The daily gazette., 1877-05-21
Peach Growers Meeting
WHAT WILL THE PEACH
CROP BE?
CONFLICTING VIEWS OF THE GROW.
ERS.
Large, SmdH and Aoerdge Crops Pre-
dicted.

Large Meeting of fkhe Peach Raisers-Railroao
QWctdts Present- Pdrioals Estimates Of tht
EIfem cfHe CfOp-Discussion of iShiDpin6
| arrangements, &c.
In response to pubishedc large
number of peach growers, representing
nearly every section of the peach growing
district of the Peninsula, assembled al
Middletown, Saturday afternoon, for the
purpose of discussing .he prospects of the
crop and the arrangements for shipping
the fruit to market. Among those pres
ent were several railroad officials and
commission men, including j. N. Mills
of the p, W. & b.; Willard Block, of the
p. Il r.; Thomas III. Stanford, of the
Baltimore & Ohio; E. A. Howell, of the
Pennsylvania Manlove Hayes, of the
Delaware; and j. III. Nixon, one of the
leeading commission merchants of New
York.
The meeting organized by the selection
of Sewall G. Biggs, of Summit Bridge, =
| President, and j Thomas Budd, of Mid
| dletown, as Secretary.
Mr.. W. n. Willetts, of Middletowr,
after stating the object of the meeting,
said it was generally conceded that the
coming peach crop would be very large
one, and therefore it was necessary to
make such arrangements for shipping the
fruit as would prove remunerative to the
growers. He understood the Railroad
officials desired the growers to sell the
baskets with the fruit, instead of having
them returned, and deemed it advisable
to appoint committee to wait on the
Railroad officials, with view to securing
cheap, prompt and convenient shlpmen'T.
Samuel Townsend, of Townsend, prt =.
ceeded to give his views in regard to the
probable extent of the coming crop. He
was of the opinion that the crop would
not be in extent more than two-fifUhs of
the great crop of 1875, and ridiculed the
ideas of the newspaper correspondents
who had recently made an estimate of
20,000,000 baskets, and of the Philadel-
phia Journalists who, during trip to the
an estimate of 1000, 900 baskets. He said
the snow and bad weather of the first
part of March had severely injured the
trees, and that in the district extending
from Brldgeville to Princess Anne, the
crop would be exceedingly light. i
A call for estimates by stations We
then made, with the following response {:
Henry Clayton, of Mt. Pleasant, said
ths' in his neighborhood the late varie-
ties were badly injured, but the earlier
varieties gave promise of fair crop. The
entire crop, in his opinion, would be
about two.flfths of the crop of 1875.
Mr.. H. N. Willets, speaking for the
Middletown District, said the Smocks
MI 10 nlxT f1ot
other varieties would produce fair crop.
In response to question by Hon. B. L.
Biggs, as to whether the shipments from
Middletown would equal those of 1875,
Mr.. Willets said he did not think they
would.
Edwin r. Cochran, speaking also for
Middletown, said he had only examined
few orchards, but was of the opinion
that the prospects were excellent He
thought the shipments from Middletown
station would reach 100000 baskets.
MIR. Townsend insisted that it was too
early to make any correct estimates. Last
year on the 10Th Of May, the trees con-
tanned thousands of peaches, and yet the
crop did not turn out near so well as in
1875. Being asked for an estimate of
shipments from Townsend station, Mr..
T. said they would amount to about |
of the shipments in 1875.
Mr.. George W. Cummins, of Smyrna,
said he had read the peach crop estimates
as prepared by the Philadelphia Journal
lists, and also Mr.. Townsend's opinion of |
the subject, as contained in recent let
ter published in the GAZETTE. He
thought Mr.. Townsend was more correct
than the journalists, and that the coming
crop would not be more than one half of
,he crop OF 1875. He would be glad il
MS crop turned out one-third as wei, l,and
irmly believed the trees would shed mil
ions of peaches during the next few
weeks.
Mr.. Charles III. Brown, of Dover, said
hat the district embracing Dover, Moor
on and Brenford could be put down for
rom one-fourth to one-third of the crop
,f 1875.
DIR. Henry Ridgely, OF Dover said that
n the district east of Dover, tow ards the
,ay, it would require the maturing of
,yerv peach now on the trees TO make
rood crop; west of Dover the trees were
oaded. He thought the shipments from
Dover station would reach between 49,
100 and 100000 baskets.
MIR Jacob G. Brown, of North Murder
kill Hundred, expects to ship 10000 bas-
,ets this year. In the Camden and Wy
,ming district, he said the yield had new
II promised more abundantly, and the
rop wolld equal, if not exceed, the
,reat crop Of 1915. Il
His advices from the district around
Oelton and Canterbury were also favera-
lie, and indicated an unusually large +;
ield
The President stated that he had re-
eived advices from Bridgeville to the eff 8
ect that with the exception of the Troth's t
nd a few other early varieties the pros :
ect for an average crop was fair. 1t
,ould not, however, be anything like the ,
rop of 1875.
MIR. E. G. Kinckendale said that the /
istricL between Harrington and Milford {
,ould produce as great, if not greater G
rop than in 1875. q
Mr. S. S. Hoff spoke for Lincoln and
iciHity, where, ne said, the crop would
e light. Around Georgetown the early ;
arieties promise well, but the Smock's /
re entirely killed, and the condition of S
he late varieties is not very encouraging. {