Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1889-02-23
How Farming Will Pay on the
Peninsula.

mittce on Vegetables of the
Peninsula Horticultural Socie-
ty presents our views on farm
ing and will prove advantage.
Gus If adopted by our farmers :
The great West and North
west have made grain culture
Improbable here. With their
rich soil, cheap lands and re-
duced frcights. we cannot COM
pete with them. Our farmers.
recognizing this fact, have
turned very generally to the
more profitable crops of fruit.
But fruit is uncertain untime-
ly frosts or other causes may
at any time produce a failure
of this crop and leave the
farmer nothing to keep him
going until the next crop. His
farm must be kept up, his in
tcrest paid-if he owes any
money-and his family main
tanned.
Upon the failure Of his fruit
he is in great trouble and must
rely upon extended credit in
many cases to carry him over
until he has a fruit crop. Now.
it seems to me, notwithstand-
ing the fact that the culture of
fruit is profitable, that if our
farmers would have greater
variety OF crops theirrcsourccs
would be more certain and the
general result to the commu-
nifty be better. Situate as we
are between the great cities
Of the East. with soil and eli
mate so favorable to the cul-
turc of vegetables, with land
so cheap compared with the
land of Pennsylvania and New
Jersey that are used for truck
ing, it would seem that there
is no reason why this branch
of agriculture could not be
made to pay here. Our people
are conservative and cautious.
But il would seem that il is
clear to the mind of any think
ing person that a move toward
paying more attention to veg
etablc culture and less to grain
culture would be profitable to
all. Tomatoes will produce
from seven To ten tons per
acre and nutmeg and water
melons, sugar bects and peas
arc equally profitable, any OF
which paying much better than
grain. Again the threatened
injury to the culture of the
peach by the ycllows, also pre-
scnts itself as a reason why
we shouldhavc other resources
than fruit culture. But there
is one other point that | con
slider a strong argument in IA
vor of extending this line OF
agriculture and it is this : One
of the great drawbacks to the
lower part Of this peninsula is
that the farms are too large.
There are too few land own
crs. We need emigration and
the farms divided into smaller
tracts. Nothing encourages
this more than a dcvclopracn,
of the culture of vegetables,
Small truck farms mean rich
lands and a general increase
of wealth in the State. If our
citizens will give this subject
as much attention as the cul,
ture of fruit and develop it in
this State as they have the
culture OF fruit we will be
equal 10 any section of land
in the Countrywide Paradise
of America"
a IM.E WITH JEFFERSON DA-
VISA correspondent of the
New York Times had a talk
with the Hon. Jefferson Davis
at his home. Bcauvoir, Miss.
Sunday last. While Mr.. Da-
Wis declined to be- formally
interviewed, he freely re-
icrrcd in the course of CONVEX
sation to matters Of public in
tcrcst. As To- President Clcvc.
land, MIR. Davis thought he
had given the country Il very
good administration. and that
had he not dabblcd with civil,
service reform he would have
been reelected. by saying
this about the civil service he
did not mean To be understood
as opposing it. but on the con,