Middletown transcript., 1874-10-10

each bay up into the heart of the main
, land. afording good and convenier
$ landings for fertilizers, to make crops
i and depots for the removal Of thos
e crops when made, and ready for market
e 1t may be doubted whether there ar
e dozen farms on the Peninsula te
miles from landing on tide water.
Besides all this, a well establishes
) and admirably regulated system of rail
. ings running from one end Of the pc
ninsula to the other. with frequen
, branches to the waters of the Chesapeak
{ and Delaware bays.
, And then us to markets. The mar
kets oil the world are almost at you
doors Baltimore on the south. Phila
delphia nearby on the northwest, and a
short half days steam voyage, New
York, with her daily lines Of steamers Il
Europe No long transportation ove'
railways whose charges eat up nearly the
entire value Of the western farmers
grain-until corn is used as fuel in Iii
nois, when the farmers Of Delaware are
selling theirs for IS cents per bushel.
Our farmers receive, within few cents
per bushel. the prices of grain on ship
board bound for Liverpool.
Our climate is mild and temperate,
admitting the early growth of vegeta-
bles and fruit, and the successful plant
ing of crops that require long season
for their growth and maturity. Not
only all the cereal grains are produced
abundantly. but cotton has been raised
in every county in Delaware, and in
the southern portion Of the peninsula
could now be produced with as much
success as in many portions Of North
Carolina and Virginia.
Tobacco, of course, is grown; and
my surprise is that its cultivation is
not more extended.
The close approach Of the Gulf
stream to our coast; the presence Of
two such grand bodies of water as the
Chesapeake and Delaware Bays, on
either side, all tend to modify the ex-
treme changes of heat and cold.
The snow which, for weeks and
months, lies among the hills of Penn
sylvania, melts in few days, at most,
even in our upper county of New
Castle.
[ am indebted to the kindness of our
estimable fellow citizen of Wilmington,
Mr.. Edward Tatnall, who ranks high,
as scientific botanist and forist-for
the following statement New Castle
County is certainly the richest in varie-
ty of its fora. probably in the United
States it lies between the extremes Of
temperature and contains almost every
variety of soil. On the hills Of the
Brandywine, White Clay and Red Clay
Creeks, We End the original granite
formation, whilst at their mouths and
on the Christiana, we have the alluvial
deposits just forming. In different
parts Of the county We have all the in
termediale states. The gravelly shores
Of the Delaware river Gin patches) fur
nish one class Of plants, and the pre-
vailisg muddy shores of the same river
supply very different class. Again
we have the plants that grow only in
or near the purest spring water and in
the lower part of the county those that
grow only in salt or brackish water.
We have numerous sphagnous swamps
throughout the county, and near Col
Inns Beach a cedar swamp which has
its own peculiar fora On the Bran
DIVINE and Red Clay Greeks, we 6nd
plants that are found elsewhere only on
mountains. We have, then, every d.
versity Of climate and soil and situa-
ton. Our county contains 512 square
miles, while Chester county. our near
est neighbour (proverbially rich in soil
and productivenes, but without the d.
versity) has 738 square miles. Our
county. within its contracted limits,
contains over eelven hundred species,
(1130) whilst Chester county contains
but 93S, and some of them have been
reduced to varieties. We must remem-
ber too, that the latter county has been
thoroughly searched. whilst ours has
been but partially. In further compar-
ison, the northern United States (north
of North Carolina and Tennessee, and
including large part of Canada, con-
tanning 600, 900 square miles, contain
ing all told, little over 2,400 species,
many Of them peculiar to high latitudes
or alpine regions. You will perceive
that in our 512 square miles we have
nearly one-half Of the fora Of that
whole region Is any further evidence
needed I? It is remarkably strange that
we have cultivated several plants which
are otherwise peculiar to the south
Only recently Mr.. Candy has found, at
FELTON,, plant which has hitherto been
found only in Georgia" And this e.
quability and moderation of climate is
not at the expense of enervation or mi
asmatic diseases to our inhabitants
Their average length Of life is full as
high, and l imagine, in point of stature
and vigor, our men of Delaware and
Maryland will be found as stalwart as
any of their countrymen.
In the county Of Sussex, 10 this
State, this is especially the case, for I
have been in company with parties Of
men there, and, although six feet in my
stockings, found myself one Of the
short men Of the assembly. Of the
better and fairer part Of creation. whom
Heaven in its goodness has sent to
gladden. our hearts and eyes, can only
say, that among admitted facts, things
not to be gainsaid or drawn into ques-
tion-a social axiom in this Peninsula,
is that our mothers, wives, sisters,
daughters and sweet-hearts, are simply
the best and loveliest in the world, and
we will never hear or believe anything
to the contrary.
The recognition Of our Peninsula as
the Home of the Peach" has already
been gained from our northern friends
n