Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 2 · column 3 of 9 · from the scan, no model involved
It such a site is not immediately ovbious. Owings recommends a spot with good air circulation and drainage. "You’ll notice how the orchards here seem to be clustered.” Owings said. "Most of them are south of Huntly and west of Ben Venue.”
Owings said that although the life of a peach tree is about twenty years, conditions here seem to promote longer life. “1 think there are some peach trees on Red Oak Mountain that have been there for fifty years.” he said. Alice Wood, who owns Sunnyside orchards in Harris Hollow, said that she has trees that have been bearing heavily for well over twenty years. “Of course we prune them to encourage growth,” she said.
Owings said that the peach production in Rappahannock County is nowhere near the size of the apple crop. “But still, peaches provide a substantial income for the eight to twelve growers here. And for those who also grow apples, peaches provide diversification and more efficient use of labor and equipment."
Several years ago a study estimated the peach yield of Rappahannock County at 20.000 bushels, but there are no recent studies per bushel to compare. Alice Wood said she thought that the peach yield must be a great deal higher now. “Last year I sold 10.000 bushels just from my orchard." she said. ‘“That was an unusually high yield but it gives you some idea of what you could expect county-wide.” About twenty years ago. Rappahannock ranked tenth in peach production for Virginia.
Although peach yield in bushels is hard to determine
86.7%