The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-07-03
GEORGIA'S GREAT
PEACH INDUSTRY
FORTUNES BEING MADE IN 1T
THIS YEARS CROP THE GREATEST
EVER GROWN.

EN Ell NEHOhNs
The crush" Season Now on in the
Orchards and Thousands of PeO-
pie Gathering the Luscious Fruit.
Fort Valley. the Center of the In
dustry-CrOwded with People
From All Sections of the Country.
How the Fruit is Handled ana
the Prices il is Bringing.
Fort Valley, Ga, July MANY peo-
pie have little conception of the fruit
industry, its imense scope and value.
Instead of a few dozens of trees or a
few acres in an orchard, as formerly
there are now miles and miles of trees
on every side loaded with luscious
fruit. The orchards range from 5000
to 100000 trees.
This is the rush season. Every
body is talking and working and buy
ing and selling peaches. Every avail
able horse and mule is pressed into
service to handle the crop. Every wag-
on is taxed to carry the loads. The
labor is altogether insufficient to do
the work, unless help is imported. The
population in the immediate vicinity
of the orchards Is almost double its
usual number. The people are here
from all over Georgia, from Alabama,
Florida. the Carolinas and Missouri.
Some come from Ohio. Michigan, Con-
necticut and other Nothern and West
ern states. They make from so cents
TO So a day. Some work by the day,
others by the piece. There are pick
ers, packers, haulers, nailers, leaders,
clerks and overseers. Many of the
packers are young ladies from the
towns. The picking for the most part
is done by negro labor which can
stand the heat and work in the orch
ards better that white labor can There
are immense packing sheds. which ac-
comomdate from 40 to 200 packers and
graders.
Five of the largest orchards have
tracks laid to the packing houses. The
cars-Armour refrigerator-are iced in
Macon, brought to Fort Valley, loaded,
re-iced and then sent forward. A car
load is about 450 crates, and crate
contains about three fourths of bush
ell A we'll grown. 6-year-old tree will
yield from two to six crates, selling
from so cents to $3.50 a crate.
Fort valley ThrOnGed with People.
solicitors. They are from New York,
Philadelphia, Boston. Baltimore. Gin
cinnati, Nashville, Pittsburg and other
points. They prefer to secure fruit
on consignment, but there have been
many sales direct-some on the trees,
some in the crate. and some by the
car.
The industry brings in a great deal
of money, the pay roll within a radius
of eight miles of Fort Valley, on &C
count of the peaches alone, ranging
from $1,000 to $4,000 a day. One COM
pany is now paying out $500 and the
busy season, which is from July 5 to
20, will call for an outlay of $500 a
day. Another company is above these
figures. 1t is said that one grower
was offered $4,000 for his crop. He
has about u.s. 900 trees. The price of
land around Fort Valley has advanced
from $40 an acre to $40 and $50. and
even as high as $50 in the last fifteen
years, all on account of peaches. There
are men here who ten years ago were
poor and are now counting their money
by six figures. Others who were in
debt five years ago, bought or leased
land, planted it in peaches and are
now holding themselves above the
water.
Fort Valleys Shipments so Far.
Fort Valley had shipped, up to last
besides perhaps some five carloads
which have gone forward by express.
Prices have been fairly good-soine
have realized handsomely. From Toe
TO $2.25 a crate has been the range
in price. There is really no reason
why crate of Georgia peaches should
sell for less than $3.50. The demand
is far beyond the supply, if the pro
duce were wisely scattered. There are
hundreds and hundreds of towns and
smaller cities that never see a Geo.
gia peach. Georgia soil and Georgia
rain and Georgia sunshine and Georgia
breezes produce the richest color and
the finest flavor ever blended In any
peach. This is recognized wherever the
fruit has been seen and tasted but
only very small portion of the popUl-
lation of the country has been able to
get the fruit. Heretofore New York
and Philadelphia have been crowded
by developments, and a glutted mar
ket at these points runs down the
price. while there are thousands and
hundreds Of thousands of people who
would be eager buyers, at good prices.
If they only had the opportunity. 1t
was the intention of some large grow
ers and commission men 20 distribute
the crop this season. They had ar
ranged with about sixty firms han
ding from one TO five carloads a day
each, scattered over a wide territory,
TO which the fruit was to be consigned.
Had the arrangement been carried out
there would be no such thing as a
glut in the market. But for some rea-
son the plan miscarried and as usual
Philadelphia and New York are glut-
ting the peaches, and prices are far
below what they should be. 1t will
not be long, however, before the grow
ers organize for the purpose of dis
tributing the peaches.