Middletown transcript., 1897-07-10
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The report of Special Agent /. NJ Mills, of
the Philadelphia, Wilmingtonand Baltimore
railroad. upon the peach crop, is always
received with interest. He says it will be
almost total failure this year. This is quite
surprise, as several weeks ago there was
good prospect for moderate size crop. But
the peaches have nearly all vanished from
the trees, and little closer scrutiny will
find them on the ground where they have
fallen.
The frosts Of the early spring damaged
the peaches in the lower part of the Penin-
sula, but still there was prospect for good
crop. The damage wss, done BY the curculio
and wherever it stings peach is sure to
fall.
The cause of the rapid increase of; the
curculio is mystery to the majority Of the
fruit growers; but Mr.. Mills says it is the
fault of the farmers themselves. In 1895
| and 1896 there were large crops Of peaches,
| and the ground under the trees was covered
with peaches that had either rotted and fell
off or were thyown there as culls and left
to rot. Instead of the growers picking this
decayed fruit up, as is done by the Califor-
MIA fruit growers, and either feeding it to
his hogs or get rid of it in some other way,
| Ii was left there for these insects to breed
| in with the consequence that in 1897 there
is an enormous crop of these insects and
they have destroyed the crop of peaches
The following is the estimate as furnished
by the agents along the lines of the Della
ware Railroad and branches to Mr.. Mills.
This, he thinks, is too high by from one
third to one-half;
Delaware RaiIroad-112, $50 baskets.
Queen Anne & Kent Railroads., 400
baskets.
Delaware & Chesapeake Railway-SS, $50
baskets.
Baltimore & Delaware Bay Railroad
IL, $50 baskets.
Cambridge & seaford Railroad-14,95O
baskets.
Delaware, Maryland & Virginia Railroad
-107, ,6S5 baskets.
Total-537, ,O75 baskets.
The principal shipping points will be Wy
oming, on the Delaware Railroad; Milford
and selyville, on the Delaware, Maryland
| & Virginia Railroad; East New Market, on
the Cambridge & Seaford Railroad; Ridgely
and Queen Anne, on the Delaware & Ches-
apeake Railway; Millington and Centreville
on the Queen Anne G. Kent Railroad.
These are the points where the buyers
will be located and they will draw from the
smaller stations.
The only section where there will be
peaches in any quantity will be on the Bal
timore & Delaware Bay Railroad, which
runs from Clayton to Chestertown. This road
runs through the finest peach section on
the Peninsula, but very little of the fruit
has gone to Philadelphia and othe north
ern markets in the past, on account of Bal
timore being so close and the differences in
freight rates so great. The past two seasons
the steamboats, have taken small lots to
Philadelphia, but the bu TX Of the crop has
gone to Baltimore.
The estimate of This road is made on
what is likely to be shipped by rail under
ordinary circumstances, but everything
points to much larger shipment than the
estimate, as the buyers are most likely to
bid for this fruit the present season, as it
will be scarce at the points where they have
been buying in the past and if they do the
amount shipped will double the estimate.
The following is the estimate by stations
on this line: