Peach-growing

Front matter

U.B.C. LIBRARY

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Preface

Although the development of peach-growing in the United States has been coincident with the development of the country, peach literature is notably limited except as it appears in experiment station bulletins and reports. Of these there are many.

The motive of this book is to present in a fairly comprehensive way the principles and practice of successful peach production. The amount of detail that enters into some parts of the discussion may seem unnecessary and prove wearisome to the experienced grower, but the author's conception of the book is based largely on a rather extensive observation of fruit-growing problems and the impressions that have come from the handling of a wide range of correspondence. So far as this effort proves of service to the reader who is seeking help in the growing of peaches, the book will accomplish its intended mission.

It is difficult to make full acknowledgment of all credit that should be given. Experiment station literature has been drawn upon very freely. Most of the ripening dates in the chapter on varieties were supplied by peach-growers. The chapter on pruning was reviewed by S. H. Fulton, of West Virginia, a peach-grower of large experience ; and the one on insects and diseases, by W. M. Scott, formerly connected with the fruit disease investigations of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, and himself a peach-grower of large interests.

vili Preface

The photographs from which most of the illustrations were made are from the files of the OfBce of Horticultural and Pomological Investigations, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, and are here used with the approval of the Chief of that Office. Although most of them were taken by the author, credit for their use belongs to the Department. Further acknowledgment is made in the List of Illustrations. Finally, the Editor and Publishers have made concessions that should not pass unrecorded.

H. P. Gould

Washington, D.C, June 8, 1918

CHAPTER II Yields 13-14

Disposition of the crops 14-17

Distribution of peach production 17-24

North America 18-20

United States 18-19

Canada 19

Mexico, Central America, West Indies . . 20

South America 20-21

Argentina 20

Chile 20

Uruguay 20

Peru 20

Europe 21-22

Austria-Hungary 21

France 21

Germany 21

Italy 21

Russia 22

Turkey . 22

Spain 22

United Kingdom 22

ix

X Contents

PAOXS

Japan 22

Formosa 23

Persia 23

Africa 23

British South Africa 23

Tunis 23

Oceania 23

Austraha 23

Who will succeed in peach-growing .... 24-25

CHAPTER III Liocations for peach orchards 27-37

Locations with reference to

range of the species 27-28

chmatic conditions 28-33

accessibihty of markets 33-34

community interests and economic conditions 34-35

the ripening of the fruit 35-36

Orchard sites 37-46

Topography, elevation, slope, and local climate . 39-46

CHAPTER IV Stocks 48-54

Budding 55-63

Selecting the buds 55-56

Details of budding 56-60

Growing the trees from the bud 61-62

Dormant budding 62-63

Contents

XI

CHAPTER V Trees for planting 64-71

Varieties 64-66

Tree grades and sizes 66-70

Where to obtain trees 70-71

Time of planting 71-74

Handling the trees when received from the nursery . 74-77

Preparing the land for the trees 77-79

Laying off the land 79-83

Distance between trees 80-81

Making the holes for the trees 84-88

Planting the trees 88-96

CHAPTER VI Orchard Management 97-100

Period of profitable productivity 98-99

Maintaining the fertility of the soil .... 99-100

CHAPTER VIII Inter-planted Crops llJ-148

Filler-crops 113-117

Cover-, green-manure, and shade-crops .... 117-126

Leguminous crops 126-143

Cowpeas 127-129

Hairy vetch 129-131

Common vetch 131-132

Crimson clover 132-134 xu

Contents

PAOEa

Soybeans 134-135

Field peas 136-138

Red clover . 138-139

Alfalfa 139-140

Bur, button, Japan (or Lespedeza), bitter, and

Other legumes 143

Non-leguminous crops 143-148

Oats 145

Buckwheat 145

Rape, cowhorn turnips 145-146

Millet, corn, cane 146-148

Other cover-crops 148

CHAPTER X When to prime

Some general principles of pruning Pruning tools .....

Pruning the first year Pruning the second year Pruning the third and subsequent years Summer pruning ....

