The daily gazette., 1875-04-23
Letter from Samuel Townsend.
For the Gazette.

Mr.. JOHNSON :-On my return home
yesterday from the lower portion of Som
erset county, Md, near Virginia, saw
In your paper the opinions of several of
my old peach growing friends, and l will
add mine, on peaches and small fruits.
and what 1 have seen below for the last
few days this week. On last Friday
cold, there was light rain late in the
evening and it froze the ground hard
enough that night to bear horse and
wagon; on Saturday morning, the buds
being wet the night before there was
good many injured. Saturday night not
SO many were killed. Sunday evening
light skirt of snow froze hard that
night. and the buds being dampened q
great many were killed. Monday, Tues
day and Wednesday the buds have been
dryer and, less number hurt. Peach
orchards as you come up. are generally
out in blossom to Seaford. and scatter
ing blossoms above to Harrington. In
the great strawberry district below Sal
isbury down 70. Virginia, there are
good many blossoms out; the further
you 60 down the more of these blossoms
ale out and all killed; they would have
been the first pickings. The crop will be
delayed five or six days, but if warm
showery weather follows this cold wealth
er, the strawberry crop will be an aver
age crop. For there is always more bios
SONS and young set berries than the
vines can fill up. All asparagus ready
ground. It will be delayed as berries, for
new shoots. Now as to peaches, although
they are in bloom below, they are not all
killed by long ways, and after enter
ing Delaware on my way up, found
where it was colder the less number of
blossoms opened. There is difference
of one day in every twelve miles, SO that
the buds as you approach the upper end
OF the peach district, say Kirkwood.
are smaller and can bear more cold.
Now peach growers will bear IN mind,
that taking the whole peach district,
both Delaware and the Easternshore OF
Maryland into consideration, there never
| was as many good peach buds as there
was this day, week ago, and although we
have had several cold nights, and two
/ particularly bad ones Oh peach buds,
/ Fiday and Sunday nights, there is. in my
| opinion, enough left yet to make good
crop. Nearly all varieties have plenty
Of buds to spare yet, in fact, up here the
most dang time is to come yet; first.
| when they are in full bloom, and then
| again, ten days after, when the young
/ p ,acbes burst out from the blossom.
Therefore peach growers don't be alarm
/ Gu yet, there Is always millions OF bios
SONS to spare, and some may as well be
killed in the blossom, as to have the
young peaches killed after they set; it
1 wenkens the twigs more than to lose
some OF the blossoms before the fruit
sets, for then the young peach draws
sap. However, as every peach grower
knows, there Is six weeks ordeal yet, OF
nearly so, for the peach crop to pass
through, after that it is safe. There is
risk in all crops; we have passed through
lJanuary, February, March and nearly
through April, and 1 think to-day, there
is a good prospect for a good crop, al
down the peach growing district, and
six weeks more of favorable weaihe
will make it safe.
| SAMUEL TOWNSEND.
| Townsend, Del, April 90. 1875.