The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1890-08-16
THE FRUIT FAMINE.
charitable Scarcity of Peaches,
Apples and Pears.
ORCHARDS FAIL IN THEIR WORK.

ORCHARDS FAIL IN THEIR WORK.
| watermeIons and CanteIeups the Only
| Fruit to be Had Except at Very High
| Prices-The Crop Only Fair, but 1t is
| Paying-The Quality Good.
| The man who wore board grin all
last winter, as he thought of the big,
round, shining dollars the warm winter
would save him in his coal bill, is now
growing at the high prices he has to pay
tor fruit and vegetables. He has spent
now more than he saved all winter on
his coal bill, and every time he goes to
market he heaps maledictions on the
season whose praises he sang so lo dly
but a few months before. To the coal
saving, mild winter is to be laid nearly
all the blame for the scarcity of small
fruit, particularly of peaches. apples,
pears, &c.
The peach season is now at is height,
but to walk along the wharves one would
never suspect it. Instead of the thous
ands of boxes piled high in the air that
were formerly seen the number of boxes
in the daily shiImen from the entire
peach territory can almost be counted on
ones fingers. Instead CT the steamboats,
making extra trips and coming to the
piers with almost all their deck room
taken up with boxes and baskets of the
luscious fruit, 1t is so scarce that when a
| l. -
| object of considerable comment among
the passengers. lu the latter part of last
January the fruit-growers on the Eastern
Shore of Maryland and Delaware held a
convention in Cnestertown, Md, and the
| prospects of the peach crop was the basi
of great deal of discussion. At that
| time the peach buds were very much
swollen, and the growers were rather
uneasy, though not disposed to borrow
trouble. The only thing that frightened
them was the prospect of severe cold
cold snap. owe are depending altogether
| on peaches" said Mr.. John A. Graves,
whose $4,000 peach trees give him the
title OF the Peach King. eff they fail US
don't know what we will do. Corn don't
| pay for the raising; with wheat it is
worse, and peaches are the only thing
we can look to. The loss of crop means
serious blow, and many growers would
be bankrupted by it,
The cold snap he feared came, and the
entire crop was lost. In Delaware one
grower has an orchard of 20, 900 trees,
| and he does not expect to get enough fruit
from it 70 supply his own table. This is
the condition of things throughout the
entire peach belt. While this cold snap,
which, without doubt, destroyed at once
all prospects for peaches, it is neverthe-
less said now to be very doubtful if there
would have been crop even if there had
| been no snap. This is the openion of
peach expert, and he bases it on the con-
dition of the Poole's Island crop. Toe
| trees on this island were not affected to
any great degree by the warm weather
or the snap that killed peaches elsewhere.
| Up to a few months ago the owner of the
trees expected crop of $4,000 baskets,
which meant about $3.50, 900 for him. HIS
expected $4,000 baskets, it is said, has
| dwindled down to less than 200. The
mild weather at the time when it should
have been cold is said to have been the
cause for this state of things on Poole's
Island. The peaches form tolerably well
I, 6 ~, nj = a, 4 ~
They are in this condition, unfit for any
thing, not even making good food for
hogs.
Fruit of guilty that even last year
would not have been considered fit to
take home, and which was sold to pack
ers as pie fruit for trifle, now brings
almost fabulous prices. What was hard
to sell for from Is to 90 cents per basket
now brings form 81 to So readily, and
what last year was considered a fair
quality can be sold for $4 so per basket
The packers cannot afford to pay such
prices, so they are making no attempt to
pack peaches but are turning their atten-
ton to apples.
Even apples are very scarce, and they
are bringing So 80 to So per barrel. Every
thing that comes on the market is taken
except the few that are sold to local con-
sumers, such as green grocers and mar
ket men. This is something that was
never heard of, or even thought of, be-
fore.
The apples now coming to market are
from Kent, Cecil and Dorchester coun-
ties and from the western shore of Vir-
ginia. Whence the winters supply of
apples is to come the produce dealers
have not the slightest idea. There are
years ago they were SO plentiful that it
would not pay to pick them from the
trees. Ohio and West Virginia, which
usually send great many, will send none
of any consequence this year. Some few
are reported IN the Valley of Virginia
in the southern part of Illinois and in
Missouri, but nothing like enough to sup
ply the demand.
Fruit of all kinds is scarce. Bartlett
pears of quality that last year brought
from so to 70 cents per basket are now
selling readily to Gamers at from II rs
to So %. They are eager to get them at
such prices, too. There was not half
crop of strawberries or raspberries, cher
ries, or any of of the fruits of that class.
Peaches and apples being almost unob-
tainable, dependence will have to be
placed on watermelous and cantaleups. |
These are now coming in comparatively
large numbers, and are of an excellent
quality. The receipts now are about
from 90 900 to %, 900 per day, which will
not, of course, compare with those of
previous years. The crop is much better
then last year, nevertheless. At the
same time the dealers admit only that |
the yield has been fair in quantity. They |
say there has not been what might be