Pruning in relation to winter injury Pruning to overcome winter injury Pruning to renew the tops

Renewal by heavy pruning

176-217

178 178-180

Contents xiii

Renewal by top-budding 215-216

Renewal by top-grafting 216-217

CHAPTER XI Peach insects 219-254

Plum curculio 219-222

Lesser peach-tree borer 225-227

California peach-tree borer 227-228

Fruit-tree bark-beetle, or shot-hole borer . , 228-230

Peach-tree bark-beetle 231-232

Peach-twig borer, or peach-worm .... 232-233

Black peach-aphis 233-235

Green peach-aphis 235-236

San Jose scale 236-241

White or West Indian peach-scale .... 241-242

Terrapin scale, or peach-lecanium .... 242-245

Peach- and plum-slug 245-246

Peach saw-fly 246-247

Brown-mite 247-248

Oriental peach-moth 249-251

Peach bud-mite 251-252

Other insects 252-253

The nematode 253-254

Peach diseases 255-279

Brown-rot 255-257

Peach-scab 257-258

Leaf-curl 258-259

Peach-yellows 260-262

Little-peach ^ 262-264

Shot-hole, leaf-blight, leaf-spot .... 265-266 xiv Contents

Bacterial leaf-spot, bacterial shot-hole, bacteriosis,

black-spot 266-268

Powdery-mildew . 268-269

Frosty-mildew 269

California peach-blight, or coryneum-blight . . 270-272

Gummosis 276-277

Little-leaf, or California yellows .... 277-278

Other diseases 278-279

Insecticides, fungicides, spraying 279-293

Insecticides 279-284

Concentrated lime-sulfior mixture . . . 279-282

Miscible oils 282

Tobacco extracts 282-283

Linseed oil emulsion 283-284

Arsenate of lead 284

Fungicides 285-288

Self-boiled lime-sulfur mixture .... 285-287

Atomic sulfiu" 287

Bordeaux mixture 287-288

Other insecticides and fungicides .... 288

Spraying 289-293

Schedule of applications 290-292

Spraying equipment 292-293

Dusting peaches to control insects and diseases . 293-294

CHAPTER XII Method of thinning 300

When to thin 300-303

Distance between fruits , 303-304

Contents xv CHAPTER XIII

Irrigating Peaches 305-312

Systems of distributing water 306-307

When to irrigate 308-311

Amount of water to apply 311-312

CHAPTER XIV Cultural methods in relation to winter injury . . 316-321

Banking the trees 321

Covering with sheds 322

Wrapping the trees 322-323

Whitewashing the tree as a means of protection . . 323-325

Laying down peach-trees 325-329

Orchard heating 329-335

Artificial covering 330

Smudging 330

Heating the air 330-335

Does orchard heating pay ? . . ... . . 335-336

CHAPTER XVI Varietal characteristics 373-377

An inventory of varieties 377-380

Varieties offered to the nursery trade in 1916 . . 378-380

Botany of the peach 380-382

Classification of peaches 382-392

Peen-torace 384-385

South China race 385-386 xvi Contents

FAQES

Spanish race 386

North China race 387-389

Persian race 389

Characteristics of the diiferent races .... 390-392

CHAPTER XVII Picking the fruit 394-397

Packing the fruit 397-404

Packing houses 397-399

Packages 399-400

Sizing and grading 401-403

Details of packing 403-404

CHAPTER XVIII Transportation 405-409

PrecooHng 406

Loading the cars 407-409

Cold storage 409^10

Marketing 410-414

Distribution of the fruit 411-414

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PLATES

Plate I. — A peach orchard location in the Alleghany Mountains. Elevation 1200 to 1400 feet. (Farmers' Bulletin 631) Frontispiece

PAOE

Plate II. — A peach orchard location in a foothill region in California. (Farmers' Bulletin 631) 1

Plate III. — Atmospheric drainage shown by smoke drifting down a slope. A thin stratum of soil underlaid by a stratum of rock — a poor orchard site. (Hort. and Pom. files) . . 14

Plate IV. — An orange tree injured by a freeze and which shows the stratification of the air according to temperature. (Hort. and Pom. files) 28

Plate V. — An orchard site in east central Georgia ; the topography is more or less rolling; the elevation about 500 feet. (Hort. and Pom. files) 40

Plate VI. — A peach orchard in a broad portion of the Gunnison Valley in Colorado. The elevation is about 5000 feet. (Hort. and Pom. files) 54

