Evening journal., 1889-06-25
TIE STRAWBERRY crop.
IL Was Immense, but the Long Con-
tinued Rains Ruined 1t.


insula of FIVE hours brings one to the old
fashioned and sleepy, but pretty town of
Princess Anne. Nd. The train service of
The Delaware road to Delmar, its ter
minus, on the dividing line between
Delaware and Maryland is fair. But from
Delmar to Princess Anne and on to Girls
field, the terminus of branch of the N.
Y. p. N. Road, it is execrable. A train
of an express and passenger car bears the
weary passenger over a fairly smooth
5oad bed.
But the passenger car is unique. II is
In vereity a combination car, containing
as it does compartment for baggage
one for the United States mails and one
for passengers. The latter compartment
scaas, windows and all, were black and
grimy with dirt and dust. Some of the
window blinds were up, some down or
half way down, and all immovable in
their chosen position. Others could be
raised, but would Immediately drop back
to the window sill with a yindictive
crash. One of the windows was broken and
at the point where the breaks radiated
we're the remains of an adhesive ship
ping card of some commission merchant /;
that had been pasted on before the pieces
OF glass finally fell out in a vain endeayor
TO hold them in place. One of the
seats was broken and the back hung
down in detected way almost TO the
floor In spite of it's disreputable ap-
pearance the car ratified merrily on at a
good rate of speed. through the ever
changing view Of wheat and corn fields,
gum swamps and pine woods, the latter
predominating, to its destination
From Princess Anne 20 Crisfeld, dis
tance Of twenty miles through the south
ern part of Somerset county, the south
ermost Maryland county of the PENN
sula. the railroad is known
as the Crisfeld branch of ths
N. Y. p & N. r. r. II was for
merly part of the main line of the old
Eastern Shore r. R., but when the N. Y.
p. N, or the nyp.an-nen, as railroad
men call it. was built from near Princess
Anne TO Cape Charles, the new road alb
sorbed the old Eastern Shore, and this
part of it was relegated to the position
Of an Insignificant branch. The train de-
scribed above ran ON the branch. IL is
said that .he mail and through trains on
the main line are almost palatial com
pared with it,
Somerset county is one of the large
strawberry growing sections of the
Peninsula, and on the profits of this
crop the inhabitants depend largely for
their subsistence. The results of this
year have been most disastrous. The
large crop pressged by the profuse flower
ing and favorable weather of early spring
came. 1t was the largest for years, and
growers were jubilant. But with it
came day after day of rain, filing the
berries with water, and making them
beautiful to the eye and delicious
to the taste, but at the same time
making them soft and totally unfit for
shipment to distant markets. And then,
alternating with the rainy days, came
warm sunny ones, and finally several of
that character. The result was that the
water soaked and distended berries
ripened in few hours and were imme-
diately shipped to the markets in i'm
mense quantities, Cutting every city
with fruit in soft and inferior condi-
tion, and breaking down prices so badly
that they never recovered. Many ship.
ments brought less, in the midst Of
the season, than the cost of picking.
The open window that helped to produce
the immense crop also caused the srop OF
sections farther north to mature at an
earlier date, SO that the berries that were
shipped arrived on the market with Della.
! ware and New Jersey berries as Their
contemporaries The consequence was
that at no time, excepting the first few
! days az the seasons, did the product
bring good paying prices in any market
Many shipper did not pay expenses and
| thousands of quarts of luscious big ber
ries were left to rot in the fields, because
it did not pay to ship them. The grower:
are discouraged, and some have plowec
up their strawberry fields and planted
them in corn.
Many Of the inhabitants live in hand
to mouth sort Of way, running up bills
at the stores during the fall and winter
and early spring months, which they ex
pect to pay from the proceeds of theii
strawberry crops. Phosphate and guam,
is bought on credit, to fertilize thei
crops, and many whose treasures are de
pleted OF cash borrow from tn,
storekeepers or commission mer
chants to pay their pickers
| Now that the crop on which they plac
so much dependence has failed, the stor
and phosphate bills and the temporar
loans remain unpaid, and probably vii
until after next strawberry season, when
perhaps, if it be good one, the debt
win be wiped out
The country is level and low, an
rains of long duration soon fl
the bitches that drain the land an
back up the water over the lowe
portions of the fields and county roads
Then, II the rainfall continues, damag
and disaster follow, for the clay subsoi
retains the water in the upper strata o
soil like sponge Though continue
rain produces many bad results in thi
country, they are not all Of that charaC
ter. A ride over the hard, smooth road
now shows that the foliage of every tire
and shrub is of the deepest green ant
most vigorous health. The grass in th
corners of the worm fences beside th
roads, is lush and tall Wild blackber
ries give promise Of large crop. Th
trumpet creepers have climbed to til
top rails Of the fences and will soon wsv
their scarlet trumpsts in defiance to th
fierce heat Of the July sun.
Not only is the strawberry crop al
fected, but nearly every other that
raised for the Northern markets. Wate
stood between the rows of peas for s
long that when the sun shone the
burned and. died, or produced but a fra
tion of the usual crop. The earliest bear
were drowned out and the product this
is being shipped is so specked and infel
ior that prices rule ruinousl
low. In some localities potatot
were planted three times. BIT
those that persisted are rewarded with I'll
prospect of good crop. Onions promi:
well also, and when these two product
have been marketed perhaps many wi
have recouped themselves for previoI