1906. 
WHY PLANT THE ELBERTA PEACH? 
Are the peach growers of Western New 
York going crazy over the Elberta peach? 
Every nursery in this section is running over 
with orders for it. The nurserymen have 
predicted an over-planting of this variety, 
still the growers call for the Elberta. It i,s 
tine looking, in flavor next to a basswood 
chip. With this over planting still going on, 
what will the harvest be? The Niagara, 
called the improved Elberta. comes in about 
the same season as Elberta, and is one of the 
finest peaches on the market. It is equal 
to the Elberta in size and color, has the 
thick skin l>f the Elberta, but all the flavor 
of Crawford, and no curl-leaf. Yet this 
variety is planted to a small extent. 
A PEACH GROWER. 
My experience with the Elberta peach is 
quite limited, but so far as I know the 
Elberta’s value consists in its appearance 
and its bearing and shipping qualities. In 
quality it is not so good as the Crawford, 
but growers for market give it the preference 
for the reasons above stated. 
New York. w. c. barry. 
The Elberta is a regular bearer, Targe 
size, carries about as well as any peach, has 
a good appearance, bright color, etc., but 
the quality is not of the highest. The main 
point is that it seems to be more successful 
in a larger area of the United States than 
any market peach that is grown. Therefore, 
we consider it a strictly commercial peach. 
Georgia. p. J. berckmans. 
The reasons for planting the Elberta peach 
so extensively are its excellent shipping 
qualities, attractive appearance, large size, 
and its great productiveness. A combination 
of the foregoing points make it the most pay¬ 
ing variety for planters. The great majority 
of people who grow fruit for market are 
in it for the dollars they can get out of it. 
New York. h. s. wiley. 
For years I tried most of the new peaches, 
among the rest the Elberta. I found the 
specimen tree a good bearer, a fair grower, 
and possessing the quality of coloring long 
before ripe, thereby allowing of picking and 
shipping white still hard and unripened. In 
addition it was or is thought to be the 
hardiest of all the yellow fleshed fruits, 
and of good size. j. J. Blackwell. 
New Jersey. 
The Elberta peach is planted extensively 
in Delaware because the tree is a vigorous 
grower, healthy, with strong wood capable of 
holding up an enormous load of fruit without 
breaking; an early and heavy and regular 
bearer of handsome fruit of fair flavor, that 
carries to market in extraordinary condition. 
Owing to these characteristics it is the most 
profitable variety of peach ever generally 
planted in this State. Nor do I know of any 
recent introduction that comes very near the 
Elberta in point of profit. 
Delaware. wesley webb. 
Elberta is popular because where it suc¬ 
ceeds it is by all odds the greatest money 
maker in the list. It makes a model tree. 
It is hardy in bud and productive, and will 
bring a large crop of fruit to good size at 
maturity. Its shipping qualities are excel¬ 
lent. It is not first-class in quality by any 
means, but its size and beauty attract the 
eye, and no doubt in many instances it is a 
better peach when it reaches the consumer 
than a peach of a finer variety, which has 
become partly spoiled en route, owing to 
poorer shipping qualities. 
Ohio. W. W. FARNSWORTH. 
The reason why the pesky thing is planted 
more than all others is about the same rea¬ 
son why Baldwin and Ben Davis apples. 
Concord grapes, and Bartlett pears are more 
generally planted than most all others. The 
tree is vigorous and hardy, thrives on about 
every variety of soil, fruit buds are a little 
more hardy than the average. It is an early 
and profuse bearer and whether the fruit be 
thinned or not it is always of large size. 
It is of bright yellow with red on the sunny 
side, which makes it always attractive in 
appearance. It has a thick, tough skin, and 
is a long keeper, and as the majority of the 
buyers never ask what is under the skin of 
a fruit it is a good seller, but is not a peach 
that people who appreciate high quality or 
are catering for the best markets for table 
fruit, think of planting. j. h. hale. 
Connecticu t. 
The Elberta peach is so extensively planted 
because it is a money maker. It is a strong 
healthy grower, hardy in the bud, succeed,* 
well on a great variety of soils, and under 
varying conditions: in fact it seems that El¬ 
berta will grow and thrive where any other 
peach will live. It has a remarkably clear 
skin, good color, and the peaches are of 
uniform size and shape. It attains a fair 
size and good color, a week or more before 
it is ripe enough to eat out of hand, and if 
picked at this time may be kept several 
days without Ice, and will ripen up nicely, 
and look well, although lacking in flavor. 
For this reason it is a desirable variety to 
plant in orchards remote from market, where 
the crop has to be sold in carlots. If allowed 
to ripen on the tree it is one of the hand¬ 
somest peaches that grows, and develops good 
quality; for this reason it is very desirable 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
851 
f.r a leeal market, where the fruit is de¬ 
livered by wagon direct to the retail dealer. 
