Rock Island Argus., 1902-09-06
GEORGIA TO FRONT AS
A PEACH GROWING STATE

ing and characteristic developments of
recent years in the fruit growing line
has been the rise of the Georgia
peach business. \ few years ago we
were getting most of our early peach
es from California, followed by n CON
siderable quantity from Maryland
and Delaware, and later in the sea-
son by few car loads from Michi-
gan and Western New York. Outside
these localities there were no peach
es grown in commercial quantities,
and the entire crop sent TO market
was badly worth mentioning COM
pared with the present standard.
Since that time large and produc-
tive peach areas have been developed
in Colorado, Texas. Oklahoma. Mis-
souri,, Ohio, Connecticut, Massachu-
setts and several other states; but
the most remarkable expansion has
been in Georgia. Here the great or
chards at Fort Valley. Columbus, Au-
gusta, Macon, Marshallville and other
points, number thousands of acres
Several orchards are of about a thou
sand acres each. The trees, of
course, are numbered by the million.
These large orchards have only
recently come into bearing. In fact.
the crop of 1901 was the first really
large one to go onto the market. 1t
has now been surpassed by the crop
of 1902. and Georgia has made a rec
ord The complete returns are not
yet at hand. but from reliable re-
cent estimates we may believe that
the output will reach nearly 1.50O
carloads. One single orchard com
pany has put out over one-tenth of
this amount. We have already mem
toned the recOrd-making shipments
from this orchard-61 car-oadS in Il
single week, and II carloads in one
day.
These peaches have been practical
Iy all sent to northern points. most
Of them to cities north of Baltimore.
In fact, it is u curious circumstance
that Baltimore. which plumes itself
on being one of the greatest fruit
markets in America. sees nearly all
the Georgia peaches whirling through
on the fast trains and never stopping
to inquire for price. Large guam
titles are shipped to Boston, Hart
ford, Providence, Syracuse. Spring
utIl- odTdlOOd. OllCd. 1iilSDuI8s
while New York city takes more than
any other market. In a single day,
early in the season this year, there
were IS carloads received in New
York. Doubtless this mark was rails
ed during the height of the season.
The prices realized this year have
been altogether encouraging. 1t is
undoubtedly true that the average
net returns from Georgia peaches
have been higher than from Mary
land and Delaware peaches in spite
of the much greater distance from
market. Prices last year were even
better, so that the Georgia peach
business. already on the boom. scared
up like real estate in Wichita. Re
liable sources of information say
that there were more than 100000
new trees planted out last winter.
and the prospects are for an equal
extension of the orchard area this
winter.
The causes which have led to this
abnormal development have been
several. In the first place. the mar
ket has never yet been fairly supplied
with good peaches. Outside the
small areas of production, peaches
have been an uncommon luxury
never an article of daily consump-
tion. The common. hardworking peo-
pie. who count in the census and
who mostly pay their grocers' bills,
have never had enough peaches TO
eat. The full capacity OF the mar
ket has not even yet been reached
Nobody knows how many peaches
could be sold if they were put on
the market rightly, at a reasonable
price. and distributed to the men, wo-
men and children who want them.
In the second place. the decline of
in Maryland and
Delaware has been to Georgia's adj
vantage, for it has left open a con-
siderable market already educated to
peach eating, and has left unused at
least part of the important ma
chiuery of distribution.
In the third place, Georgia and the
adjacent counties of North and South
Carolina have indubitable natural adj
vantages in the production of peach
es The soil is fertile and well adap-
ted to peach-growing; the climate is
mostly congenial, and labor is plenti-
full and cheap.
In the fourth place, transporta-
tion facilities are unusually good.
In fact, this is the key to the whole
situation 1t would be impossible
for Georgia to compete with Mary
land in the latter's own markets
were not the shipping arrangements