294 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
peach, Elbert a is the most cosmopolitan of all varieties. If 
one is thinking of setting an orchard, he should study the 
climatic and soil conditions of his site, he should attempt to 
find out what varieties are succeeding best in that region, he 
should attempt to discover the demands of his market; and 
then he should address himself to the task of producing the 
finest product of the varieties he has selected. If one were 
looking for the five varieties of peaches most hardy in wood, 
Hedrick recommends Crosby, Hill’s Chili, Stevens’ Rareripe, 
Gold Drop, and Elberta. The five varieties most hardy in 
bud are Crosby, Hill’s Chili, Triumph, Gold Drop, and Stev¬ 
ens’ Rareripe. The five most tender in bud are Early and 
Late Crawford, Chair’s 
Choice, Reeves’ Favorite, 
and Elberta. Neverthe¬ 
less, in the last list we 
find the varieties which 
compose a major portion 
of the great commercial 
plantings of the country. 
Of course, in the Gulf 
States, certain local vari¬ 
eties are recognized. 
The variety question is 
largely a local problem 
and must be settled on 
the spot. 
ENEMIES 
The peach is not with¬ 
out its enemies. Leaf 
curl, yellows, little peach, 
borers, scale, brown rot, 
all take their toll in 
measures of trees or 
fruits or both. But each 
year is bringing the fruit 
grower more confidence, 
because he is gaining 
more knowledge, and we 
recognize the truth of 
the old saw that “knowl¬ 
edge is power.’’ 
Leaf curl is no longer viewed with trepidation by the peach 
grower. He sprays before the buds begin growth with Bor¬ 
deaux, or lime sulphur. Brown rot in some parts of the coun¬ 
try is and always will be a serious enemy, on account of its 
ready response to climatic conditions. Given humidity and 
high temperature, and we have favorable conditions for the 
development of this enemy, but the experiments of recent 
vears with the self-boiled lime sulphur have brought renewed 
mfidence to peach growers, and renewed assurance that in 
average of seasons this enemy, like peach curl, may be 
Ued. 
"■ows and little peach, we still have types of undeter- 
"Sed usually to physiological disturbances, 
^nn of knowing, however, that good 
neans the extermination of the 
completely, will eradicate the 
A dehorned Peach Tree. First season's growth 
In the borer and San Jos 4 scale, we have two enemies which 
are now established, and will undoubtedly always be found 
in greater or less numbers, and with greater or less virulence, 
in peach-growing sections. They are part of the peach grow¬ 
er’s burden, and he can only obtain relief from it by continual 
warefar. The lime sulphur is at present the recipe against 
San Jose scale. The pruning knife, directed by a vigilant 
eye, is the main reliance against borer. 
Peach orcharding will more and more, as time goes on, 
drift to those regions where conditions are most favorable, 
and per contra, where enemies are least abundant. 
HARVESTING AND 
MARKETING 
This is the side which 
taxes the business ability 
of the grower. It is the 
department where fre¬ 
quent failure occurs. 
Growers are wont to 
charge their shortcom¬ 
ings to the commission 
man or the agent. 
Sometimes the agent and 
commission man are at 
fault, sometimes the 
grower, and sometimes 
both. Successful mar¬ 
keting is an art which is 
acquired slowly, and it is 
a good thing if the 
grower can gradually de¬ 
velop a system. With a 
good system, a large 
crop can be handled with 
less friction and loss than 
a small one. 
The refrigerator car 
and the ice house with 
the cooling house are now 
requisites where the 
grower is situated at any 
considerable distance frm his markets. Even the large peach 
growers of Connecticut and Delaware are equipped with 
their own ice houses, from which they can ice refrigerator 
cars when necessary. 
The fruit is carried direct from the orchard to the packing 
house, where it is repacked and either cooled in a cooling 
room, or if the haul is short, packed directly into the cars. If 
the market is within twelve or fifteen hours of the orchard, 
the latter method is usually satisfactory. 
The kind of package used is to be decided by the grower in 
connection with the market to which he caters. Sixteen- 
quart baskets are popular in New England, while in the 
South and on the Pacific Coast the six-crate carrier has the 
preference. The grower cannot afford to use less than two 
grades in sorting his fruit. As a rule, the attractive package 
has much to do with the ready disposal of the fruit. The 
package, the grade, and the variety are the three important 
factors. 
