SB 371 
 .S64 
 Copy 1 
 
 . 
 
 U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
 
 FARMERS' BULLETIN No. 33. 
 
 PEACH GROWING FOR MARKET. 
 
 BY 
 
 ERWIN F\ SMITH, 
 Division ok Vegetable Physiology and Pathology. 
 
 WASHINGTON: 
 
 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
 1895. 
 

 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. 
 
 TJ. S. Department of Agriculture, 
 Division of Vegetable Physiology and Pathology, 
 
 Washington, I). C, August J, 1895. 
 Sir: 1 have the honor", to transmit herewith for publication as a 
 Farmers' Bulletin an article on Peach Growing for Market, by Dr. 
 Erwin F. Smith. Dr. Smith has devoted special attention to the dis- 
 eases of the peach, and the material which forms the basis of this 
 bulletin lias been collected by him in the course of his investigations. 
 Respectfully, 
 
 B. T. Galloway, 
 
 Chief of Division. 
 Hon. J. Sterling Morton, 
 
 Secretary. 
 2 
 
 IN BXCHAKGF 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Where peaches can he grown 5 
 
 Climate best suited to the peach 5 
 
 .Soils adapted to peach culture G 
 
 Planting within easy reach of large markets 6 
 
 The selection of a site 6 
 
 Extent of peach lands in the United States 7 
 
 Planting the orchard 7 
 
 Selection of suitable trees 7 
 
 Varieties to he planted 8 
 
 Cultivation of the orchard 9 
 
 Pruning 10 
 
 Fertilizers 11 
 
 Fungous diseases and insect pests 11 
 
 Spraying, washes, etc 19 
 
 Picking and marketing the fruit 19 
 
 Gluts in the market 22 
 
 Hindrances to profitable peach culture 22 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS, 
 
 Page. 
 Fig. 1. Peach tree in a Maryland orchard showing customary way of prun- 
 
 ing 10 
 
 2. Peach tree in a Delaware orchard showing customary way of pruning. 10 
 
 3. Peach tree in the same orchard as fig. 2. 11 
 
 4. Peach yellows the fourth year 11 
 
 5. Peach rosette 12 
 
 6. Peach mildew (Sphcerotheca pannosaf) on stem and fruit 13 
 
 7. Peach curl ( Taphrina deformans) 13 
 
 8. Black spot of the peach ( ( 'ladosporium carpopMlum) 14 
 
 9. Eoot knots duo to nematodes 15 
 
 10. The peach tree borer (Sannina exitiosa) . ; 15 
 
 11. Larva of the pin borer (Scolytus rugulosus) 16 
 
 12. Pupa of the pin borer 16 
 
 13. Pin borer beetle 16 
 
 14. Branch of peach showing perforations of the pin borer 16 
 
 15. Denuded branch showing breeding chambers, larva 1 channels, and 
 
 pupa chambers of the pin borer 16 
 
 1G. Black peach aphis (Aphis persica'-niger), the common wingless, vivipa- 
 rous form 17 
 
 17. Black peach aphis (Aphis per sica'-niger) , viviparous, winged form 17 
 
 18. Black peach aphis, enlarged antenna 18 
 
 19. The curcujio ( Conolraehelus nenuphar) 18 
 
 20. The whitewash scale (Diaspis lanatus) 19 
 
 21. Peach crates 21 
 
 3 
 
PEACH GROWING FOR MARKET. 
 
 This bulletin is intended for the man who contemplates peach culture 
 rather than for the one who is successfully raising this crop. The lat- 
 ter needs no advice, but is rather in a condition to give it, and if he who 
 thinks of planting an orchard can find a successful grower by all means 
 let him seek that man's counsel. 
 
 WHERE PEACHES CAN BE GROWN. 
 
 In what part of the United States can peaches be grown, is one of 
 the first questions likely to be asked by a foreigner or a person unac- 
 quainted with the subject. This question admits of two answers. If 
 peaches are desired simply for family use the answer is that they can 
 be grown in nearly every State in the Union and in almost any part of 
 any State, care of course being taken to select the right kind of site, 
 to plant varieties adapted to the climate, and to give suitable winter 
 protection in the extreme North and in high mountain regions. Even 
 in the inhospitable climates along our northern border peaches may be 
 grown out of doors with considerable success if the trees are dug under, 
 tipped over, and covered with straw each autumn, and not uncovered 
 and righted up until danger from late spring frosts has passed. Some 
 of the finest peaches the writer has ever seen were grown in this way 
 at the Kansas State Experiment Station following a winter and spring 
 which destroyed every blossom on unprotected trees for miles around. 
 The growing of peaches in large orchards for commercial purposes is 
 quite another matter, and what follows will relate especially to such 
 orchards. 
 
 CLIMATE BEST SUITED TO THE PEACH. 
 
 Climate is one of the first considerations in the selection of a place 
 for the planting of commercial peach orchards, and the wide variety 
 we have in the United States affords every opportunity for selecting a 
 suitable location. The old notion that the peach is a tropical tree and 
 must have a warm climate is not well founded. It is a tree of middle 
 latitudes and does not like extreme cold nor extreme heat. The climate 
 of China, which is probably its native home, is in many respects like 
 parts of our own country. 
 
 Commercial orchards should not be planted in regions much subject 
 to severe winters or to late spring frosts. It is well also to avoid 
 
 5 
 
regions where the winters are very mild, such as the extreme southern 
 parts of the United States, owing to the fact that the blossoms are apt 
 to be forced out in late winter or early spring and afterwards injured 
 by frosts. It is best to select a climate which is not given to violent 
 extremes of any sort and which has a considerable rainfall, fairly well 
 distributed throughout the year. Thirty-six to fifty inches of rainfall 
 annually is about the proper amount. If the quantity of water precipi- 
 tated is much below this the deficiency should be made up by irrigation. 
 
 SOILS ADAPTED TO PEACH CULTURE. 
 
