20 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
Warren H. Manning, landscape architect, of Boston, has had 
the general superintendency, laying out the ground, planting 
the trees, shrubery, &c. This new town has been christened 
Pinehurst (pine rest). An electric road has been built to it 
from the station at Southern Pines, and as I write cars pass 
my window to and from Pinehurst every hour. 
THE VAN LINDLEY PEACH ORCHARD. 
A few years ago J. Van Lindley, of Pomona, N. C., observed 
that peach trees growing in this sand, seldom failed to bear 
good crops of fruit of the finest quality. He immediately pur¬ 
chased 1700 acres of cheap land ; formed a joint stock com¬ 
pany, of which he is president and largest owner ; and cleared 
and prepared the land for a commercial peach orchard. In 
1892, 50,000 trees were planted, and more or less every year 
since. At the same time there were planted 5,000 Kieffer 
pears ; [,000 Japan plums (largely Abundance) ; 12,000 black¬ 
berries (mosilv Early Wilson); 25 acres were planted to grapes, 
largely Niagara, Delaware and Concord, (planted 6 x 6 ft. and 
trained to a single stake). Apricots, figs, Japan persimmons, 
strawberries and raspberries, were tried on a small scale, mak¬ 
ing this really an experiment station. 
The first lot of peach trees were planted 16 x 16 feet—but 
later they were planted 12 x 20 feet, the rows running nearly 
north and south, to protect each other from the hot sun. The 
trees are trained very low, 15 to 20 inches, and they are kept 
headed back, so that all the fruit can be reached by a person 
standing on the ground. Fhe trees have the appearance of a 
lot of dwarf apple or quince trees. I am inclined to think 
this is the most economical way, as the breading branches 
protect the trunk from sunscald ; and as the fruit is all thinned 
in order to obtain fine specimens, these low-branched trees are 
very convenient. The varieties preferred at present are for 
early peaches, Sneed and Alexander, which ripen early in 
June, though the new ones Greenboro and Triumph bid fair to 
rival. For the next picking. Mountain Rose, Lady Ingold, 
Crawford’s Early and Stump have proved best ; while Elberta» 
Old Mixon and Globe are fine for late varieties. 
The unprecedented freeze of 1894, coming as it did after the 
trees had made a growth of several inches, was a great calam¬ 
ity. All the trees had to be cut back. Kieffers in some in¬ 
stances were killed to the ground, and no fruit was secured 
that year. In 1895 the trees had so far recovered that ^13,000 
worth of fruit was shipped to northern markets—not so much 
last year on account of a late spring frost after the trees were 
in bloom. But this year the prospect now is good. Most of 
the trees in the first orchard are large enough to bear a half 
bushel each, but one-fourth of a bushel to a tree for an orchard 
of 50,000 trees means considerable fruit. The trees should be 
fertilized every spring, or in February. 
THE PROFITS. 
When I saw 100 tons of valuable fertilizer landed at the 
orchard, and learned that the cost of a re rigerator car'(iced) 
to New York city was $230, it looked doubtful. But when I 
learned that 700 crates could be packed into a car, making the 
cost 35 cents per crate, and that fine peaches sold readily at 
$3 per crate, the prospect brightened. 
But fruit growers have their troubles, just as do other people. 
The curculio, that dreaded little Turk, the enemy to all civili¬ 
zation, made its first appearance in this orchard last year ; 
and that means protection, or the loss of fruit. The borer has 
been troublesome to some extent, but nothing serious. Flocks 
of quail inhabit the orchard, during the summer and autumn 
months, and do an immense amount of good in destroying in¬ 
sects. The owners of the orchard would be glad to protect 
these and other insect destroying birds ; but no ; as soon as 
the “law is off” the birds are easily decoyed away and killed. 
Isn’t it about time for farmers and horticulturists to have some¬ 
thing to say in this matter? The game laws of this country 
favor the sportsman every time. With the greatly improved 
modern firearm, and public sentiment favoring sporting, it is a 
great temptation for any one who has the leisure to go out and 
kill something. 
The robin, the joy of our homes in early spring is killed by 
the bushel to supply the hotels in Florida ; and the happy 
bobolink of the North is killed for his imprudence when he 
becomes the rice bird of the South. The prairie hen and 
quail, which the western farmer is not allowed to kill on his 
own land, is quickly appropriated by the sportsman when the 
legalized season comes round. But, saddest of all, thousands, 
hundreds of thousands of our prettiest and smallest birds are 
slaughtered every year to supply ornaments for ladies hats ! 
Certainly no nurseryman’s wife or daughter will use birds for 
any such purpose. The time may come, and probably will 
come, whep it will be necessary to have national laws to pro¬ 
tect our insect destroying birds, as has been done in Germany 
and other European countries. 
NORTH CAROLINA PROGRESSIVE. 
The state of North Carolina has been very liberal in her 
appropriations for the promotion of agriculture and horticul¬ 
ture. I have just received a beautiful book of some four 
hundred pages, finely illustrated, issued by the State Board of' 
Agriculture for 1896. The State Horticultural Society has a 
branch experiment station here at Southern Pines, comprising 
seventy acres under the efficient management of Professor 
Alexander Rhodes, a young man, native of Virginia. I have 
also met Professor W. F. Massey, of the State Horticultural 
Society at Raleigh, than whom probably no man North and 
South is better posted in horticulture or botany. 
North Carolina to-day is one of the progressive states, and 
by her great variety of soil and productions, her wonderful 
water privileges, and her mild and healthful climate offers 
special inducements to the manufacturer, the farmer and the 
fruit grower. The old system of impoverishment has passed 
away forever, and the sober industrious settler with small 
means, is gladly welcomed, from whatever section or country 
he may come. 
T. C. Thurlow. 
EASTERN GRAPE CROP. 
An estimate of the eastern grape crop for 1896 is made by 
Fruit 2.% follows : Chautauqua section, 4,050 cars ; Northern 
Ohio section, 2,050 cars; Central New York section, 2,480 
cars. 
The Chautauqua output for 1894 was about 3,600 cars ; for 
1895, year of the frost, 3,400 cars. The largest previous out¬ 
put of the Ohio section was that of 1894 when 1,150 carloads 
were shipped. The crop of 1895 was but 700 cars. 
Fred Green, of Perry, O., called on Western New York 
nurserymen early last month. 
