The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1900-07-16
PEACHES BY THE MILLIONS.
PRESIDENT EGAN RETURNS FROM
THE PEACH SECTION.


Having Been Handled From Fort
Valley and MarshnIIviIIe satur-
day-MiIliOns of Peach Trees Along
the Line of the Central which
VIII Come Into Bearing Next Year.
The Plum Industry Also n Growing
One-Growers Have Done Well
with other Crops.
President ]. NJ. Egan returned yester-
day morning from a tour of inspection of
the peach country along the route of the
Central Of Georgia Railway.
AS the peach crop is one in which the
people of Savannah aud the readers of the
Morning News generally have always
felt special interest, Mr.. Egan was
sought by a Morning News reporter.
He was found at his office at the Central
looking over his correspondence. The evil
dences of his recent trip were before him
in the shape of a basket of luscious Ell
bertas. evidently the choice of the Georgia
orchards.
What is the weight of that large one?"
Mr. Egan was asked:
Just fourteen ounces" he replied.
Asked about his trip, Mr.. Egan said:
II have just returned this morning from
the peach district and spent all of yester-
day in visiting a number of the large peach
farms in the vicinity of Marshallville and
Fort Valley. While it is true that the
wet weather has injured the crop to some
extent, and in some instances caused the
Ebertas to shed from the trees, the large
peach growers that l met yesterday were
more hopeful than they have been any day
during the past week. Yesterday was an
ideal day. and there was forwarded from
the vicinity of Fort Valley and Marshall
Vile in the neighborhood of eighty cars
of peaches. If good weather continues we
will reach the maximum number of peach
es shipped any one day by Wednesday of
this week.
Unless a person were to visit the or
chards,' said Mr.. Egan. land see their
extent, he cannot realize what is meant
by saying that there is a certain number
of trees bearing fruit, or a certain num-
Der of acres planted with peach trees. On
Hale's orchard, near Fort Valley, they
Will have SEQ persons engaged in the
peach industry each day during the com
ing week. and the other shippers will
have like number OF employees compared
handle. The peach industry. like any
other industry, has to be attended to, and
the work has to be done quickly and
thoroughly. Mr.. Rumph has had no
trouble whatever from the fungus growth
on the peaches. because he has sprayed
his trees and also sprayed the fruit on
the trees. The rejected peaches ale being
used for canning and evaporating; and
it was also stated to me that peach
6~ot ,.Ix old Io;rt 10
in large quantities.
The peach industry is not the only one
in that neighborhood. A great many can
taloupes have been grown and shipped to
Northern markets under refrigeration
The plum industry is growing very extern
sively, and the returns from plums that
have been forwarded this year, we'll as
from cantaloupes and peaches, so far as
l was able to learn from the shippers
have been satisfactory. One of the prom
inent shippers told me that while 1t is
claimed by shippers that the commission
men take ell the profits, the blame in
some cases is with the shipper, as he for
wards fruit in condition that should not
be sent out of the orchard. Experience is
the best teacher, and l have noticed a
difference in the handling of fruit in the
orchards this year compared with 1898.
How many bearing trees are there on
tll0 line HON MI. ESdn was asked.
Over 100000, he replied and of that
number there are in the neighborhood Ct
$4,000 young trees bearing this year, and
during the past winter and spring there
Were in the neigh borhood of $4,000 peach
trees planted. There are in the neigh
borhood of $4,000 plum trees planted on
the line and they are producing plums
which are superior to the California plums
and no doubt in the near future will take
the place of the California plums in the
Eastern markets. The pear industry has
not been as successful as the peach and
plum although many of the trees have
produced very good crop this year"
rs the raising of fruits and vegetables
in that section of the country being in
vestigated by outsiders" the reporter in
quired.
Very largely So" was the reply. 81
met at the orchard yesterday Mr. Morel
of Benton Harbor. Mich. He stands at
the head OF the list of peach experts in
this country, and l had a converse ton
with him as to what he thought Of the
future prospects of that section He was
very enthusiastic regarding it, and told
me that he expected to come to Georgia
Tor the purpose of engaging
in the peach business He Is a
man of wide and extensive experience.
and appears to know everything about
peaches, from the root of the tree to the
end OF the twig. In talking with him as
TO his opinion, at this early stage, of
the prospects for next years crop Qeaving
out the technical terms which he used)
MS answer was, that from the present
indications, and unless climatic condi-
tons prevented, the prospect for next
years crop was at least ten times greater
than the present crop. This, of course,
was very gratifying. l also had the pleas
ure of meeting Prof. w. G. johnson of
Maryland who is noted expert and who
has been in Georgia for the past ten DAYS
studying the condition of the peach crop
He thoroughly understands his work and
mentioned the difficulties that peach
growers encounter in taking care of their
crops. He states that they now have a
parasite which they are colonizing in diff
ferent sections of the country, which de-
stroys what is known as the San Jose
scale. You understand that this scale is
a parasite or bug, and the other parasite
which they have found devours it, He
Informed me that ne had found no trace
of che San Jose scale in the orchards in
the vicinity of Fort Valley and Marshall
vile, but was sorry 10 say that the same
conditions did not prevail in the southern
part of Georgia. He produced box with
a number of bugs and eggs, which he
stated he intended 90 take North and
COLOMBO for the purpose of exterminating
what is known the Cherry parasite
This bug has bad effect on the cherry
trees, as well as the peach trees, and