 There are many kinds of soil in which orchards can be grown success- 
 fully. At present there are commercial orchards in New England on 
 stony and gravelly soils of poor character; in Maryland, Delaware, and 
 New Jersey, on fertile loams and on very light pine sands; in Pennsyl- 
 vania, on mountain soils derived from limestones and sandstones; in 
 South Carolina and Oeorgia, on light pine sands and on stiff red clay 
 lands derived from the local decomposition of granites; in Michigan, on 
 rather heavy clay hills, and also very successfully on loams and light 
 pine sands, even on beach sand so light as to be blown about by the 
 winds; in northwestern New York, on quite a variety of clays, gravels, 
 and sands, forming the old lake bottom of Lake Ontario; in Florida, on 
 flat pine sands; in Kansas, on deep black prairie soils. On all of these 
 soils there are now growing very successful and profitable peach orchards. 
 
 In general it may be said that the peach prefers light, warm, well- 
 drained, sandy or loamy land with a clay subsoil, although some very 
 successful orchards have been grown upon rather heavy clays and many 
 on deep sands. Muck soils, heavy clays retentive of moisture, and in 
 general all wet lands'and flat, frosty lands are especially to be avoided. 
 
 PLANTING WITHIN EASY REACH OF LARGE MARKETS. 
 
 In the planting of commercial orchards proximity to large markets 
 and ease of shipment should never be forgotten. An excellent location 
 may be worthless owing to lack of facilities for transportation. There 
 are thousands of acres of land in the United States suitable for peach 
 growing which it would be folly to plant at present owing to lack 
 of shipping facilities. Competing railway and steamboat lines are a 
 great advantage in securing low freights. One of the great draw- 
 backs to successful peach growing in the South until recently, and one 
 which still exists in many parts, has been due to the fact that the 
 growers are not able to secure favorable freight rates. 
 
 THE SELECTION OF A SITE. 
 
 In selecting a site for the orchard several things should be borne in 
 mind. Some fields on a farm may be much better adapted to the peach 
 than others. In general the higher lands are to be selected rather 
 than the lower, and in northern regions a water front is preferable to an 
 
inland location ; in inland regions a hillside with a northern exposure is 
 generally better than one with a southern exposure, this being due to 
 the fact that the northern exposure will somewhat retard the opening 
 of the blossoms, and in this way orchards will escape late spring frosts, 
 while if set in more sunny situations they might be induced to open 
 blossoms a week or two earlier and then be caught by late frosts. In 
 the Michigan peach orchards bordering on Lake Michigan it has been 
 found that the cold air from the lake retards the opening of the blossom 
 a week or ten days, the inland orchards being in full blossom before 
 those on the lake front have opened. The advantage of this in case 
 of late frosts is obvious. 
 
 EXTENT OF PEACH LANDS IN THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 The fear has sometimes been expressed that the ravages of yellows 
 and other diseases would finally put an end to peach growing in the 
 United States, but there is certainly no immediate danger. In North 
 Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Missouri, Arkansas, 
 Texas, and California there are many admiiable locations for peach 
 growing as yet unoccupied. California alone could grow enough 
 peaches to supply the whole United States. 
 
 PLANTING THE ORCHARD. 
 
 Having decided on climate, soil, site, and location with reference to 
 market, the next thing is the preparation of the land for planting. 
 This should be plowed and cultivated as carefully as for a crop of 
 wheat, corn, or cotton. The land should then be cross-marked and 
 holes dug for the trees at the intersections. In general it is best to 
 plant trees not closer together than 20 by 20 feet, especially if the soil 
 is in good condition. In some places, however, where the soil is poor 
 and where the orchards are not expected to last more than a dozen 
 years, the trees may be planted closer — for example, 10 feet one way by 
 20 feet the other. At the time of planting a map of the orchard show- 
 ing the location of each variety should be made for future use. The 
 neglect of this frequently causes much inconvenience. The prepara- 
 tion of the soil, the digging of the holes for the trees, and all necessary 
 work in connection with the planting should be done in advance, so 
 that when the trees are received there need be no delay and consequent 
 drying of the roots before planting. If it is absolutely necessary to 
 utilize flat land retaining moisture, furrows should be turned toward 
 the center of 20-foot lands for several years in succession and the 
 trees finally planted on the middle portion of these artificial ridges. 
 
 SELECTION OF SUITABLE TREES. 
 
 The selection of the trees themselves is a matter of great impor- 
 tance. It is not necessary that they should be very large, but the 
 trunks should be smooth and well grown and the roots abundant and as 
 
8 
 
 little injured as possible. To secure tliese desirable qualities it is well, 
 iu ordering trees to have a written agreement touching the points iu 
 question, so that iuferior trees may be rejected/ The roots should not 
 be close pruned except for the removal of mangled or splintered por- 
 tions, and the holes iu which they are set should be of such dimensions 
 that it will not be necessary to twist and cramp them in planting. 
 Care should be taken that they are not set shallow — that is, on top of 
 the earth— nor buried much deeper than they stood in the original 
 nursery. Tliey should not be set into hard earth, nor should the holes 
 be filled with stones and rubbish, but with mellow earth well tramped 
 down. Experience in the United States has shown pretty clearly that 
 peach trees in open orchards do best on peach roots, but if the situa- 
 tion is low and the soil rather heavy plum roots 1 maybe substituted, in 
 which latter case the trees should then be closer together, say 15 by 15 
 or 15 by 12 feet. In the United States peaches are not grown to any 
 extent on espaliers or in houses. 
 
 Judgment differs as to whether it is best to set June-budded or 
 August-budded trees. Generally it will be found convenient to buy 
 the trees of some reliable nurseryman, and such are usually propagated 
 from buds set in August, but if the planter prefers to grow his own 
 trees and time is a matter of consequence the seedlings should be 
 budded in June so as to obtain a grafted top the same year. 
 
 In tlie selection of trees special attention should be paid to secure 
 those which are free from fungi and injurious insects. The greatest care 
 should be taken that the trees are not infested by borers, scale insects, 
 or root aphides. Unfortunately trees of this character are sometimes 
 sent out, and orchards planted from them are sure to give trouble. In 
 general it is best to avoid trees grown in regions much subject to 
 peach yellows and peach rosette. In buying trees the planter will do 
 well to deal only with nurserymen who have by honest dealing gained 
 a well-merited reputation. It is better to pay two prices for trees of 
 an assured character than to take as a gift trees from doubtful sources. 
 