Plate VII. — A block of "June budded " peach trees in a Florida nursery. An orchard site on the slope of a ridge in the Alleghany Mountains. Elevation about 1500 to 2100 feet. (Hort. and Pom. files) 66

Plate VIII. — Orchard sites at different levels in the valley of the North Fork of the Gunnison River in Colorado. Elevation 5600 to 5700 feet. (Hort. and Pom. files) .... 80

Plate IX. — A peach tree root 19 feet long ; one on the opposite side was 16 feet long. The roots of adjacent trees are likely to crowd before the tops do. (Hort. and Pom. files) . 92 xvii xviii List of Illustrations

PAQE

Plate X. — An Oldmixon peach tree about fifty-four years old.

(Hort. and Pom. files) 106

Plate XI. — A disk harrow and team for orchard tillage. (Farmers' Bulletin 631.) A tractor used in tillage operations. Soybeans interplanted in drills as a green-manure crop. (Hort. and Pom. files) 118

Plate XII. — Red clover used as a mulch-crop in a peach orchard. Cow'peas broadcasted as a green-manure crop. (Hort. and Pom. files) 132

Plate XIII. — Pruned to a low spreading head. A one-year-old tree cut back to a straight stem when planted now in July of its first season's growth in the orchard. (Hort. and Pom. files) 154

Plate XIV. — A tree in July of its second season's growth. The details of pruning during a series of years. (Hort. and Pom. files) 166

Plate XV. — Buds in singles — Chili variety. Buds in pairs

— Waldo and Angel varieties. (Hort. and Pom. files) . 180

Plate XVI. — Fruit-buds of peach starting into growth with leaf-buds at base of fruit-buds also starting to grow. (Hort. and Pom. files) 194

Plate XVII. — Pruning. The limbs have not been cut back but the side branches at base of limbs have been removed. Skillfully pruned Levy peach tree with good bearing surface throughout the top. (Farmers' Bulletin 632) . . .206

Plate XVIII. — Well-pruned, spreading heads. (Farmers' Bulletin 632.) Limbs "leggy" and not well formed for sustaining heavy crops of fruit. (Hort. and Pom. files) . . . 220

Plate XIX. — Salwey trees well pruned with a view to developing large bearing surface. (Farmers' Bulletin 632.) An open head but bearing surface largely at the extremities of the limbs. (Hort. and Pom. files) 232

List of Illustrations xix

PAQB

Plate XX. — A sled used in removing brush from an orchard. PhilHps peach trees with dense tops. Limbs propped to prevent breaking from weight of a heavy crop. (Farmers' Bulletin 632) 246

Plate XXI. — Renewal from the trunk following removal of entire top. A symmetrical vigorous growth near the end of the first season after being deheaded. (Farmers' Bulletin 632) 258

Plate XXII. — Limbs cut back into wood that was too old, some of the stubs failing to make new growth. A vigorous tree which has been deheaded three times. (Farmers' Bulletin 632) 272

Plate XXIII. — A peach tree laid down during winter and covered for protection, now being gradually uncovered in spring. (Colo. Expt. Sta.) Renewal by top-budding. (Farmers' Bulletin 632) 286

Plate XXIV. — A spray-house equipped for extensive operations. Heaters distributed in an orchard ready for use. A young apple orchard furrowed for irrigation. (Hort. and Pom. files) 300

Plate XXV. — Heaters of the "lard-pail" type awaiting storage. A cement storage reservoir for oil. Sheet-metal storage tanks. (Hort. and Pom. files) 314

Plate XXVI. — Gilbert Onderdonk. (Hort. and Pom. files) . 326

Plate XXVII. — Fruits of different peach races. (Hort. and

Pom. files) 340

Plate XXVIII. — A desirable orchard wagon and convenient picking-baskets. Packing in the orchard in one-half bushel Delaware baskets. A wagon loaded with Delaware baskets. (Hort. and Pom. files) 352

Plate XXIX. — Packing houses and equipment. Exterior view. Interior view. A canvas-topped packing-table. (Hort. and Pom. files) 364

