The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1878-11-23
On THE EASTERN SHORE.
From LippineoRs Magazine.
CONTINUED.

From Lippineons Magazine.
LAND INDUSTRIES.
If there is anything besides oysters which
gives a marked and peculiar character To
the Eastern Shore of Maryland, it is fruit
Large or small, wild or cultivated. growing
on vines on trees, on bushes, by the road,
side. in the woods, in the orchards and gar
dens and private yards, from May to No
vember, wherever one may turn, he will
certainly find fruit. The soil and climate
seem to be peculiarly adapted to the pro-
duction of this class of vegetation, and Ma
ture requires but the gentlest hint to make
her pour out wealth of ripened sweetness
which over-supplies every demand. 1t is
most probable that the Matapeakes and
Nantcokes, who owned the soil before
Claiborne or Cecil laid claim tn 1t, were
content with the biackberries and whGrtle-
berries, the hog plums or mountain
cherries" the persimmons and black haws
which grew then, as now, in rich profusion
on every kind of soil; and perhaps the
rounded butts of the stone axes, which are
still found on their old hunting grounds,
were designed TO crush the hard shells Of
the walnut and hickory nut, as the sharp
edge did the skulls of the Delaware and
Susquehanna braves. But now. thanks to
the kind offices of the woodpecker, the
robin and the squirrel. the variety and
quality of the wild fruits have been in
creased tenfold. In this way the straw
berry and raspberry have escaped from the
limits of cultivation, and may be found
iostling their wilder brethren in the old
fields and meadows. The cherry has be-
come oEe of the commonest shade trees
along the roads, the stones having been
dropped by the birds from their perches on
the fence posts with as much regularity rs
if man had planted them. the trees attain
ing very large size and the fruit being
often of excellent quality. So also with
the apple, the peach and the pear, the seeds
and stones of which have been widely scat
tered by feathered and furred deprcdators,
and wherever falling, seeming to find
suitable environment" Sotwithstand.
ing this peculiar adaptability Of the soil to
such crops, but little attention was paid to
their culture until within the last fifteen
years. The demand indeed, has risen so
rapidly since the introduction of hermeti
cally- sealed cans that the farmer has been
compelled to exchange his wheat fields for
orchards and berry patches. Ten years ago
ten thousand bushels of peaches would
have created a glut in the Baltimore market
on any day of the season. Last year that
city alone consumed thirty thousand bush
els day, while the opening Of other mark
cts by improved means of transportation
probably quadrupled that demand at the
! least. And yet thousands of bushels were
distributed gratuitously among the poor
| thousands more flung into the docks and
on the city dumping grounds, and proba-
bly, one-third of the crop never reached
the city markets at all, but was consumed
on the farm or left to rot where it fell.
I The culture OF the peach is not confined
to any section, but is extensively carried
on all over the Shore. BY far the greatest
number of trees. however, are TO be found
in the counties of Kent and Quecn Anne.
For distance of ten miles, by at least two
I in width, the banks of the upper Chester
form a continuation of orchards, one Of
which alone, known as the Round Top"
contains over one thousand acres. This
/ little river is navgable for not quite Thirty
miles, yet in 1879 it required seven steam
ers and more than twice that number of
sailing craft To carry its peaches to maIket
and that notwithstanding the facilities of
fered to the same country by two lines Of
railroad. These boats carried at least ten
thousand bushels of peaches day. the rail
roads carrying from three TO ten car loads
daily. During the same season the Dor
chester and Delaware Railroad. 4 short line
between Cambridge, in Dorchester county.
and Seaford, Delaware, carried l3i. O9i
baskets of peaches, besides 4,212 baskets
Of apples, pears and ounces. II, 80 buck
cts of blackberries. 39l Gal quarts of straw
berries, and 90, AS quarts and 10, lG. buck
cts of other " small fruits the ordinary
painted wood water bucket being used for
carrying berries. Besides the fruit shipped
in its natural state, there were put up in
1915, in Queen Anne county alone, 900,-
900 three POUND cans of peaches, and 3d.
600 pounds of fruit were dried. No ac-
count is here taken of the very large guam.
tity of refuse peaches sent to the still, or
of the number of boxes preserved and
canned at home for family use
These figures will give some idea of the
enormous quantity of fruit of various kinds
and especially Of peaches-which East.
ern Maryland produces, the yield Of Della
ware being 1T least equal. Without any
question, this peninsula is capable of
supplying the world, oven if the world
should very largely increase its capacity for
eating canned peaches and drinking peach
brandy. An immense area is still devoted
to wheat and corn which would do better
in fruit, and which will certainly be put in
fruit if remuuerative demand shall arise
The two great problems which are now
occupying the mind Of the fruit farmer are
how to transport his peaches in fresh
state 10 ulslabt markets, ana now 10 pre-
vent his orchards from bearing more peaches
than he can sell. Two or three consecu.
tive crops like that of 1879 would ruin all
the growers. The trees, being overtaxed,
yielded understood and inferior fruit. which
was generally too small for canning pur-
poses, but which served to glut the market
and lower the price of the finer qualities
Such was the quantity that only about two.
thirds could he gathered, and of these a
large proportion could not be transported:
the markets were gluttcd the whole season
through, and the majority of shippers failed
to clear expenses. In many cases whole
consiguments were returned to the farmer,
who had to pay freight both ways, because
the commission merchant could neither
sell the fruit nor have it hauled away TO
be destroyed.
The culture nf the mach pnssesseS MANI