Vol. LXV. No. 2967 
NEW YORK, DECEMBER 8, 1900. 
WEEKLY, $1.00 PJilt YEAH. 
EXPERIENCE WITH “PATENT PEACHES.” 
Wants To Pull Them Out. 
In the Spring of 1900 we set an orchard of 1,000 
peach trees. They were bought of the Albaugh Fruit 
and Nursery Company, of Ohio. It was one of their 
“model” orchards containing their three special varie¬ 
ties, “Deaconess,” “Daniel Boone” and “St. Clair,” 
“patent peaches,” “propagated by Mr. Albaugh himself, 
representing nine years of careful labor and selection 
and owned exclusively by the Albaugh Co.” They 
were to be “firm, large, round, yellow, freestone” 
peaches; would command the highest market 
price, just like sample (shown in jar). After 
repeated calls from their agents, assuring us 
of their standing, by asking if we took The 
R. N.-Y., and calling our attention to their 
advertisement, also the fact that they had sold 
to the largest fruit growers in town, we gave 
them an order for our trees, paying large 
money for them. They were carefully planted 
out the following Spring, and with the good 
care we gave them afterward rapidly grew into 
a nice orchard. We had our first crop in 1905, 
and got ready to handle it, but instead of the 
“firm, large, round, yellow freestone,” they were 
the opposite about as near as words can express 
it, not a first nor a second-class peach among 
them, nothing that the market wanted, or an 
honest grower would recommend. Well, it 
doesn’t take much of a man to beat one after 
all! The “Daniel Boone” were all clingstones; 
the “Deaconess” a small, flabby freestone, about 
a third-class peach, probably some old variety; 
the “St. Clair” a late white peach, resembling 
a New York butternut in wool and shape. 
After two years of disappointment and dis¬ 
gust we have decided to take them out. How 
shall we proceed? Shall we saw off close to 
the ground and do the rest with the plow, or 
can we pull them out with the tackles when 
the ground is soft by hitching to the base of 
one tree and crotch of another and clean the 
ground that way? We want the field for fruit 
again. Can any of The R. N.-Y. readers help 
us out? o. B. s. 
Red Creek, N. Y. 
R. N.-Y.—As soon as we learned what these 
agents were promising we denounced the 
scheme. The best authorities we could reach 
were sure that these varieties were in no way 
superior to standard sorts. It is, of course, not 
possible for the best fruit grower to tell what 
an untested variety will amount to, but it is a 
safe plan to let these new things alone until 
some recognized authority gives them character. 
Rooting Out Trees. 
We are now pulling out several thousand 
trees, following a method which has proven 
satisfactory with us in a good many cases. We 
first cut the heavy body limbs off with the ax 
at a height of from four to six feet from the 
ground, large old trees requiring longer leverage 
than smaller ones. We haul out brush and pull 
with four or six horses attached to front carriage 
of a wagon. A stout log chain, with a short hitch, will 
answer to hitch to the stubs. If the ground is solid 
a traction engine and two chains will pull two rows at 
once, and will be found more satisfactory, and in the 
end just as cheap as the team. L. p. miller. 
West Virginia. 
I used a long pole, sufficiently long that when chained 
to one tree at one end it passed the next tree in the 
row, with leverage enough to pull that one. You can 
pull three to four trees from the base of one tree if 
managed rightly. I used two horses and pulled them 
all readily. The horses drag the pole when you want 
to change and there is little for the man to do but to 
use his hands and his wits. earl peters. 
Pennsylvania. 
Much depends upon the character of the soil of the 
orchard. If a light soil a good strong team ought 
to be able to pull a six-year tree, by hitching pretty well 
up on the bodies. He can also pull them with a strong 
set of pulley blocks by hitching at the base of one tree 
and at the crotch of another. In that case or any case 
I would advise that lie cut the tops off close to the 
bodies. But in using tackle and blocks he will need 
strong ropes and a good strong chain to attach to the 
trees. About the cheapest and most expeditious way 
to get them out is with a traction engine. By having 
two strong chains and about two good men he can pull 
the trees as fast as the men can place the chains. The 
best plan to use an engine is to go diagonally through 
the orchard, so as to bring the trees alternately within 
reach of the engine. Put a man on each side with a 
chain and let them hitch to the trees near the crotch, 
and be ready to attach to the engine as it comes along. 