XX List of Illustrations

PAGB

Plate XXX. — Georgia 6-basket carriers. Twenty-pound

boxes. (Hort. and Pom. files) 374

Plate XXXI. — Loading in the car. Bushel baskets properly stacked. Georgia carriers braced to prevent movement of packages in transit. (Hort. and Pom. files) .... 386

Plate XXXII. — Peach packages. Flats properly stacked in

the car. Climax baskets. (Hort, and Pom. files) . . 398

FIGURES

1. Details of budding. (Adapted from the Fruit-Grower) . 57

2. A "bud-stick" showing manner of removing buds . . 58

3. Different grades of nursery stock. (Adapted from Farmers'

Bulletin 631) 68

4. Peach trees heeled in 75

5. The top of a well-grown one-year peach tree as it came from

the nursery. (Drawn from photo N. Car. Dept. of Agri. Bull. 227) 89

6. The tree shown in figure 5 after the branches which are to

form the permanent top have been selected and the others cut away. (Drawn from photo N. Car. Dept. of Agri. Bull. 227) 90

7. The tree in figure 6 with the branches cut back to stubs.

(Drawn from photo N. Car. Dept. of Agri. Bull. 227) . 91

8. A view looking directly downward on the top of the tree in

figure 7. (Adapted from photo N. Car. Dept. of Agri. Bull. 227) 91

9. A leveler used for filling irrigation furrows and pulverizing

the soil. (Farmers' Bulletin 631) 109

10. A peach tree in July of its first season's growth in a southern

orchard 182

List of Illustrations xxi

PAGE

11. The tree in figure 10 after being heavily pruned in midsum-

mer 183

12. A desirable method of supporting the branches to prevent

breaking when heavily loaded with fruit . . . .198

13. A brush burner 199

14. A peach tree in need of corrective pruning. (Drawn from

Farmers' Bulletin 632) . 210

15. The tree in figure 14 after receiving corrective priming.

(Drawn from Farmers' Bulletin 632) .... 211

16. A peach tree eight years old with bearing surface mostly at

the extremities of the Kmbs. (Drawn from Farmers' Bulletin 632) 212

17. The tree in figure 16 after being deheaded. (Drawn from

Farmers' Bulletin 632) 213

18. Peach trees laid down and covered with burlap and soil for

protection during winter. (Drawn from photo Colo. Expt. Sta.) 328

19. Diagram showing the "peach season" in the different states.

(Adapted from Dept. of Agri. Bull. 298) 413

Chapter I Historical Notes

The peach has been in cultivation since ancient times, so long in fact that it is said commonly to be unknown in the wild state. For an indefinite period it was supposed to be native to Persia. Evidently the Ancients so regarded it, since more than three centuries before the Christian Era the peach was referred to by Theophrastus as a Persian fruit.^ De Candolle opposes this view with the contention that the peach originally came from China. Perhaps no one can speak in this matter with greater authority than this author.

The peach was received by the Greeks and Romans soon after the beginning of the Christian Era. De Candolle reasons that, had it been grown in antiquity in Persia, it would have reached these peoples at an earlier time. He also places much significance in the fact that there are no Sanskrit or Hebrew names for it. He was convinced such names would have existed had the peach been indigenous to Persia, since the Hebrew- and Sanskrit-speaking people, as

1 De Candolle, Alphonse, "Origin of Cultivated Plants " (1884 English Translation), p. 222.

well as those of ancient Greece, radiated from Persia and the upper Euphrates Valley or were in communication therewith from the earliest times. ** On the other hand," writes De Candolle,^ " it is very possible that the stones of a fruit tree cultivated in China from the remotest times should have been carried over the mountains from the center of Asia into Kashmir, Bokhara, and Persia. The Chinese had very early discovered this route."

Although in different parts of Asia, in the region of the Caucasus, in the Crimea, and in other regions, the peach has sometimes been reported as occurring in the wild state, there always arises a very definite doubt, amounting to a practical certainty, that it has been introduced and the trees, escaping cultivation, have become naturalized.