 VARIETIES TO BE PLANTED. 
 
 The selection of varieties is a matter of considerable importance, and 
 no general rule applicable to the whole United States can be laid down. 
 Many choice peaches do w r ell only in restricted localities. Some are 
 liable to be winterkilled or to be caught in bloom by late frosts; some 
 are uncertain bearers; some mildew and others rot badly; some are 
 too tender for long shipment by rail; some ripen at the same time as 
 better sorts, Avhich are to be preferred ; some, like the Elberta, have 
 many good qualities but fall short of the finest flavor. A variety for 
 commercial purposes must combine as many good points as p issible. 
 The tree must be hardy and productive; the fruit must be of good size, 
 
 •Iu selecting plum stocks care should bo used to secure a variety which makes a 
 good aud lasting union. The Marianua should not be used for a stock. 
 
fine color, and superior flavor, and must be firm enough to stand ship- 
 ment. The grower who contemplates setting an orchard for profit will 
 do well to stick closely to the old and well-tried sorts. If he is plant- 
 ing for home use or pleasure, then he may select a wider range of 
 varieties, including all the choicer sorts, irrespective of other consider- 
 ations. The man who is in the business to make money can well afford 
 to let his neighbor try all the uew sorts. The remarks which follow 
 on the selection of varieties apply especially to the eastern United 
 States, and with the limitations already expressed. 
 
 For market orchards the following have been found the most gener- 
 ally profitable varieties: Alexander, Amsden, Troth, Rivers, Louise, 
 Hale, St. John, Mountain Rose, Crawford Early, Foster, Old Mixon, 
 Stump, Elberta, Crawford Late, Reeves, Wager, Fox Seedling, and 
 Beers Smock. These varieties ripen in about the order named. Owing 
 to special conditions which prevail in the extreme North and at the far 
 South some of these varieties would not be successful. For instance, in 
 Michigan it has been found that Crawford Early is very likely to be 
 winterkilled or caught in blossom by late spring frosts, and a number 
 of other hardier varieties — for example, Barnard and Snows Orange — 
 have been substituted for it. The same is true in Connecticut, where 
 many of the old varieties are liable to be caught by late spring frosts 
 and where the Crosby has proved exceptionally hardy. On the other 
 hand, in Florida many of our choice sorts are nearly worthless owing 
 to the earliness with which they bloom. There and in Texas the so- 
 called Chinese sorts — Peen-to, Honey, and crosses — have proved more 
 successful. In middle and upper Georgia the Elberta has proved one of 
 the best peaches. Husted's No. 80 is also an excellent peach for that 
 locality, ripening a few days after the Alexander. In general for that 
 region early varieties are to be recommended rather than late sorts, 
 which, however fine, would come into competition with Delaware and 
 New Jersey peaches on a falling market. In the mountains of Mary- 
 land certain late varieties not suitable for the lowlands of Delaware 
 and New Jersey have proved exceedingly remunerative, reaching good 
 size and fine color, and coming in late, when the markets are compara- 
 tively empty and prices are high. Among these might be mentioned 
 Salway and Bilyeu. 
 
 CULTIVATION OF THE ORCHARD. 
 
 The orchard subsequent to planting should be cultivated as care- 
 fully as a field of corn. The practice of successful growers varies a 
 good deal in this particular. Some cultivate the orchard from the start 
 without crops; others plant corn or tomatoes between the trees for the 
 first two or three years— that is, until the orchard comes into bearing. 
 There is no objection to this, provided the soil is strong and well fer- 
 tilized; on the contrary, there appear to be some advantages. There 
 is a choice, however, in crops that should be grown, and on no account 
 
10 
 
 should potatoes or wheat be cultivated in orchards. As soon as the 
 
 trees come into bearing no crop of any 
 sort should be grown between them, but 
 each year the orchard should receive a 
 shallow spring plowing and frequent cul- 
 tivations until July. Most of the grow- 
 ers in the middle Eastern States prefer 
 not to cultivate the soil later than this, 
 but in some regions it is the practice 
 to cultivate almost the year round, and 
 even in Delaware very successful grow- 
 ers have followed this practice, keeping 
 the soil stirred from early spring until 
 late autumn. As a rule deep plowing 
 should be avoided. The peach tree is 
 almost as sensitive to clean cultivation 
 as cotton or tobacco, and no man can 
 expect to be very successful in the cul- 
 tivation of the peach who allows his 
 trees to stand in sod or fails to give 
 
 them clean tillage during at least a part of tlie season. 
 
 Fig. 1. — Peach tree in a Maryland 
 orchard, showing customary way of 
 pruning. Stake ahoni '■'■ feel liigh. 
 
 PRUNING. 
 
 Opinions differ as to the proper method of pruning. When the trees 
 are planted they should be cut back to within 1 or 2 feet of the ground, 
 the entire branched top being removed. 
 The remainingbuds will push vigorously, 
 and three or four of these should be se 
 lected to form the new top, care being 
 taken that they come out from different 
 sides of the stem and not too close to- 
 gether, but at a distance of several 
 inches up and down the trunk. When 
 the branches from these buds have 
 grown to be several inches in diameter 
 they should support a spreading or vase- 
 shaped top (rigs. 1, 2, 3). The proper 
 starting of the new top is a matter of 
 some importance, for if all of the 
 branches have been allowed to grow out 
 from nearly the same point on the trunk, 
 when the tree has matured the giving 
 way of a single limb under weight of 
 fruit or stress of wind is very apt to in- 
 volve all the rest and split the trunk 
 from top to bottom. Such mishaps can be readily avoided by starting 
 the main branches at different heights. 
 
 Flo. 2.— reach tree in a Delaware orchard, 
 showing customary way of pruning. 
 Stake, about 3 feet high. 
 
