The Orchard.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 978, 28 November 1890, Page 22

The Orchard.

EXHAUSTED PEACH SOIL. Honry A. Elbert, a veteran peacb-grower of Delaware, talking with a New York Star reporter lately, said that the real oanse of ‘the peach failure is that in Delaware,ai well as in most of the other peach-growing States, the soil has absolutely exhausted itself for peach production. That is really the secret, and the reason why the peach crop, especially In Delawaie, has been growing less in proportion to the amount of work expended upon it during the last ten years.. Peach-growers, as a general thing; in America, have made considerable money, and have made it easily. The care of their trees, once they reach the bearing stages, costs but little, and the conservative old fellows sat down in their farm bouses quietly and just let the prioe of the frnit drop into their laps. They starved the soil, and they are now reaping the coneeqnenoes. They are beginning to find out that tbe soil of a peach orchard . requires fertilizing just as much as the wheat farm does, and until such aids to fruit growing have been properly used the peach crop cannot be expected to be as generous a one as it has been for several years past.’ THE SOIL OF ORCHARDS. It Is a well-known fact that the different varieties of fruit trees do not bloom and ripen their fruit in all parts of this country alike, or at the same time. The climate Is usually held responsible for this. Fruitgrowers, upon hearing of tho good quality of a certain variety of fruit grown in another part of the country, have often sent off for and planted it. If tbe result has failed to correspond to the time and labour bestowed upon it, the grower at once jumps at the conclusion that the climate is noc favourable, or that the originator is a fraud. This, however, is a great mistake in many oases. Had the soil upon which this particnlat fruit done so well been thoroughly examined, both as to its exposure and com. position, and had the knowledge thus gained been brought to a practical use, a different result would have followed. The soil, as a whole, has more influence over tho growth of plants and trees than the climate itself. The latter does all in the way of hastening or retarding the ripening of the fruit, but the former certainly inflaencel greatly the life and progress of the tree, inasmuch aB it gives or withholds the nourishment. Hence the value of. a speoisl manure is evidenced. Lime and its phos* phatea oonstituto the main ingredients of *l* fertilisers for fruit trees, and many old and worn-out orchards have been made young by a judicious application of lime, ashes, so. In nine oases out of every ten, where » certain variety of fruit, which has always done well, suddenly refuses to bloom ana bear, the oauso will be found in the Iso* ®* these necessary mineral substances. A liberal application of wood ashes, or wood ashes and lime, will, in nearly all such easefi again bring the trees to their former hesltnyj bearing state. Analyses of the composition of ground for orohards have In the last * years convinced many that very mooh.beW' tofore aooredited to the olimate was simp y caused by the absence of these necessary *“• organio and mineral substances of the so* • This being the esse let us draw a les** from the above, i.e. s—ln getting pi**. * trees, Jco., from other parts, let os in. upon having a correot analysis of * h ® t upon which that fruit attained its . perfection. Thu 3 we could pl»nt Y* em ,- the same kind of soil and suffer far I®*® appointments in the result.' would soon beoome accustomed to tnis order of things, and oomplalnts over w of extra good sorts of frnit would beooW : oxoeptions where they are now the roi*i