizing that I saw while on the Peninsula was in Har¬ 
rison’s Nurseries at Berlin, Md. There were something 
over 5,000,000 young trees growing, and everyone knows 
that nursery stock requires heavy fertilizing. When we 
realize how many nursery trees are crowded upon an 
acre, and the vast amount of wood and leaf that must 
be grown, we can easily see what fertility is required. 
The Harrisons have nearly 1,000 acres under cultivation, 
more than ever before, yet they tell me that they have 
used less fertilizer and manure than ever. This seems 
doubly remarkable when it is remembered that much 
of their soil has been under cultivation for a century 
or more, and badly worn out before they took it. Fig. 
346, page 807, gives a faint idea of what is done to 
such soil. The view shown is a young peach and Kieffer 
pear orchard, three years old. There are three rows 
of cow peas drilled between each two rows of trees. 
The pods of the cow peas are shown; they look much 
like beans. In between the cow peas, sorghum and 
Crimson clover are seeded together, the latter for a 
Winter cover. Some of the sorghum is cut and cured 
for horse feed, while the rest dies on the ground and is 
plowed under with the clover. The Harrisons make 
great use of sorghum in this way. It can be sown be 
tween the cow pea rows, and Crimson clover goes well 
with it. In some cases this sorghum had grown higher 
than very large two-year-old apple trees. 'I he late Fall 
season gives these crops ample time to mature. The 
early part of the season may be spent in cultivating the 
nursery stock or orchards. Later the cow peas and still 
later the clover and sorghum may be sown, thus pro¬ 
viding an abundance of stock feed, humus for the soil 
and fertility for the trees. The trees showed the effect 
of this ingenious system. They were unusually large, 
with clean strong foliage. The cost of growing such 
trees would seem to me considerably less than in sec¬ 
tions where fertilizer or manure must be used to obtain 
the results which here come from green crops. The 
soil around Berlin is not all sand; there are strips or 
sections of heavier soil, but even on these the cow 
peas and Crimson clover seemed to grow well. With 
us the cow pea has not been very successful on the 
heavier soils. To show how favorable the climate of 
this section is for fruit growing operations, it may be 
said that the last sowing of Crimson clover was made 
on September 20. With us August 15 is about the 
limit of safety. Budding peach trees was still going 
on October 1. It is difficult to explain to one who 
has never seen this soil what a great advantage these 
quick-growing cover crops give to a fruit grower or 
farmer. As compared with most sections of the North 
the Peninsula has nearly two months’ advantage in the 
growth of cover crops, while the lighter soils can be 
rapidly and thoroughly worked with the disk harrow. 
I was much interested in several young peach orchards 
which were started on poor, well-nigh worthless land. 
By the skillful use of cow peas, Crimson clover and 
fertilizer those trees had been driven to good size and 
fine color. Of course the theory is old that peach trees 
are most profitably handled on poor soil by one who 
knows when and how to feed them. After some years 
of experimenting with varieties and methods apple 
growing has become profitable in a few sections in Del¬ 
aware. It seems to be demonstrated that successful 
apple culture in the future means the growing of cer¬ 
tain varieties in certain localities. We are to find by 
experiment which varieties do best in a certain locality 
and then plant those kinds and give them the culture 
which suits them. For example, no one would think 
of planting the Baldwin apple largely in Delaware, yet 
there are varieties which grow to perfection in that 
State. 
The ability to grow and utilize cover crops is the 
strong point in Peninsula farming, but I was glad to 
see that the child crop is not neglected. Fig. 344 shows 
two of the Harrison boys at work leafing peach trees 
BEGINNING EARLY AT NURSERY WORK. Fig. 344. 
in preparation for budding. These boys are expected to 
do their share of work. It is a good thing for a child 
to grow up among young trees, and watch the bud 
develop into the strong fruit bearer. It is better still 
for the child to feel that he is expected “to pay for his 
meat” and do his share in providing for the home. 
Loafing injures far more boys than work! n. w. c. 
DO WOOLLY PEACHES RESIST ROT? 
It is believed by some growers and dealers that the wool 
or fuzz on a peach in some way protects it from rot. Have 
you found in your experience that the varieties noted for 
this fuzz are less affected by rot than others? 
I have never seen the slightest connection between the 
amount of fuzz on peaches and their susceptibility to rot. 
Neither have I seen any connection between fuzz and 
any other quality of the peach. The only thing about 
it is that a lot of wool waste on the outside of the peach 
makes it mighty awkward eating. f. a. waugh. 
Mass. Agl. College. 
From my experience and observation I should say 
that those peaches that have a woolly or fuzzy surface 
do not resist the rot any better than those with a smooth 
surface. 1 lowever, T have found this to be true gener- 
NEW USE FOR THE ANGORA GOAT. FlG. 345. 
See Page 807. 
ally; such varieties are more hardy in the fruit bud, 
and thus withstand the extreme cold better than the 
others. s. d. willard. 
New York. 
I do not think there is any substantial foundation for 
such a theory. My own observation leads me to think 
that there are other causes for the difference in sus¬ 
ceptibility to this disease in peaches, just as there is a 
great difference in varieties of strawberries in with¬ 
standing or suffering from the ravages of the Straw¬ 
berry leaf-spot or blight. The Greensboro, a compar¬ 
atively smooth-skinned peach, was very little affected by 
the rot, even though standing in close proximity to a 
Triumph tree, while the fruit on the latter, as usual, was 
being destroyed by the brown rot. While no special 
experiments have been conducted at this station to deter¬ 
mine the point referred to in the query, casual observa¬ 
tion warrants me in thinking that “fuzzy” peaches are 
no more resistant to rot than the smoother sorts. Car¬ 
man, Waddell, Bishop and Miss Lola—all comparatively 
smooth—suffered little from rot as compared with Cli¬ 
max, Triumph, etc. F. h. ballou. 