11 
 
 lands of the Eastern States 
 
 For orchards on most of the peach 
 comparatively little pruning appears 
 to be necessary. Some growers prac- 
 tice "shortening in" annually over 
 
 the whole top, but in general this is 
 not desirable. However, if the tree 
 bas made an exceedingly vigorous 
 growth it can be practiced to good 
 advantage, and is generally best done 
 in early spring. The aim in pruning 
 should be to get a tree free from dead 
 wood and full nearly to the main 
 trunk of small branches capable of 
 bearing fruit. Care should be taken 
 in pruning to avoid cutting away bear 
 ing branches from the base of the 
 limbs, for by this method long, strag- 
 gling branches, having fruit-bearing 
 
 limbs at the top only, are Often pro FlG - 3 — I^ach tree in tho same orchard as 
 
 duced. Some growers prune the trees 
 
 so that the main trunk shall be 4 or 5 feet high, but in general this is 
 
 not to be recommended. 
 It is much better to make 
 them branch low in vase 
 form. The only advan- 
 tage of the other method 
 is greater ease in culti- 
 vating close to the tree, 
 and it has on the whole 
 disadvantages which 
 more than counterbal- 
 ance, one of which is the 
 greater exposure of the 
 trunk to hot suns and 
 another the increased 
 danger of injuring the 
 bark of the trunk by 
 plows and cultivators. 
 
 FERTILIZERS. 
 
 Some words are neces 
 sary on the use and mis- 
 use of fertilizers. Unless 
 the trees are on strong 
 land it will be necessary 
 as soon as they come into bearing, and yearly thereafter, to give them 
 
 Fig. 4. — Peach yellows the fourth year. 
 
12 
 
 each spring or autumn some special fertilizer. There can be no objec- 
 tion to the use of well-composted barnyard manure. Where this is not 
 procurable dependence must be put on clover and commercial fertili- 
 zers, taking care always that the latter are obtained from reliable 
 sources. In general the dependence should be on potash salts and 
 phosphates rather than on nitrogenous fertilizers. The peach can be 
 injured readily by excess of nitrogen. Its effect upon the trees is to 
 produce an excessive growth of wood and foliage at the expense of 
 
 A budded tree attacked iu spring and photographed in June. 
 
 the fruit. Fifty to a hundred pounds per acre of nitrate of soda or its 
 equivalent in dried blood or sulphate of ammonia is usually as much 
 nitrogenous fertilizer as any orchard requires and many orchards do 
 not need it at all. Muriate of potash, kainit, or sulphate of potash 
 may be used in large quantities without injury. Four to five hundred 
 pounds per acre will do no harm, provided it is not put too close to the 
 trunks of the trees. 
 
13 
 
 The same remarks apply to dissolved rock phosphates and 
 superphosphates and various bone mixtures. They have been 
 in large quantities, even as high as a 
 thousand pounds per acre, without injury; 
 generally lesser quantities will suffice. 
 Potash salts and phosphates should be 
 put on and plowed down in the autumn 
 and nitrogenous fertilizers always in the 
 spring. Usually the effects of the latter 
 disappear the same season. Where the 
 grower has opportunity to procure un- 
 leached hardwood ashes these also may 
 be used, and can be applied in large quan- 
 tities without injury. A good home made 
 fertilizer can be prepared by composting 
 broken or coarsely ground bones with un- 
 leached hardwood ashes until the bones 
 become soft. The grower who has not 
 tried the effects of regularly fertilizing 
 bearing orchards will be surprised at the 
 difference in quantity and quality of the 
 fruit which will result from careful fertili- 
 zation. Judicious fertilization will bring 
 large returns in the way of tine crops and 
 
 to bone 
 applied 
 
 Fig. 7. — Peach curl (Taphrina deformans) . 
 
 der, e g., cowpeas, crimson clover, etc. 
 
 Fig. 6. — Peach mildew (Sphaerotheca 
 pannosa ?) on stein and fruit. 
 
 good prices. Even the most 
 barren looking yellow sands 
 without clay subsoils can be 
 made to produce enormous 
 crops of luscious fruit year 
 after year by proper atten- 
 tion to cultivation and fer- 
 tilization. Where it is im- 
 possible to procure fertilizers 
 the grower must depend on 
 prolonged cultivation of the 
 soil and the occasional 
 growth in the orchard of 
 green crops for plowing un. 
 Much can be done in the way 
 
 of furnishing an orchard food by repeated stirrings of the soil. 
 
14 
 
 FUNGOUS DISEASES AND INSECT PESTS. 
 
 The peach tree is subject to various diseases, and no oue should ven- 
 ture upon peach growing in a commercial way without having a reason- 
 ably good understanding of what the difficulties are in this direction. 
 Peach yellows (fig. 4) and peach rosette (fig. 5) are two of the most 
 destructive diseases. No remedy is yet known, for either, but experi 
 ence seems to show clearly that yellows may be held in check by the 
 destruction of affected trees as soon as they appear, provided all 
 tbe growers of a community unite in practicing it. In planting an 
 orchard the grower will of course, if possible, select a region free or 
 nearly free from such diseases. These diseases attack all varieties. 
 Mildew (fig. 0), on the contrary, is a fungous disease which appears 
 to be restricted principally to certain sorts — the serrate-leaved varie- 
 ties. It is seriously troublesome only on the Pacific Coast. In the 
 Eastern States the only remedy yet known is to pull out the affected 
 
 varieties and plant others. Peach curl (fig. 7) 
 is a disease distorting the foliage and causing 
 it to fall in spring. It is widespread and 
 very serious some years; other years it is 
 but little prevalent. This disease also has 
 been most troublesome in California. It is 
 due to a fungus which may be held in cheek 
 by spraying, as appears clearly from recent 
 experiments made in California by Newton 
 B. Pierce, of this division. The peach cer- 
 cospora has also given some trouble in Cali- 
 fornia. A fungous trouble known as black 
 
 Black spot of the peach t (fi gv often j eads fco cracking of the 
 
 fruit and subsequent rot, especially in rainy 
 periods. This is most prevalent on late varieties. Kot is one of the 
 most serious troubles that visit the grower. The disease is due to a 
 fungus,' and in wet, hot weather it spreads with great rapidity from fruit 
 to fruit, and even attacks the peaches in baskets on the way to market 
 and while on the fruit stands. It is a disease that winters over in the 
 rotted fruits of the previous year which either remain hanging on 
 the tree or have fallen to the ground, and is to be combated by care- 
 fully removing and burning all affected fruit. If this is not done 
 systematically the crop may be destroyed even before it is out of blos- 
 som. Spraying with copper fungicides has been recommended for this 
 disease, but as yet the evidence in their favor is not entirely conclusive. 
 Sulphur dust blown into the trees during the prevalence of the rot has 
 also been recommended and appears to have some value. A safe, effi- 
 cient powder or spray for the prevention of this disease would be 
 invaluable. 
 