I think these are the chief reasons why both 
large and small growers plant largely of 
Elberta. Gabriel hiester. 
Pennsylvania. 
The Elberta peach, while not of the highest 
quality, possesses more advantage over other 
peaches which justly commends it to orchard 
people. It sets its fruit quite evenly over 
the tree, so that it is uniform in size and 
character, and therefore free from many of 
the small specimens that attach themselves 
to other sorts. It is a fine keeper; I have 
had them in perfect condition in the cellar 
two weeks after picking. It is an excellent 
shipper, and its uniform large size commends 
it to the eye of the people and purchaser. 
In view of this I can readily understand why 
planters continue to call for it. It is without 
question the most popular and profitable 
variety grown at the present time. Now for 
the other side of the question. It is in¬ 
clined, when the disease is prevalent, to 
suffer from the curled leaf. This, however, 
can be cared for by spraying early in the 
season. s. d. willard. 
New York. 
People plant it for the same reason that 
they plant Ben Davis; it is a money maker. 
However, I am led to believe that the more 
sensible reason is that since it is the leading 
peach of the South and Southwest and has 
been so very extensively advertised, it is its 
popularity from that standpoint that helps 
it along very much. Then too, it undoubted¬ 
ly is a most excellent shipping peach, stands 
up very well, is firm and tough-skinned and 
very nice in appearance, and very regular 
and uniform in size, a very desirable size, 
a good bearer, does not require much hand 
thinning, as it seems to thin itself, and even 
if very heavily loaded still is of uniform 
size and quality, but often will fall off the 
tree quickly. It was almost entirely aban¬ 
doned in our section on account of being the 
very worst to leaf-curl, but have found that 
lime-sulphur spray will prevent that, and 
now- the planting is increasing. We do not 
have many in this section, for they ripen at 
a time when they come in direct competition 
with other varieties from the Eastern Shore 
of Maryland and Delaware. 
Pennsylvania. d. m. wertz. 
A few years ago the demand for Ben 
Davis apple trees was far in excess of the 
supply, and last year it was the same with 
Duchess. Whenever any variety of fruit be 
comes more than ordinarily profitable for 
even tw r o years in succession nearly every¬ 
body seems to want to set that particular 
thing, without considering that it can be 
easily overdone. I know of no peaches or 
apples in which a good critic cannot find 
some weak point. The Elberta peach has 
many qualities to commend it to commercial 
growers. The tree is a good bearer, fairly 
hardy, a strong grower, and although sub¬ 
ject to curl-leaf this is easily controlled and 
the tree is generally free from other trouble¬ 
some diseases, such as scab, gumming, etc. 
The fruit is large, and very fine in appear¬ 
ance. and generally needs but little thinning. 
It is an excellent shipper, and can be carried 
from here to Mexico in bushel baskets suc¬ 
cessfully. The only real objection seems to 
bo the quality, and, while it is a fair can¬ 
ning peach, for dessert it will not compare 
at all favorably with a good Barnard or 
Chili or Kalamazoo, but a bushel of nice, 
smooth Elbertas can be raised for less than 
one-half the expense necessary to raise a 
bushel of smooth Barnards or Chilis. 
Kent Co., Mich. l. j. post. 
Alfalfa. —There can be no questioning 
the statement that Alfalfa is the one great 
king plant of arid America; its votaries live 
in painted houses. The quality of the soil 
in the section is such that a little water 
can do more for crops than a larger amount 
required In the humid States of the East 
where excessive rains havo leached out the 
valuable mineral salts. From accounts I 
see in the agricultural press I infer that 
Alfalfa does not produce as well in. the 
humid East as in the arid West. The 
rainfall in this section is something like 20 
inches; the rainy season usually commences 
about the first of July, after which there is 
sufficient rain for all purposes. There usual¬ 
ly is moisture sufficient enough, with up-to- 
date methods, to develop field crops. Alfalfa 
in our high mountain valleys, from 6,000 to 
8,000 feet above sea level, produces under 
irrigation five to six tons in three cuttings; 
on the high mesas (dry farms) about three 
tons per season of two cuttings; lower down 
in our valley four cuttings are usually made. 
I am of the opinion that these will be more 
homestead filings made in this Territory this 
year than ever before, and that more than 
half the homesteads are yet to be taken up. 
It is possible that our best agricultural lands 
are still subject to homestead entry. In 
the sear-brown desert plains, water can be 
developed on nearly every quarter section, 
enough water with windmill will irrigate five 
to 10 acres truck, fruit and supplementing 
Alfalfa as a field crop will make many 
homes for bright, intelligent people; in clear, 
mild, dry climate that charms, a promoter 
of energy; a. c. AUSTIN. 
New Mexico. 
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