
          230

"About twenty or twenty-five years ago, peaches were
raised here in the greatest abundance, and with only a moderate
share of attention, in great perfection.  That this time
however has gone by, etc" p. 363.

Aside from a possible change in climate he gives four
reasons for this decay: First, Budding on peach stocks, which
he considers have less hardy roots than plum; second, the
borer; Third, a too rapid growth, forming  straggling tree
likely to be broken down by high winds, and due also to budding
on peach stock; and fourth, the yellows.  Of the latter
he says:

"The trees of late years are subject to what has been 
deemed a disease called the yellows, from the circumstance
that the trees have a yellow sickly appearance;" x x x

In 1832, after a severe winter some of his own trees
"ripened their fruit prematurely, without having anything of
the true flavour; and what is remarkable, every diseased tree
of whatever kind, seemed to bear the same red, and red-speckled,
tasteless and insipid peach; some of them coming to maturity
a month too soon." He says all of these trees "were
perfectly sound and healthy the summer previous," and thinks
the yellows was caused by the winter injuring the tree
        