 Crown galls or root galls are irregular tumors on the trunk and 
 roots. These are often of large size and occur most frequently at the 
 
15 
 
 junction of the root and stem. 
 
 the United States, in nurseries as well 
 
 This disease occurs in many parts of 
 
 as in orchards, and is seriously 
 prevalent in parts of New Jersey, 
 Texas, and California. No rem- 
 edy is known, and even the cause 
 is yet to be determined. Many 
 growers think the disease is com- 
 municable, and in planting - or- 
 chards it is safe to reject all trees 
 showing any signs of it. 
 
 The root knot, which should be 
 carefully distinguished from the 
 preceding, is a disease caused by 
 a small "eel worm "or nematode. 
 The knots (fig. 9) due to this cause- 
 are generally much smaller than 
 the preceding, and on microscopic 
 examination of fresh knots it is 
 usually not difficult to find cavi- 
 ties containing the eel worm in 
 various stages of development. 
 This nematode attacks the roots 
 of a great variety of plants and 
 is quite troublesome to the peach 
 in parts of Georgia, Florida, and 
 other Gulf States. The only symp- 
 tom which the writer has seen 
 above ground was scanty growth 
 
 Fig. 9. — Root knots duo to nematodes. 
 
 No good remedy is known. Of 
 course trees affected with root- 
 knot should never be planted. 
 
 Borers (fig. 10) are exceedingly 
 troublesome in some regions, espe- 
 cially on sandy soils. A great 
 number of washes and various 
 labor-saving devices have been 
 recommended, but the best 
 method for dealing with them is 
 the old one of carefully uncover- 
 ing the trunk of the tree at the 
 earth surface and digging them 
 out with a sharp knife. In sandy 
 lands they should be attended to 
 twice a year — spring and fall. It 
 is back -aching work, but can 
 scarcely be trusted to an inexpe- 
 rienced hand, wbo will often do more injury to the trees than an army of 
 
 10. — The peach tree borer (Sanuina exitiosa). 
 (1 and 2, original; 3 and 4, after Riley.) 
 
16 
 
 borers. Of labor-saving devices one of the best, especially for young 
 trees, is the covering of the base of the trunk in early spring with st raw 
 or cheap Chinese matting, the lower end of which should be buried an 
 
 Fig. 12.— Pupa of the pin 
 
 borer. Side view, 20 
 diam. (Forbes.) 
 
 FIG. 13.— Pin borer beetle, 20 diam. 
 (Forbes.) 
 
 Fig. 11 . —Larva of the pin borer 
 ( Scolytiia rugu losus) , enlarged 
 22 diam. (Forbes.) 
 
 fill 
 
 1L 
 
 Fig. 14. — Branch of peach, 
 showing perforations of the 
 pin borer, natural size. 
 (Forbes.) 
 
 Fig. 15. — Denuded branch showing breed- 
 ing chambers, larva? channels, and pupa 
 chambers of the pin borer, natural size. 
 (Forbes.) 
 
 inch or two in the soil. This compels the insect to oviposit on the upper 
 part of the trunk and on the branches, where the larva; are easily found 
 and where they do less general and permanent injury. 
 
17 
 
 The pin borer, a scolytid beetle of European origin (figs. 11, 12, 13, 
 14, 15), has in recent years become rather troublesome in the eastern 
 part of the United States. No good remedy is known, but some trouble 
 can be avoided by annually removing all dead wood from the orchard and 
 taking care that it is not piled anywhere in the vicinity. This should 
 be done in the fall or winter. The insects 
 prefer sickly trees, but while the larva? are 
 generally confined to such trees, the mature 
 beetle often migrates to healthy trees and 
 feeds upon them, to their great injury, the 
 gummy trunks appearing as if peppered with 
 fine shot. The most serious depredations the 
 writer has seen on healthy trees were where 
 piles of dead wood from old peach orchards 
 were placed near healthy trees. Two cases 
 in particular — one in Maryland and the other 
 in western New York — were very striking, 
 the injuries beginning in trees near large piles 
 of dead wood and becoming less and less in trees more remote from 
 these piles until all traces of injury disappeared. 
 
 Brown or black root aphides (figs. 16, 17, 18) are very common in the 
 sandy lands of New Jersey and Delaware, and also occur in other parts 
 of the Eastern States. The insect sometimes appears on parts above 
 
 Fib. 16.— Black peach aphis 
 (Aphis persicceniger), the com 
 mon, wingless, viviparous form. 
 (Slingerlaml.) 
 
 Fig. 17.-Black peach aphis (Aphis persiem-niger), viviparous, winged form. (J. B. Smith.) 
 
 ground, but the chief injury is done while it is out of sight. As before 
 stated, care should be taken that this insect is not introduced into the 
 orchard on the roots of the trees when they are planted, and if there 
 is any reason for thinking that the roots are infested the trees should 
 4800— No. 33 2 
 
18 
 
 either be discarded or else dipped into some insecticide before 
 planting. The underground depredations of this insect stunt the 
 tree so that it dies or makes very little growth for several years. 
 