While one tree is being pulled the man on the other 
side is making chain fast to his tree, and when engine 
comes along he simply hitches on the chain. In this 
way the engine only has to be stopped just long enough 
to unhitch one chain and hitch on the other. But care 
must be taken to have strong chains with extra strong 
hooks, and the engine must be run very slowly. It will 
not do to start so as to bring a jerk upon the chains, as 
no chain reasonable to handle will stand the strain. 
With three men and an engine 300 trees ought to be 
extracted in 10 hour's. We have found this much the 
cheapest and quickest way of taking out an exhausted 
peach orchard. We have pulled trees 12 to 15 years 
old, but it takes a large engine and very strong chains 
to take out such large trees. j. s. woodward. 
New York. 
I have usually cut peach trees off at the 
crotch, or where the limbs spread. I take the 
hind axle of the farm wagon, back it up to the 
tree I wish to pull, attach an ox chain to the 
body of the tree, carry the chain over the axle 
and drive ahead. With a good team and the 
lifting as well as pulling hold you have on the 
tree, it usually does the business. But of late 
years I have cut peach trees even with or a 
little lower than the ground, plowed hi the 
Spring for corn, then raise a crop of oats, seed 
to grass, and let it lie three or four years, as 
long as the seed was good. Then you solve 
the peach stump problem, for they easily plow 
out and leave the ground in good condition for 
any purpose. w. d. haggerty. 
New Jersey. 
The only way I ever pulled out peach trees 
was to cut them off at crotch, hitch to them 
with a chain attached to the front carriage of 
a heavy farm wagon and a strong team, and 
start off with a rush and hurrah. This will 
usually bring the answer, but breaks up the 
chains and gears and injures the horses, and 
makes sore shoulders and spoils them, and T 
hope not to do so again. I expect to cut the 
trees off at crotch, hitch to another stump with 
rope and pulley, about 120 feet rope, one single 
and one double pulley, and a pair of horses, and 
pull in that way. Another very good way is to 
have a traction engine and clear say three rows 
at a time, as you pass through the orchard. . I 
would saw off at ground. • Do it right while 
at it. Those stumps will be very difficult to 
get out, and will be a constant source of annoy¬ 
ance, nor will they rot out for some years. 
Pennsylvania. D. M. wertz. 
We had a 16-acre peach orchard pulled last 
Fall. It was contracted for at seven cents per 
tree, all brush and stumps and roots to be 
burned. By bitching a tackle from one tree 
to another the man did a very good job indeed. 
From some of the trees he cut the top off first, 
from others lie did not. I think this a good 
method of cleaning, a peach orchard. I have 
another that will receive the same treatment 
this Fall, so that next season it may be used 
to grow corn for the silo. A. E. rutherford. 
* New Jersey. 
You can dig some dirt away from the tree 
and with an ax cut off an inch or two below ' 
the surface level, but the roots will bother some¬ 
what in plowing for a few years. As to pull¬ 
ing out it will depend upon conditions, how 
large the trees are being the principal one. We 
always cut branches off in all cases. If trees are 
not more than six inches in diameter we hook short 
heavy chain with ring on one end and hook on other over 
the stump and hitch horses fast, and if your harness 
is good and roots not too large it will come out, but 
perhaps you may have to twist horses several times 
before bringing out. Always do this after a heavy rain 
or in Spring if possible. If they are too large for team 
you can use tackle and ropes, fastening on the bottom 
of one and over the top of the one to be pulled. A 
BROWN’S SEEDLING GRAPE. Fig. 410. 
Sec Ruralisms, Page 914. 
