Middletown transcript., 1892-01-21
TOO MANY PEACH TREES.
ISAAC N. MILLS OF CLAYTON GIVES THAT
AS THE CAUSE FOR THE FAILURE
OF THE CROP.


Isaac N. Mills, late superintendent
of the Delaware Railroad Company,
has written very interesting letter
to the Clayton Call on the subject Of
peach and berry growing on the Pen
insula. Mr.. Mills says:
"For some years while superinten-
dent of the Delaware Division l was
requested by number of peach grow
ers and shippers to make statement
az to the number of peach trees on
our territory.
On account of being 30 busy here
tofore take this opportunity of COM
pairing the extraordinary increase in
number of trees planted along the
railroad lines and wish to compare
shipments of berries and other small
fruits with the peaches; my idea
being to show that our territory is
overplanted with peaches, and that
taking the results year by year, the
peach crop has been a detriment to
the peach growers rather than bet
terment thus enabling those inter-
ested to see by figures how the matter
stands. Commencing in 1874 and
continuing up to last year we had a
Western peach market, but last year
the states of Missouri, Ohio, Illinois
and Michigan were full Of peaches,
thus cutting off the market west OF
Cleveland, which in many years took
from fifty to seventy-five cars per
day.
This market was lost entirely this
wear even if our fruit had been fit to
ship to these points. I also wish to
call attention to the fact that we
cannot grow fruit to compete with
California in dried peaches for evap-
Grating. In 1890 dried peaches sold
in San Francisco for 18 cents per
pound, while in the spring of 1891
they were quoted at St cents per
pound, thus cutting Delaware out of
the dried peach market.
Another thing we find the market
glutted with California fruit early in
the season, and while it does not
bring the price peaches from the
Peninsula are sold for when sold on
the same day, yet it overstocks the
market with fruit and comes in com
petition with our shippers. think
when peaches were first dried it was
at Middletown, and brought from %
to 81 cents per pound.
At these prices the business would
pay handsomely, but at the prices
named we cannot compete; therefore
it would be wise to go into the culti-
vation of other fruits to partially take
the place Of peaches.
1 find in looking over our past rec
ords that we had in the year 1876 on
railroad territory over 100000 bear
ing trees. The great majority of
these trees being in New Castle and
Kent Counties, Delaware, and Kent
County, Md. Since then there has
been a gradual increase until last
spring we found we had in actual
bearing 1900, 900 trees on railroad ter
ritory. This is from the reports of
actual growers. This would give q
total acreage at the rate planted, 105
trees to the acre of 90, 1888 acres devot
ed to this product.
These trees are mostly planted on
the best land, thus showing a great
amount of acreage that could have
grown more profitable crops, which
have in many. instances been cultt-
waited at loss.
There is no doubt that if our growers
would confne themselves to orchards of
a moderate size say from 10 to 20 acres,
and when they have crop handle and
ship to market only the best fruit, they
will always receive paying prices, any one
observing the fruit shipped this season
could not understand how the market
stood up as well as it did. The shipment of
premature fruit for some years past have
noticed almost invariably sets the price
low early in the season, and the commits
| sion merchants find it hard to get fair
prices for the good fruit when it COM
mences to 90 to market. According to the
best authorities, the California growers
thin all their fruit, thus getting only the
best and save their trees from over bear
ing and breaking down. Another point,
they pack their fruit better and compete
with better favored fruit only by the care
they take in shipping only the best to
market well packed, thus enabling them to
pay heavier freight charges and beat US in
our own markets. These are truths that
our best growers are fully aware of In
the spring of 1888 ex-Gov. Biggs gave me
20 peach trees which I planted in April of
that year at Clayton the ground being
very rich; the trees made a phenomenal
growth and bore full last spring. In June
1 thinned the fruit of all the trees except
two, from some of them picked at least a
basket Of fruit the size of small walnuts.
From all the trees thus thinned I picked
two baskets of good marketable fruit and
from two trees of Geary's Holdon, pick
ed three baskets each, from the two trees
did not thin got basket each Of very in
ferior fruit, and I think these two trees
will never bear again, some of the fruit
rotting and drying and still hanging on the
trees. These being at Clayton. will be
glad to show to any one interested.
There has been erected along the lines
of the Delaware Division since 1874 over
500 evaporating machines and canneries,
and I find that there was canned and evap-
GRATED in our territory in 1879 in round
numbers 500, 600 baskets of peaches.
In 1888 great many of our evaporators
and canneries were in operation, but we
have no actual figures to quote in regard
to this year.
I think from observation there were no
peaches evaporated in 1891 and but limit
| ad amount canned thus showing cOnclu-