 Stunted trees may, however, be 
 started into a more vigorous 
 growth by heavy applications of 
 tobacco dust dug into the earth, 
 and they may sometimes be 
 brought out and induced to 
 make a good growth by the ap- 
 plication of strong stable manure. 
 The curculio (fig. 19) is always 
 present, and no safe remedy is 
 known. It can be depended on 
 to take a considerable part of 
 the crop each year, and in years 
 when the yield is scanty it is 
 sometimes content with nothing 
 short of the whole crop. This 
 is especially apt to be the case 
 when spring frosts have unduly 
 thinned the crop or have re- 
 stricted it to particular orchards. 
 Arsenical sprays will hold the 
 
 Fig 18. -Black poach aphis— joints of antenna: Clirculio in check, but are 
 
 «, of young lico; 6, first long joint of winged scarcely to be recommended for 
 
 form: c, second: d, third; e, whip joint;/, top . , , ., 
 
 view; and 0, side view of a single sense pore. the peach, Since they are Very 
 
 (,t. b. Smith.) apt to cause its leaves and fruit 
 
 to fall and may even kill small branches. If used at all the greatest 
 care should be exercised. In some cases it might pay to capture 
 and destroy the beetles by jarring them onto a framework covered 
 with sheets. 
 
 Scale insects have thus far 
 done but little injury to peach 
 trees in the Eastern States; but 
 the enemy is present, and one 
 species in particular, recently in- 
 troduced from the West Indies 
 (a white scale entirely covering 
 trunk and limbs and (prickly 
 killing the tree), is already as far 
 north as Washington D. 0., and 
 is likely to be very troublesome when more generally distributed. 
 Growers should be on the lookout for this pest (fig. 20) and burn 
 infested trees at sight 
 
 FlG. 19. — The curculio (Conotrachelus nenuphar) 
 1, Natural size (original) ; 2, much enlarged 
 (after Howard). 
 
19 
 
 SPRAYING, WASHES, ETC. 
 
 A word about sprays and tree washes in connection with peach-tree 
 diseases is not out of place. Many have been recommended without 
 proper inquiry as to their merits, and the results of their use have 
 been in some cases so disastrous as to prejudice the whole community 
 against any kind of fungicidal or insecticidal treatment. Twice the 
 writer has known of fine orchards being ruined by the application to 
 the trunks of washes containing tar, soap, and arsenites. In one case the 
 grower was obliged to remove a whole orchard 7 years old, the trees 
 being either killed by the application or injured beyond recovery. 
 
 Pig. 20.— The whitewash scale (Diaspis lanatus). a, section of peach trunk with male and female 
 scales in situ, natural size; b, scale of adult female; c, do. male; d, do. in natural position, enlarged 
 (Howard.) 
 
 Spraying the foliage for insect and fungous diseases must also be fol- 
 lowed with unusual caution. The leaves of the peach tree are very 
 sensitive to acids and to arsenical poisons. However, peach trees may 
 be sprayed with Bordeaux mixture without danger, provided proper 
 care be taken in its preparation. The lime must be freshly slaked and 
 must be in excess. 
 
 PICKING AND MARKETING THE FRUIT. 
 
 The first crop of fruit is always a matter of special interest, and the 
 inexperienced grower is likely to allow the trees to overbear if not 
 specially cautioned. After the June drop has passed, if the trees are 
 heavily laden a very considerable number of the peaches should be 
 pulled otT. It takes much less labor to pick them at this time than 
 when they are ripe, and the remaining fruit will be enough larger and 
 better in flavor and color to more than compensate for this thinning. 
 
20 
 
 Thinniug is uot very generally practiced by peach growers in the 
 United States, but if judiciously done no work in the orchard will give 
 better returns. Some of the qualities especially desirable in a crop of 
 peaches are size, flavor, and color. These desirable points can not 
 be expected when the tree is allowed to overbear, in which event the 
 fruit is likely to be small and green and inferior in color, and will bring 
 a correspondingly poor price when put upon the market. The extra 
 labor involved in handling a large crop of inferior fruit is also a 
 matter not to be forgotten. Some years thinning will not be necessary, 
 but in years when the trees are burdened with fruit it should not be 
 omitted. 
 
 Picking and packing are matters which require the personal attention 
 of the grower. These can not be trusted to hired labor without strict 
 oversight. The peach should be picked and packed as carefully as an 
 orange; should never be poured from basket to basket; should never 
 be bruised in handling; should be carefully assorted by grades; and 
 should be put up for market with an eye to attractiveness, so that the 
 best prices may be obtained. It is not strictly proper, however, to put 
 red netting over green fruit. There is just the right time to pick for 
 market, and this is something to be learned by experience — a day too 
 early and the peaches are green, a day too late and they are overripe 
 and will be soft and bruised and unsalable before they reach the con- 
 sumer. No fruit requires greater expedition and better judgment in 
 picking and marketing, and in these particulars the peach is strikingly 
 in contrast with the orange, which never worries the grower, but may 
 be picked and marketed any time from November to April, barring 
 accidents from unexpected frosts. 
 
 In general peach growers in the Eastern States are very careless — 
 almost indifferent — as to the manner of shipping fruit to market, and 
 the result is that such fruit, while often of a very superior quality, 
 rarely brings as good prices as inferior fruit jmt up with special pains 
 to make it attractive. The baskets in general use in the Eastern 
 States are too large for retail trade. Growers of peaches on a large 
 scale in New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland seem to think that they 
 can not handle their vast quantities of fruit in small baskets. Growers 
 in Michigan and California 1 have learned better and send their fruit 
 out in much more attractive form, the result being that they get better 
 prices. Florida f ru it also comes to market in good shape, and the Florida 
 crate is one of the best. The choicest grades of peaches should never be 
 sent to market in large baskets, but each fruit should be wrapped sepa- 
 rately and sent with as much care as eggs if the best prices are 
 desired. For the canning house and the wholesale trade the Delaware 
 
 •The California crate brings the fruit safely in car load lots as far as Chicago, but 
 from this point eastward, in the hands of express companies, sometimes as much as 
 20 per cent of the peaches are bruised so as to be unsalable owing to the thin sides 
 of the crate. These packages should be made of thicker material or else should 
 have a partition through the middle. 
 
21 
 
 basket is undoubtedly one of the most convenient forms for shipment. 
 Inferior fruit should be kept at home and dried or fed to the pig*. The 
 unprofitable handling of a large part of such fruit might be avoided 
 by thinning, a « already suggested. 
 