Furthermore, De Candolle traces evidence of the existence of the peach in China at a much earlier period than in any other country. He calls attention to the fact that the peach was referred to in the writings of Confucius in the fifth century before the Christian Era, and also in other writings in the tenth century preceding and, he adds: "The peach spreads easily in the countries in which it is cultivated, so that it is hard to say whether a given tree is of natural origin and anterior to cultivation, or whether it is naturalized. But it was certainly first cultivated in China ; it was spoken of there two thousand years before its introduction into the Greco-Roman world, a thousand years perhaps before its introduction into the lands of the Sanskrit-speaking race." Thus, if sacred and profane writings be correlated, it would seem that the peach was known in that part of the world which later came to be called China at the time when Lot

iDe Candolle, Alphonse, "Origin of Cultivated Plants" (1884 English Translation), p. 221, was separating himself from Abram because of the contention between their herdsmen.^

De Candolle's conviction that the peach originated in China was expressed as early as 1855.^ In the following thirty years, additional evidence tending to confirm his earlier views has accumulated. Moreover, in his agricultural explorations in northern and eastern China within the past few years, for the United States Department of Agriculture, Frank N. Meyer has discovered at least one wild species of peach ^ (and possibly others) which may be the prototype of the cultivated peach, thus strengthening still further the probability of a Chinese origin.

In his explorations in Hupeh and Szechuan in western China, E. H. Wilson found peaches commonly cultivated from river-level to an altitude of 9000 feet. Not only are they grown in orchards and about the houses, but they have sprung up almost spontaneously in many places along the roadsides and on cliffs where they have become practically naturalized. Wilson also refers to the antiquity of the peach in China and mentions the now commonly accepted view of its origin in that country. It is his opinion, however, that "the type of garden peach is no longer to be found in the wild state,"* the nearest approach to it being, in his judgment, the subspontaneous form naturalized along the roadsides and other places in the provinces above named.

L. H. Bailey found the peach wild in the mountains separating the drainage of the Yang-Tze and Hwai-Ho rivers,

2 De CandoUe, Alphonse, "Origin of Cultivated Plants" (1844 English Translation) p. 221.

' Yearbook of the U. S. Dept. of Agr. for 1915, p. 218. ^(Wilson, E. H., "A Naturalist in western China," II, p, 26; also, "Plantse Wilsonianse," Part I, p. 273).

and also in the low mountains of west-central Honan, growing in the same situations as other plants undoubtedly native, sometimes fruiting as small bushes among the rocks. Whether the peach is indigenous in these regions he considers as very doubtful, inasmuch as China has been the scene of human occupation for thousands of years, and it is difficult to trace food plants to their exact origins there.

INTRODUCTION INTO .AMERICA

The time of introduction of the peach into America, or from whence or by whom it came, seems not to be a matter of definite record. That it was within a few years after the landing of the Pilgrim fathers appears certain and that the first introduction was in the form of seeds from England is a presumption that seems both natural and logical, although it may also have had a Spanish introduction.

A most interesting resume of the references in early literature to the beginnings of peach-growing in America has been made by Smith,^ from which the following paragraphs are selected as showing the beginning and the dissemination of peach-growing among the early colonists :

"It is uncertain when peach trees were first introduced into this country, but it was prior to 1633. From two entries in the records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England,^ it is probable that they were introduced into the New England region soon after the year 1629. On page 24 of the first volume of these records is an undated memorandum of things 'to prouide to send

1 Smith, Erwin F., "Peach Yellows: A Preliminary Report," Div. of Botany, Bull. 9, U. S. Dept. of Agr. (1888) pp. 10-17.

2 Vol. I, 1628-1641. Edited by N. B. Shurtleff, M. D., and published by the Commonwealth, Boston, 1853.

for New England,' among which are included 'stones of all sorts of fruits, as peaches, plums, filberts, cherries.' Somewhat later, in a letter of April 17, 1629, from Gravesend, England, by the governor and deputy of the New England Company to Capt. John Endicott, then governor and council for London's plantation in the Massachusetts Bay in New England, we read (p. 392) :

" 'As for fruit stones and kernels, the time of the year fits not to send them now, so we propose to do it pr. our next.'

"In 1633 the Dutch sea-captain, De Vries, found peach trees in Virginia in the garden of George Minifie, on the James River, between Blunt Point and Jamestown. They were the first seen by him in North America. The following is copied from the entry in his journal :

"'Arrived at Littletown, where Menifit lives. He has a garden of two acres, full of primroses, apple, pear and cherry trees. . . . Around the house there are plenty of peach trees, which were hardly in bloom.'