Ohio Exp. Station. 
The claim that fuzzy or woolly peaches are better able 
to resist rot than the smoother ones is, 1 believe, not 
well founded. Some years the one, and other years the 
other suffers most. The Amsden rots badly every year 
here. The Sneed is very seldom affected. The Cham¬ 
pion last year was entirely free from rot, while this 
year we lost nearly all of them, and the Elberta is 
nearly rot-proof. I do not now recall having seen a 
single specimen this last season tiiat was affected, 
although it was the worst season I have ever experi¬ 
enced. The very frequent showers kept the spray mix¬ 
tures thoroughly washed off at the most critical time, so 
that we lost control of both insects and fungi. The 
insects not only ate the fruit full of holes, but 1 sup¬ 
pose actually inoculated it with the rot. I believe that 
it may be said of the woolly peaches and of some plums 
that they retain the spray better than the smooth ones. 
That is, the spray finds better lodgment, especially the 
dust spray. There is an old belief that the curculio dis¬ 
likes the woolly peach. That may have something to 
do with the results, as I believe that insect is responsible 
for much of the spreading of the rot. 
Indiana. j. w. trinkle. 
I do not for a moment accept the idea that the fuzzy 
or woolly-skinned peaches are better able to resist the 
rot than the smoother varieties. The Triumph, Crosby 
and Lemon Free all have a fuzzy skin, and all rotted 
badly every year they fruited for me. The rot I think 
is entirely due to atmospheric conditions and an exces¬ 
sive amount of moisture in the soil; particularly so if a 
drought precede the wet weather. Almost all varieties 
will rot more or less on heavy soil if at a certain time 
of their ripening the soil is wet and the atmosphere is 
full of moisture and humidity; in my opinion these 
conditions are clearly the causes of the rot. The past 
season has been one which caused peaches to rot badly 
on all heavy soil; fruit on mountain land near me suf¬ 
fered greatly, while on my lighter red shale soil the 
loss from rot was extremely light. This was very no¬ 
ticeable in a neighbor’s orchard where one end of the 
rows which were on somewhat heavy land the fruit 
rotted badly, the other end of the same rows (with same 
variety of fruit) in much lighter soil were almost en¬ 
tirely free from rot. I feel quite sure the fuzzy skin of 
the peach has nothing to do with its hardiness in bud; 
you will notice that varieties which ripen up their wood 
and throw off their leaves moderately early, like many 
of the very early varieties and Champion, Elberta, Fox’s 
Seedling and others, are among the most hardy we have, 
while the different varieties of the Crawford type hold 
their leaves much later and are much more tender in 
bud. Owing to the peculiar conditions of the season 
just passed it surely has been an object lesson for the 
fruit grower who kept his eyes open and feels inclined 
to profit by experience. wm. h. skillman. 
New Jersey. 
The Peach rot is largely caused by the fungus 
Monilia fructigena, which is much worse in some sea¬ 
sons than in others. When the conditions are right for 
its development the fuzzy or woolly varieties will suffer 
from the attack equally with those of a smooth skin. 
We had the present season a large quantity of the Tri¬ 
umph, which by mistake were sent from the nursery 
for Wheatland. Even after heavy thinning they rotted 
badly on the trees before they were fit to pick, and after 
picking they would rot before they ripened. Their color 
was good and they sold as high as $2.50 per carrier. 
Fitzgerald is another variety that has quite a fuzzy skin, 
and although the weather was wet and not favorable at 
the time of shipping, they were quite free from the fun¬ 
gous attack. The present season has been unusual in 
many respects. In New England as peaches were 
maturing there was excessive moisture, and many were 
not only ruined by fungous disorders, but the entire 
crop was so affected that it had no quality in flavor or 
keeping. New York and Michigan peaches stood up 
much better during transportation and sale. When the 
Monilia fungus was active twigs and entire branches 
were attacked, and in such instances all of the fruit 
of whatever variety was ruined. Most of the peaches of 
the North are of the Persian race or family. The fruit 
is of high color, of the highest flavor, but tender in bud 
and subject to fungus attack. The varieties are mainly 
Alexander, Amsden. Crawford, Hale’s Early, Old- 
mixon, Hynes, Mountain Rose, St. John, Tillotson and 
Troth. These very choice kinds are giving way to an¬ 
other race or type in the North—China, the parentage 
of which is the Chinese Cling. The varieties of this 
race mostly planted are the Elberta, Carman. Smock and 
Mamie Ross. These all have large leaves, strong, hardy 
buds, and will withstand a northern climate and unfav¬ 
orable weather conditions better than the Persian class. 
The rather lower grade of flavor of the Elberta type 
of peaches, which are rapidly displacing other kinds in 
our markets, is already having some effect upon con¬ 
sumers, some of whom have ceased to be liberal buyers, 
because they do not meet the higher flavor of the old 
time peaches, but it is rapidly becoming the Chinese 
type in our markets or nothing, as the fine old varieties 
are giving way from inroads of yellows and other dis¬ 
eases. GEORGE T. POWELL. 
New York, 