 On some accounts it is highly desirable that the fruit should be 
 transported by water if the distance is not great and the journey can 
 be made rapidly, otherwise it must go in cars and the extra jar must 
 be compensated for by rapid delivery and sale. Of course when peaches 
 are shipped long distances in warm weather particular pains must be 
 taken to see that the cars are properly iced and that there are no delays 
 in transit, and when they come from the Pacific Coast they must neces- 
 
 FlG. 21. — Peach crates. 1, California; 2, Florida; 2', single basket from same; 3, Michigan; 4, Dela- 
 ware ; 5, North Carolina. 
 
 sarily be picked green. Eastern growers have an advantage over those 
 on the Pacific Coast in the much finer quality of fruit grown and in 
 being near to market, so that their peaches may be allowed to ripen on 
 the tree, something very necessary to the full perfection of this fruit; 
 but these great advantages are largely lost by carelessness in packing 
 and shipping, and consequently the California peach growers are gen- 
 erally able to command a better price in New York markets than East- 
 tern growers. Mention has already been made of the desirability of 
 planting orchards where competition in transportation exists. This 
 affords to growers of the choicest fruit a reasonable guaranty that the 
 whole of their profit will not be swallowed up by exorbitant freight 
 rates. 
 
22 
 
 GLUTS IN THE MARKET. 
 
 In years of great abundance another serious cause of loss is due to 
 what are known as "slumps" in the market. Most Eastern-grown 
 peaches find their way to a few large markets, where prices necessa- 
 rily break down when a large quantity of fruit is suddenly thrown 
 upon them. At times when a glut exists even the best fruit will 
 scarcely pay for the baskets in which it is shipped, much less for 
 transportation, picking, packing, etc., and this may happen several 
 times during the season. This ruinous state of affairs is not attributa- 
 ble to overproduction, but to maldistribution. The crying need in the 
 Eastern States is for a system of distribution which will prevent gluts 
 in the market. It is well known that at the very time when these 
 "slumps" occur in New York and other large centers hundreds of 
 smaller towns in the interior can not procure peaches at any price. 
 
 The writer has frequently paid 5 cents apiece for quite ordinary 
 peaches in interior towns in New York and Pennsylvania and farther 
 west when the finest peaches could scarcely be given away in New 
 York and Philadelphia. This suggests that much loss could be avoided 
 by a well-organized system of distribution. Just how this shall finally 
 be brought about is a difficult problem to solve, but it is certainly one 
 of the things which peach growers must study to accomplish. It is 
 worth tlie earnest consideration of pomological associations, boards of 
 agriculture, and all who are interested in growing peaches. 
 
 It would seem that there might be some arrangement with the local 
 dealers in many of tlie smaller towns in the Eastern United States and 
 with large dealers in the cities whereby telegraphic advice could be 
 sent every day during the season to some centrally located place in 
 each peach region and thence communicated to all the growers. In 
 this way it would be known where the market was full and where 
 empty, and shipment could be arranged accordingly. Cooperation is 
 the keynote of success. Indeed, without hearty cooperation and com- 
 pact organization little or nothing can be accom plished, and yet to 
 secure and maintain such organization presents the chief difficulty. 
 Home consumption is another way to avoid gluts in the market; also 
 the judicious use of canning and drying houses. 
 
 HINDRANCES TO PROFITABLE PEACH CULTURE. 
 
 One of the chief difficulties in the way of successful peach growing 
 is undoubtedly the ignorance of the grower. The man who will not 
 grow choice varieties, prefers seedlings, will not properly thin his fruit, 
 will not properly grade it, will not keep the culls at home, will send to 
 the market when he pleases and where he pleases, and who will not 
 combat insect and fungous pests, can not make peach culture profit- 
 able, and the only thing for him to do is to go out of the business. 
 
23 
 
 Many of the serious troubles which beset growers can be measurably 
 overcome by intelligent foresight. The thing which is least within the 
 range of control is -the weather; yet, while growers can not entirely 
 avoid the mischief of spring frosts or the results of hot and rainy 
 weather, even these may be guarded against. The judicious selection 
 of advantageous orchard sites, and, in special cases, smudges and spray- 
 ings with water will tend to avert the former, while prompt removal of 
 rotting fruit, extra prompt marketing, and particular care in packing 
 for shipment will .do much to remedy the effects of the latter. 
 
 In conclusion it may be said that the labor involved in peach grow- 
 ing is great and the discouragements not a few. The proportion of 
 failures to successes is at least as ten to one, and very few indeed are 
 the men who become " peach kings." The man who is not lull of energy 
 and does not enjoy seeing the sun rise every day in the year had better 
 venture his money in some other business. 
 
 Note. — Since the first edition of this Bulletin fruit growing in the 
 Eastern United States has been seriously threatened, owing to the in- 
 troduction and spread of the San Jose scale (Asj) idiot us pernio ios us). 
 This scale now occurs in hundreds of orchards in the Eastern United 
 States, and has been reported from quite a good many nurseries. This 
 very general dissemination has been traced principally to two large 
 nursery firms in New Jersey. These firms imported infested trees from 
 California in 1880 or 1887 and sent out scale-infested stock for a num- 
 ber of years. The scale has been reported from the following States: 
 Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Mary- 
 land, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Ala- 
 bama, Louisiana, Missouri, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Arizona, New Mexico, 
 California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, and Idaho. 
 
 The San Jose scale is not restricted to the peach, but attacks a great 
 variety of trees and shrubs, including all our common fruit trees, and 
 is generally conceded to be by far the worst scale in the United States, 
 if not in the world. It has seriously injured many orchards in Califor- 
 nia and has already destroyed quite a number on the Atlantic Coast. 
 Great care should be exercised in purchasing stock, and no tree from an 
 infested locality should be planted without rigid inspection. Infested 
 trees should be grubbed up and burned as soon as discovered, even if 
 it requires the taking out of whole orchards. Peach trees are now so 
 cheap and easily grown that it is scarcely worth while to take any risks 
 with uncertain washes and sprays. For further information consult 
 Bulletin No. 3, N. S., Division of Entomology, United States Depart- 
 ment of Agriculture: The San Jose Scale. By L. O. Howard and C. L. 
 Marlatt. 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 24 
 
 FARMERS' BULLETINS. 000 9^7 934 3 
 
 These bulletins :ire sent free of charge to any address upon application to rue 
 Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, 1). C. Only the following are available lor 
 
 distribution : 
 
 No. 16. Leguminous Plants for Green Manuring and for Feeding. Pp.24. 
 