"Minifie settled there in 1623.^ In 1635 appeared the following mention of peach-growing in Maryland :

"'Although there be not many that do apply themselves to plant gardens and orchards, yet those that do it find much profit and pleasure thereby. They have peares, apples, and several sorts of plummes, peaches in abundance, and as good as those in Italy. ^

1 "The Founders of Maryland," etc., by Rev. Ed. D. NeiU, A.B. Albany, Joel Munsell, 1876, pp. 52, 53.

^ "A Relation in Maryland." Author unknown. Reprinted from the London edition of 1635, with a prefatory note and an appendix by Francis L. Hawks, D. D., LL. D. New York, Joseph Sabin, 1865, p. 28.

" In 1656 John Hammond wrote of an earlier period : ^

" * Orchards innumerable were planted and preserved ' (p. 9)

and of his own time :

"'The comitry is full of gallant orchards, and the fruit generally more luscious and delightful than here. Witness the peach and quince. The latter may be eaten raw savourily; the former differs and as much exceeds ours as the best-relished apple we have doth the crab, and of both most excellent and comfortable drinks are made (p. 13). '

"To the effect that previous to 1683 peach trees were growing thriftily in considerable numbers in other parts of the country, there are statements by at least four persons, Thomas Campanius, 1643-1648 ; ^ Louis Hennepin, 1679- 1682 ; 3 Mahlon Stacy, 1680 ; ^ and William Penn, 1683.^

" Campanius records finding peaches in three places along the Delaware."

The statements by Stacy are of special interest. W^riting from New Jersey, he says, as quoted by Smith :

^ "Leah and Rachel; or the Two Faithful Sisters, Virginia and Maryland," by John Hammond. London, 1656. Reprinted in Force's Historical Tracts. Vol. 3, Washington, D. C, 1844.

2 "A Short Account of New Sweden" (in Swedish), Stockholm, 1702. Cf. a synopsis in Tr. Am. Philosophical Soc, Phila., 1816; and a translation by Du Ponceau, Phila., 1834.

■* "History of Pennsylvania in America, etc.," by Robert Proud. Philadelphia, 1797, Vol. 1, p. 153; "History of New Jersey," by John O. Raum, p. 108. Stacy's letter was written from "Falls of the Delaware," April 26, 1680, to his brother Revell and others in England.

' "History of the Peach in America," Loren Blodgett. The Gardeners' Monthly. Philadelphia, 1882, p. 347 ; see also Proud's "History of Pennsylvania in America," Vol. 1, p. 249.

" * I have traveled through most of the places that are settled, and some that are not ; and in every place I find the country very apt to answer the expectation of the diligent. I have seen orchards ladened with fruit to admiration ; their very limbs torn to pieces by the weight, and most delicious to the taste and lovely to behold. I have seen an apple tree from a pippin kernel yield a barrel of curious cider, and peaches in such plenty that some people took their carts a peach gathering; I could not but smile at the conceit of it; they are very delicate fruit, and hang almost like our onions that are tied on ropes.' "

"According to Robert Beverly,^ peaches grew abundantly in Virginia at the beginning of the eighteenth century. He says :

"'Peaches, nectarines, and apricots, as well as plumbs and cherries, grow there upon standard trees. They commonly bear in three years from the stone, and thrive so exceedingly that they seem to have no need of grafting or inoculating, if anybody would be so good a husband ; and truly I never heard of any that did graft either plumb, nectarine, peach, or apricot in that country, before the first edition of this book [London, 1705].'

" In 1733 peaches grew plentifully in Georgia, as indicated by the following quotation : ^

1 " The History of Virginia," by Robert Beverly, a native and inhabitant of the place. Reprinted from the author's second revised edition, London, 1722. J. W. Randolph, Richmond, Va., 1855, p. 259.

^"A New and Accurate Account of the Provinces of South Carolina and Georgia." London, 1733. Said to be by General Oglethorpe. Reprinted in Collections of the Georgia Historical Society. Vol. 1, Savannah, 1840.

