Smyrna times., 1873-05-21

PEACH PRoPHEsY SO far we have invested
no speculations upon the peach prospect.
Past experience has taught US that such specu
lations, unless followed up every week, and
made to suit the weather. are not worth much
There are so many slips between the bud and the
fruit that those who assume the task of the peach
prophet generally succeeded only in proving
that they are by no means masters in prophesy.
We therefore prefer to keep quiet ON the sub
ject. In June, after the frosts have subsided,
and when there is nothing but whitening
droughts aud pelting hail storms to seriously
interfere with the young fruit, something like
q safe prediction may be entered upon. That
prediction will be made at the proper time by
the Fruit Growers Association and the Rail-
road Company. Wewill wait for those predic.
tions. To predicate anything on the present
prospect" is sheer folly, for the simple reason
that those prospects may not hold good twenty.
four hours. Some of our Wilmington ex-
changes, last week, were talking rather wisely
about the crop, and seemed to be very precise
in their figures in footing up the yield, but
those figures are worth nothing now, if, indeed
they ever had any value. Since they were
given to the public there has been considerable
damage done to the crop throughout the State
if we may believe what the growers tell US
The farmers Of this sec' ion unite to a man in
this assertion, and some of them tell US thai
their crops are nearly or quite ruined. The
frosts of the past two weeks have worked the
injury. In number OF the orchards around
this town the young wood is killed outright or
many of the trees. and the ends Of the twig,
look as if they bad been scorched by fire. Th,
injury is particularly manifest in the Low
grounds. Some of the growers tell us tha
their trees will yield quite as much fruit q
they wish them 70, while others say they vii
have little or no fruit at all but all agree a
to the injury that has been done. Differen
localities show different degrees Of injury.
This injury, so late in the season, calls t
mind the disaster of 1868, the year Of tn
"total failure" Up to the first week in June
the farmers tell us, the prospects for full GRO
were never mors fattering Every grove
was looking forward to a rich harvest an
plethoric purse, and the papers had figure
up the yield with great precision, when tn
frost of a single night blghted the young fru
and the hopes of the farmers. The failur
was so complete and disastrous that it wa
feared for time that peach culture would
swept from the land. 1t is therefore to soon I
make predictions, unless we follow them u
daily, like "Old Probabilities, and even the
we will have to have something better tina
guess work.
To show how wild these newspaper specul
tiOus are it is only necessary to refer to q
article that appeared in the Germantov
T}qr7Ih last week, relative to the crop. III
author OF the article Is Peach Grower"
Kent county, Md. He estimates that the yie
for this season will be four million baskets,
four-sevenths of crop, while full crop wou
be at least seven million baskets. The Coz
1lercidt, we see, boots at the idea of full CT
figuring up any such enormous amount, VIII
the Erery Eecning thinks that nine mill
baskets would be nearer the correct estima
The value OF these estimates are fifty shown
the reckless range they take. And they
fully as valuable for reference as the oil
estimates that have been made about the cr
this season.