Delaware tribune. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1867-1877, 1870-02-17
MONTGOMERY County, Pa, Fed, Is;


THE DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED IN OUR
CLIMATE.
| have read with interest your somewhat
extended report of the East Pennsylvania
Fruit Growers Meeting at Lancaster. But
it was an interest accompanied by feeling
Of encouragement and fatigue. That intel
ligent gentlemen, who have spent years in
the study and practice of fruit culture, should
be unable TO agree upon single point, is
anything but inspiring. Each one appears to
have his pet theory and practice, which eat
each other up us clFectually as the Kilkenny
cats of ancient memory. No wonder Mr..
Meehan leaves to the next generation the
task of proving ours 10 be good soil and
climate for fruit growing. If we arc, after so
many years of discussion and experiment,
still ignorant Of the natural laws which
govern vegetation, it is to be feared our i'm
mediate successors will hardly reach de-
cision.
But after all, the trouble is not so much d
want of knowledge as systematic ignoring
Of the facts of the case. Mr.. Harrison
does not want us to grow native grapes I'M
der glass, because, it will discourage at
tempts to overcome the diDicuitics of cu-
tivating them in the open air" Here we
have fair sample of the spirit which ami
mates too many OF our leading IIortlcultu-
rists-a determination to succeed, in spite
of the laws which govern vegetation. 1t is
some years since the decision went forth
that we have soil and climate adapted 10
grape growing, and it seems to bea settled
point that those words shall he made good.
Would ii not promote progress to own
ourselves beat, and acknowledge the fact,
that ours is tickle climate, and that frui,
growing is not reliable business on the At
lantic coast, except in particular localities :
To make the situation more difficult oui
Goths and Vandals have slain the forests
and the birds, until they have made it much
worse than Nature ever intended it should
be. Have we not fought it out on the lin,
oil special manures, special nostrums, andspc.
cial modes of trimming, until it is no longer
| tenable?
There is nothing the matter with our soil
as genera. thing, but with our climate
there is everything to contend AGAINST, ant
we may as well acknowledge the fact tha
much the greater number of our fruits re
quire, and must have, shelter of some kind
to insure anything like uniform success
Why had we so general and abundant
fruit crop last year. Simply becausc tin
previous winter lad bccn one Ut llnlsli.l
moderation and uniformity Of temperature
and il the present Winter and coming Sprip,
continue moderate to the end, we shall hay
another crop Of almost equal abundance
But these are the exceptions to the rule, an
so will our crops Of fruit continue to be, IN
til we can afford them that protection iror
winter and summer extremes, which III
laws OF vegetation demand.
A law to prevent telegraph builders frol
disfigurins trees and shrubbcry may be a
well enough, but some steps taken to el
tighten our farming population ON the in
| peratiye necessity of arresting the slaught,
, OF our forests and insect destroying bird
would have been more 10 the purpose.
did not take many years TO prove that Cal
fornia is particularly adapted to fruit.
! will take generations to restore TO us, VIII
Ignorance and cupidity have swept ava
! and place us where our fathers began.
the mean time let us grow grapes und
glass, or any other shelter available. "
are too fond Of good fruit to wait for comil
generations to supply it.
8 j. C. j.
Mill CREEK, DEL. February, 1870.