8 Peacli-Gr owing

"'Mulberries, both black and white, are natives of this soil, and are found in the woods, as are many other sorts of fruits of excellent kinds, and the growth of them is surprisingly swift; for a peach, apricot, or nectarine tree will, from the stone, grow to be a bearing tree in four or five years' time [p. 50].'

" ' They have oranges, lemons, apples, and pears, besides the peach and apricot mentioned before. Some of these are so delicious that whoever tastes them will despise the insipid, watery taste of those we have in England ; and yet such is the plenty of them that they are given to the hogs in great quantities (p. 51).'

"In 1741 Sir John Oldmixon writes of Virginia:*

" ' Here is such plenty of peaches that they give them to their hogs ; some of them, called malachotoons, are as big as a lemon and resemble it a little.'

"In one of his chapters on the 'General State of Pennsylvania between the years 1760 and 1770,' Proud says : ^

"'In some places peaches are so common and plentiful that the country people feed their hogs with them.'

"In 1795 Winterbotham writes : ^

1 "The British Empire in America," by John Oldmixon. Second edition, London, 1741. Vol. 1, pp. 440 and 515.

^ "The History of New Sweden, or the Settlements on the River Delaware," by Israel Acrelious. Stockholm, 1759. Translated from the Swedish by William M. Reynolds, D. D., Philadelphia, 1876, being Vol. XI of the Memoirs of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, pp. 151, 152.

' "An Historical, Geographical, Commercial, and Philosophical View of the American United States," etc., by W. Winterbotham. London, 1795. Vol. III.

" ' The apples of this State [Maryland] are large but mealy ; the peaches plenty and good. From these the inhabitants distill cider and peach brandy (p. 36).'

"'In some counties [of Virginia] they have plenty of cider, and exquisite brandy distilled from peaches, which grow in great abundance upon the numerous rivers of the Chesapeake (p. 84).'"

These abstracts and many other similar references made by Smith set forth the fact that the early development of peach-growing in America was practically coincident with the development of the colonial settlements following the landing of the Pilgrims in 1620, and that by the beginning of the nineteenth century peach trees were widely distributed from IVIassachusetts to Georgia. There appears to be evidence, in fact, that they were grown in Southern Canada at an early date. In 1748 Peter Kahn ^ writing under date of October 27 said, as quoted by Smith : -

"In the morning I set out [from Philadelphia] on a little journey to New York, in company with Mr. Peter Cock, with a view to see the country, and to inquire into the safest road which I could take in going into Canada." . . .

In a footnote, Smith states that :

"Later, when Kahn was in Canada, he notes the reported occurrence of peaches in the southern parts of Canada, and to the southwest in the Mississippi region, but makes no mention of having himself seen them in Canada."

1 "Travels into North America," by Peter Kahn; translated into English by John R. Forster, F. A. S. Warrington : 1770, Vol. I.

2 Smith, Erwin F., "Peach Yellows; A Preliminary Report." Div. of Botany, Bui. 9, U. S. Dept. of Agr. 1888, pp. 10-17.

Early records of peach-growing in Canada evidently are rare since the first note to come to the attention of the authors of a recent bulletin from the Ontario Department of Agriculture ^ bears the date of July 2, 1793. It is taken from the diary of one Mrs. Simcoe of Niagara, Ontario, and reads :

"We treated them with cherries, we having large May Duke cherry trees behind the house and three standard peach trees which supplied us last autumn for tarts and desserts during six weeks besides the number the young men ate." The next record here mentioned appears in the journal of a Captain Langslow who visited Niagara in 1817 and who spoke of peaches being "very plentiful." However, it was not until as recently as 1890, according to these authorities, that the planting of peaches became general in the province of Ontario, and apparently but few have ever been planted in Canada outside of this province.

Dating from the close of the eighteenth or early years of the nineteenth centuries, the planting of peach orchards of considerable size in different parts of the United States became more or less common, though the commercial orchard, as conceived of today, was an enterprise of later development. The planting of peach trees in Maryland a hundred years ago was doubtless typical of what was going on at that time in fruit-growing in other states. A few illustrations in this connection will suffice. The first large peach orchard in Maryland appears to have been planted by James Robinson about the year 1800.^ It was located in Anne Arundel County some twenty miles south of Baltimore. This orchard