Delaware state journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1870-1883, 1880-07-08
haour TIE PEACH CROP.

showing How There May He No
Fruit In One Section of the Penin-
suIa and Plenty In Another, and
Explaining some Things thai Out
sidsrs Generally Fail TO Under
stand.
Editor E1ery Eutniag: Pennsy lvania
and New York papers have much to say ty
way of ridicule concerning the croakings
of Delaware fruit growers about the
annual" as they are pleased to call it,
failure of the peach crop. As though the
honorable fruit growers of Delaware would
Intentionally misrepresent the facts
I could fill column of the EVERY
EVENING or DELAWARE STATE JOURNAL
that old staunch and reliable wes ky, nov
reeenerated thanks to the enterprise OF
The Every Evening Publishing Company
with innuendo and scurrilous filings at
the honor of Delaware fruit growers,
either in spreading gloomy reports about
the annual destruction of the peach crop
or else of unduly maguifyiug its import
apce. But | will not ask tho space.
Allow me to say to those who are ignorant
of our true position TINT il they would
consider the extent of the peach growing
district, the variety OF its soil, its exposure
to the Delaware bay on the East. Its water
shed lying On the line of the p, W. B
II. r., and its western exposure to the
Chesapeake bay, they would no longer be
surprised at the conflicting and often con-
Trajectory reports of the widespread local
press, or of investigating committees who
examine only particular localities.
The peach fields OF Delaware embrace
the entire State. thu eastern shore of
Maryland, and two counties Of Virginia (;
extending from latitude 390 So 1870 miles
south to Cape Charles. with a breadth in
the widest place of 70 miles constituting
an area of about 6 600 square miles. lis
surface il variegated Upland with mod
crate hills bottoms with meandering
streams. It's soil is in places sandy, in
in other places loan and clay prevail.
Now, all these circumstances affect the
peach crop. We never have failure of
the peach crop on the entire Peninsula in
any one year. There may be reasonable
crop on the Western Shore. and scarcely
any on the Eastern or Delaware river
shore of the Peninsula, or Uice gersa. SC
| there may be good crop, ~ last year in
| the central and southern part of the
Peninsula aud none in the northern part
| Or, as this year very few-not one basket
| where there was Il hundred last year il
the southern part of the State, and fail
crops on both the bay shores, or in the
northern part of the State.
| The crop in 1875 was the most genera
known on the peninsula amounting t
1000, 900 baskets. Last year it was abou
one half that amount with on entire fail
| t,,f ba thar arf nf ha aaanh lie
trct. As full crop for 1880 over tn,
entire peach district AZ in 1875 according
to the number of trees in bearing or th'
district represented would give us not les
than 10,OO0,00 baskets. Taking there
fore full crop as the criterion of judgini
we shall shall not have this year half
crop on the peninsula. Northern Kent an,
New Castle counties with the Eisteri
Shore of Maryland and localities on tn
Delaware shore will have fair crop
Suthern Kent where are 25 evaporatinI
and canning establishments within
radius OF 10 miles and Sussex county vii
have no more than they viii cousum
after one or two of the earlier varietie
have ripened None of the eyaporatin
or canning establishments will be oper
ated Within five miles of me and includ
ing my 5000 trees there will not be tn
one-twenteth of full crop.
The New York Observer says: at
not every crop that stands ruin so well.
We can inform the Observer that the GRO
may be ruined so far az hundreds of gu
energetic fruit growers are concerned an
yet the unruined sections of this wor
derful fruit growing district may b
steadily looked to for reasonable suppl
for our cities.
Nor are we discouraged at the occasions
failure of the peach crop in some of OF
localities. The non-producing trees {
last year are the producing ones of tn
year, as Il rule. Those that rest froi
bearing this year, or bear lightly will NAL
bearing growth for next year. o,
evsporators that find nothing to do in the
immediate neighborhood this year Al
moving to localities favored with crol
so that they are not idle. And when IL
peach season is over, like birds of passal
they go to the apple regions of the mort
east and west. Thus Delaware enterpri
is making its mark over our entire cou
try and creating demand for evaporat'
, fruit in the markets OF Europe The d
) mand is already greater than the suppl,
| 30 much so, that the markets of Philadt
| phia and New York were destitute
evaporated fruit early in February, viii
those who sought few pounds for fami
use at home could not obtain them.