871. The first work after a settlement is to plant a peach and apple orchard, placing the trees alternately. The peach, being short-lived, is soon removed, and its place covered by the branches of the apple trees. (Kingdom's Guide to America, &c., p. 5.) The seeds of pumpkins are scattered in the field, when planting the corn, and no further trouble is necessary than throwing them into the waggon when ripe. They weigh from thirty to forty pounds each ; and cattle and hogs are fond of them. In Maryland, Virginia, and the neighbouring provinces of the United States, peaches are propagated invariably from the stone. The fruit is used for feeding hogs, and distilled for brandy. In Virginia, the prickly pear abounds in the woods, and is reckoned a cooling, grateful fruit. (Braddick, in Hart. Trans., vol. ii.)
