The daily gazette., 1876-06-22
4 Letter from Samuel To,cuseud.
For theDe!a ware Gazette.


TOWNSEND, June %, 1876.
Ihere has been two long articles in
the Herad, rendering advice to fruit
growers and shippers of fruit from Della :
ware and Maryland. The writer thinks
he has found a mares nest. He says
some commission men in New York have
too many Strawberries to sell-that they
should be more eyeAly divided among
salesmen. That would help but little,
as the men who lake the best returns
IN the shortest time, generally get the
most business, but the great cause Of
low prices, or, the principal causes of low
prices are, first, scarcity Of money; as bla-
tent fools are crying out, shri hiking val
des down TO a specie basis, and that spe-
Gle sliding out OF the country as T. 81 3
1t Is mined out OF the earth the next
cause IS an Over-production of strawber-
ries. There are twice too many acres in
strawberries in Delaware and Maryland.
Plough up one-half, Il am doing i'll and
reduce picking TO one cent per quart.
The next cause is the p. W. 4; b. X. K.
Company. They are an old passenger
company, and for what freight they had
before he fruit trade sprang up they
had tight bcx cars, but through the act
ion OF tn" Pcninsular Fruit Growers
Associa' tney got said company to
put stat doors in the side and lattice
window Of about 2y2l feet in each end ,
and this is all the ventilation said cars
have, and then talk of opening line to
Boston to take berries or peaches in hot
days in such cars? it is a failure and
dead loss to the grower and shipper.
This season | went to Philadelphia and
insisted that SLATED cars should be put
on the Boston and New York line, and
thought had the promise, but saw no
such Cars, therefore did not attempt to
ship any to Boston; and every hot day
and hot night the berries could not be
carried to New York in the kind Of her.
mophodite-half grain and half fruit
cars-and therefore the berries arrived
soft and in many instances did not pay
freight.
And fruit growers pelow Delmar, on
what is called the Il. S. Railroad, be-
tween Delmar and Cris6eld, are still un-
der the disadvantage of another arrange
ment, and the line that takes berries to
New York passes Kingston Station about
8 a. m. therefore the berries must be
picked the day before and pass through
the first hot night at home, and all of
noxt day and another hot night on the
way to Jersey City; hence berries bring
nothing. And berries intended for Phila-
delphia pass Kingston about 10 a. IN.
Now such arrangements as this said Z.
s. Railroad, is a perfect curse to berry
growers in lower Maryland, some of
whom went down and bought land in
good faith, while the p. w. Railroad had
the management of 1T, and engines and
cars to work the road. The carelessness
on this said &. S. Railroad is so great that
in many cases the end car windows are
still shut and there is no ventilation,
and therefore berries must rot. IL the
road was under the management Of the
p. W. & B. Railroad, all berries destined
for both Philadelphia and New York
could be picked the same day they are
shipped and therefore be only cne night
out, for the New York train could leave
Crisfeld at IL m and the Philadelphia
train at 8 p. M, and take fresh berries,
picked that day, by both lines. But in
stead, the berry growers in lower Mary
land must suffer, becouse this poor-house
e. s. Railroad has not the stock or dispo-
sition to do justice to the men who ship
by their line.
The best fruit cars that have ever been
down the Delaware Railroad were the
Empire Slated cars, last year, to carry
peaches. The berry growers have got to
do one of two things, either the railroad
companies must furnish Slated, well
ventilated cars, with coed springs and
make faster time. or the growers of fruit
must cut down their orchards, plough
up their berry patches, and fall back
again on something else.
SAMUEL, TOWNSEND,