 No. 18. Forage Plants for the Sonth. Pp.30. 
 
 No. 19. Important Insecticides: Directions for Their Preparation and Use. I'p. 20. 
 
 No.21. Barnyaid Manure. Pp.32. 
 
 No. 22. Feeding Farm Animals. Pp.32. 
 
 No. 23. Foods: Nutritive Value and Cost. Pp.32. 
 
 No. 24. Hog Cholera and Swine Plague. Pp. 10. 
 
 No. 25. Peanuts : Culture aud Uses. Pp. 24. 
 
 No.26. Sweet Potatoes: Culture and Uses. Pp. 30. 
 
 No. 27. Flax for Seed and Fiber. Pp. 16. 
 
 No. 28. Weeds; aud How to Kill Them. Pp.30. 
 
 No. 29. Souring of Milk aud Other Changes in Milk Products. Pp. 23. 
 
 No. 30. Grape Diseases on t he Pacilic Coast. Pp.16. 
 
 No. 31. Alfalfa, or Lucern. Pp. 23. 
 
 No. 32. Silos and Silage. Pp.31. 
 
 No. 33. Peach Crowing for Market. Pp.24. 
 
 No. 34. Meats: Composition and Cooking Pp.29. 
 
 No. 35. Potato Culture. Pp.23. 
 
 No. 30. Cotton Seed and Its Products. Pp.16. 
 
 No. 37. Kafir Corn: Characteristics, Culture, and TJses. Pp.12. 
 
 No. 38. Spraying for Fruit Diseases. Pp.12. 
 
 No. 39. Onion Culture. Pp.81. 
 
 No. 40. Farm Drainage. Pp.24. 
 
 No. 41. Fowls: Care and Feeding. Pp.24. 
 
 No. 42. Facts About Milk, Pp.29. 
 
 No. 43. Sewage Disposal on the farm. Pp.22. 
 
 No 44. Commercial Fertilizers. I'p '-'4. 
 
 No. 45. Some Insects Injurious to Stored Grain. Fp. 32. 
 
 No. 46. Irrigation in Humid Climates. Pp.27. 
 
 No. 47. insects Affecting the Cotton Plant. Pp.32. 
 
 No. 48. The Manuring of Cotton. Pp.16. 
 
 No. 49. Sheep Feeding. Pp.24. 
 
 No. 50. Sorghum as a Forage Crop. Pp.24. 
 
 No. 51. Standard Varieties of Chickens. Pp.48. 
 
 No. 52. The Sugar Peet . Pp. 48. 
 
 No. 53. How to Grow Mushrooms. Pp. 20. 
 
 No. 54. Some Common Birds in Their Relation to Agriculture. Pp.40. 
 
 No .55. The Dairy Herd: Its Formation and Management. Pp.24. 
 
 No. 50. Experiment Station Work — I. Pp.30. 
 
 No. 57. Butter Making on the Farm. Pp.15. 
 
 No. 58. The Sov Bean as a Forage Crop. I'p. 24. 
 
 No. 59. Bee Keeping. Pp.32. 
 
 No. till. Methods of Curing Tobacco. Pp. 16. 
 
 No.61. Asparagus Culture. Pp.40. 
 
 No. 02. Marketing Farm Produce. Pp.28. 
 
 No. 03. Care of Milk on the Farm. Pp.40. 
 
 No. 64. Ducks and Geese. Pp.48. 
 
 No. 05. Experiment Station Work — II. Pp.32. 
 
 No. 66. Meadows aud Pastures. Pp. 24. 
 
 No. 07. Forestry for Farmers. Pp.48. 
 
 No. 68. The Black Kot of the Cabbage. Pp. 22. 
 
 No. 69. Experiment Station Work— III. Pp.32. 
 
 No. 70. The Principal Insect Enemies of the Grape. Pp.24. 
 
 No. 71. Some Essentials of Beef Production. Pp. 24. 
 
 No. 72. Cattle Kanges of the Southwest. Pp.32. 
 
 No. 73. Experiment Station Work— IV. Pp.32. 
 
 No. 74. Milk as Food. Pp.39. 
 
 No. 75. The Grain Smuts. Pp.20. 
 
 No. 70. Tomato Growing. Pp.30. 
 
 No.77. The Liming of Soils. Pp. 19. 
 
 No. 78. Experiment Station Work — V. Pp.32. 
 
 No. 79. Experiment Station Work— VI. Pp.28. 
 
 No. 80. The Peach Twig-borer — an Important Enemy of Stone Fruits. Pp. 10. 
 
 No. si. Corn Culture in the South. I'p. 24. 
 
 No.82. The Culture of Tobacco. Pp.23. 
 
 No. 83. Tobacco Soils. Pp. 23. 
 
 N11 St. Experiment Station Work— VII. Pp.32. 
 
 No.85. Fish as Food. Pp.30. 
 
 No. SO. Thirty Poisonous Plants. Pp.32. 
 
 No.h7. Experiment Station Work— VIII. Pp.32. 
 
 No. 88. Alkali Lands. Pp.23. 
 
 No. 89. Cowpeas. Pp. 16. 
 
 No.90. The Manufacture of Sorghum Sirup. Pp. 32. 
 
 No. 91. Potato Diseases and Their Treatment. Pp.12. 
 
 No. 92. Experiment Station Work— IX. Pp.30, 
 
 No.93. Sugar as Food. Pp. 27. 
 
 No. 91. The Vegetable Garden. Pp. 24, 
 
 No.95. Good Roads for Farmers. Pp.47. 
 
 No.'.io. Raising Sheep for Mutton, (hi press 1 
 
A 
 
 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 0000^17^343