The daily gazette., 1881-08-25
Peaches.
For the DELAWARE GAZETTE.

In the GAZETTE Of last evening
there is an article saying the New
York Herald contains quite leng
article on peach raising In Delaware,
In which 1t says the business was COM
menced in 1910, by Anthony Reybold ;
that IL was started as an amusement.
The above in the Herald is q tissue Of
lies coined out OF whole cloth. do
not know or care who writes such
pieces, they are lies. Peaches have
been grown in Delaware and Eastern
Shore Of Maryland since the first set-
Element Of the country. Almost every
farmer had small orchards or trees
along the fence rows or gardens and
almost every garden in the village had
one or more peach trees. Peaches
were cut and dried in the sun and used
and also sent to market where there
was sale for them, either in bulk in
boats or in wagons. The first
large peach orchard TO grow peaches
on large scale in Delaware for mar
ket, was planted by Isaac Reeves of
the Market Street Ferry Hotel, Phila-
delphia, and Jacob Ridgeway, q rich
man, Of same city. They planted said
orchard south side of the canal at Del
aware City, on the farm where the
shore battery is erected, and said farm
10 now owned and occupied, l think,
by Clement Reeves, Esq, son of the
said Isaac Reeves. This said peach
orchard was planted in about 1888.
In February, 1886, it was badly frozen
as sap had started in January. In
1887 or 1888, one crop of peaches
from 80 to 40 acres, 1t is said, cleared
the owners, the said Reeves and Ridge
way, 1850. This started extended
peach growing in Delaware. Philip
Reybold, the father of Anthony, was
ct that time growing Multiculis null
berries, as well as myself and many
others. He may have had few peach
trees planted that 6p ing, say 8 or 6
hundred, as may others. John Reed |,
between Dover and Frederick, Henry
Todd, in Dover, Simon Spearman, Of
Smyrna, had 900 trees on the Eagles
Nest Landing farm, Appoquinimink
Hundred, and Thomas Deakyne, in
the Spring of 1888, planted out 5000
trees on the farm at the upper side
of Smyrna creeks mouth. William
Bowman, at McDonough, also planted
an orchard, and several others. In
1910 / planted my first, only about 600,
ON the Brick House farm, Blackbird.
Having no convenient way to get them
to market, in about 1S42-48 and IA
James Cassidy and others planted
large orchards along the Sassafras
river, also the Corblts, Appletons,
Moores and others planted along the
Appequinimink creek. The Reynolds
on their farms between Port Penn
and Delaware City, and Vandegrifts
Of Bordentown planted 10, 900 trees on
the Macready farm near Blackbird
Landing in 1842.
When all these immense orchards
came into full bearing there was glut,
as there was not then, aa now, such
facilities to distribute the fruit to
markets. Then it was on a certain
time that old Mr.. Philip Reybold's q
steamboat took q load to New York,
and sooner than be bulled by the huck-
sters and their jeering offers he order
cd his captain to get his boat under
way and as soon as she had fairly
cleared the dock ordered the crew to
empty the peaches out of the baskets
into the bay. The hucksters sneaked
of, and when the boat arrived again
they came and offered more reasonable
prices. The markets for peaches rose
again, and for several years they
brought good prices. The Delaware
Railroad was opened in 1857 and peo-
pie along the road planted heavily
as one Of them. When our railroad
peaches came into bearing, the rivalry
in Philadelphia was great between the
persons bringing them by water and
those by rail, and as most of the
peaches were bought for New York
markets and all Of them re-shipped,
the persons shipping up to Philadel-
phia by water had the advantage ovel
Delaware Railroad shippers, as al
peaches for New York were shipped il
Camden, Then 1t was that (for
have the undisputable right to say 1t,
determined never to cease until turn
ed the tables on the Delaware ant
Maryland water shippers by goirl
right through to Jersey City with tht
cars loaded with peaches without
breaking bulk. At first I was forcee
to 60 by Amboy, and sent three O
the first full car loads of peaches eve
sent to Amboy. called meetings il
Delaware and good, spirited peacl
growers Joined in with me, and W,
worked unceasiugly until we have es
tablished the greatest R. R. peach line
in America. But in this remarkabl,
year, 1881, there ls nearly an entir,
failure, but no doubt it will be mad,
up to some next year, as tens of thou
sands OF trees that bore inferior frui
| In 1880 will be dead aad out OF the wa,
next year and leave q better marke
for good fruit and better prices. I
people are anxious to learn the history
Of Delaware peach growing, If they will
lcok through through two Delawar,
papers they will see Q pretty full ac.
count written by me. am now get.
ting too old to undertake it again.
6AnUEL TOWNeEND.