Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1889-01-31

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DoVer says: The Delaware peach growers
are shiysring with their annual scare for
lhe fato OF their precious peach buds in
mo spring. This ia q chronic winter
pnaiady here and varies in It's severity
with tue weather. Il has been pretty
bad ever since the new war opened. Tine
sun has persisted in puncturiuq TIE binds
win ita rays, and has slightly aroused
snsm @ from the stupor with which all
lluie peach buds should be thoroughly
overoomes sll the winter. II the sun had only
sept up shining as he has been shining
lately the growers would not grumble at
the preoociouaneSs Of the buds. They can
not burst into blossoms and then grow
into delicious peaches to tempt the city
appetite too soon for the thrifty grower,
but when the buds come out go early they
are exposing themselves 10 the risks Of
pad colds, pneumonia, consumption, and
other troubles, which afllict tho peach as
they do mankind, and which the grower
as good husbandman would like to
avoid.
TIE BUDS BwELLINd.
Reports from the nurseries at WyoIn-
ing, Camden, Bndgsville and other
peach centres are TO the effect that the
buds show a considerable swelling. In
the orchards the swelling is less per-
ceptible, but none the less o fact, and
had the warm weather, which has been
the rule rather than the exceptin all the
winter, as over in Maryland, continued
until the first of February, the forthoom-
ing peach crop hereabouts would have
been aaaly diminished, for then the bud
would have been in condition to enable
the frost to get in its deadly work.
The snow.storm, however, stopped the
peach shiver, but it has given the grower
another kind OF shiver, which is no doubt
being acutely felt over In Baltimore. He
can stand oil the discomforts of the cold
without murmur II the frigidity Of the
weather will only continue, and he
sincerely wishes that every snowflake
which has fallen Is q messenger of genuine
wint,y weather, and that II prove set
back to the precooious development OF
the bud and will not let 1t burst its
bounds until II is old enough, by which
time balmy spring weather will treat II
kindly. But not until the peach is
plucked is tho grower sure Of IL, and moi
until 1t gets to market is he relieved OF
all the care and worry It has caused him
for six months.
MIGRATORY PEACH CENTRE.
Dover is not the centre of the peach
growing belt as 1t was formerly. Yeei
by year and step by step this centre has
moved down the Peninsula-from New
Castle TO Kirkwood, to Middletown, tc
Dover, and now II Is at Wyoming, and il
threatening in year or two to jump tc
Bridgeyille. In course Of time Bridge.
vile will give way to Seaford, which In
turn will surrender to Laurel, and so on
down through Delaware. Who can tell
when It will reach Salisbury, Princess
Anne, Pocomoke Oity, Nd, and Oman
cock and Cape Charles City, Va? Thii
centre moves the more slowly the furthe,
1t gets away from the cities, as the rail
road freights increase in proportion Il
the distance Of the centre from the mar
kets, and as the increase freight rates cal
up the peach growers profits there, Ii
less incentive to plant orchards.
THE YELLows.
This osntre of the peach district is be.
ing retarded considerably in its journey
southward by the partial removal OF the
disease known as yellows, which has
thinned out orchards around and above
Dover, and hiss thus necessitated the
planting Of new orchards in new coils.
Every grower around here can discourse
learnedly upon the yellows, but not one
can tell the cause Of the mRlady, which
stacks the tree and blights the fruit, and
no remedy has been yet found to restore
the tree to its normal good health. Here
ia Rn undiscovered and undeveloped field
for the patent medicine deoOctOr, and
there's millions in ii for him il he con
only get up something that will effect q
sure cure. For long time 1t was sup.
posed that the yellows wOs due to the
exhaustion OF the food from the soil by
which the life of the tree is supported,
but IL was found that young
tres planted In tho exact spot ocou-
pied by the old one did just as
we'll as its neighbors, which bad escaped
the blightin9 n,elady and so orchards all
through this section are being yearly re-
plenishad by annihiating tree as soon
as It shows its stfliotion of yellows and
planting q healthy tree in its socket in
the eoii. The earth around the tree roots
is also abundantly supplied with ashes,
potash and other elements which the
peach tree requires for its healthy growth
and maintenance OF life. For long
time it was supposed that yellows was an
infectious disease and local nurseries lost
part of their patronage. Trees I'M
ported from other parts OF tue country
were just as contrary al those grown
hero. They took the yellows just as we'll
and died Just as fearlessiy. While 1t has
been proved that it is not cuntagion,
the true origin of the disease is still un-
known and instant death ia the fate of
the tree viii ch shows it.
wYoMIHo.
Wyoming, the present peach centre, is
q little village containing only 500 inhao-
itants, nnd iLs fsw houses shoot Rrross the
vision of the north-bCund passenger on
i the Delaware railroad as he peers out Of
the car window to catch a glimpse OF
Dover, which he knows is near. ln mid.
winter il is dulI, prosaic hamlet, the
resort OF the country people, who meet
in the stores on their purchasing errands,
bat in summer it is big beehive, with
all the bees in motion. Big wagons,
dust stained, laden with peaches, rumble
over the roads towards the station from
every direction, while on the platform
there 10 O ceassless hum of voices, some
times quite loud 0s the bidding for the
fruit by rival purchasers becomes spir-
tied. Last summer 1000, 600 baskets OF
peaches were shipped from the little sta.
lion. All around Wyoming is that light
red loam, with red clay subsoil, In which
the peach tree grows most readily. There
is but little OF that swamp land in which
the tree does not thrive. A big canning
house and an ovapore.or IN the village
are enterprises which nttest the extent OF
the peach trade OF the neighborhood' Toe
fruit tree nurseries OF p. Emerson are also
located there.
FORTUNES IN PEACHES.