Evening star., 1914-07-26
GREAT PEACH CROP
MOVING TO MARKET
Orchard Men of West Virginia
Now Gathering Immense
Output.
TURNPIKE COMPANY FILES
ANSWER IN CROWDER SUIT
Front Royal Horse Show Successful
in Every Respect-Rousing
Reception for Benedict.

Special Correspondence "f The Siar
WINCHESTER, Va. July 23.-Thc
movement of the great peach crop of
Hampshire county. w. Va. the largest in
the east, began in earnest yesterday ana
today and II will continue for several
weeks Then there will be an interruption
until the fail peaches ripen and the or
chard men will he busy again. Thousands
of ne,cb trees are now bearing i'll paving
quantities for the first time IN lamp
shire. Hardy and Morgan counties ana
for the early, or midsummer. crop
alone it will require no less than 2'ooo
Of the largest refrigerator express cars
to handle the output of the various
towns and villages along the line OF
the Baltimore and Ohio railroad be-
tween Green Spring and Petersburg
W Va The valleys and mountain
slopes of the three counties have IN
the past few years been converted INTO
great peach orchards. and it is quite
difficult to conceive of such rapid de-
velopment.
With the almost complete failure OF
the peach crop in the great north'l II
New York section. second only 70
Georgia in productiveness. growers VI
the eastern panhandle are to OBTAIN
unusually good prices for their Carman
Deaches end other fancy varieties.
Many of the great orchards OF ramp
shire county in particular are owhGd
by west Virginia. Washington, Wheel,
M and Pittsburgh capitalists. and
large numbers of the men VINO nave
money invested in the fruit lands are
making trips from Washington a,.o
other cities to see the work go on fN-
pert pickers and packers are employed
to handle the peaches. and they com
,rand good wages, for much depends
rpon the manner in which the 1rult Is
placed before the retail trade.
Wheat Escapes Fire.
Several thousand dollars worth OF
wheat owned by Capt. Philip f. Nj
Walker of the United States Army. re-
tired. of Washington, which was re-
Gently harvested on the Pagebrooke
farm. near Eoyce. which he recently
narrowly escaped pelhs
wiped out by fire yesterday aiternooi,'
when threshing was in progress.
spark from the engine iSnlted one
large stack, and the flames spread
rapidly to six others. Workmen and
succeeded in beating out the
flames on the stacks. While others
placed boards and chains around the
blazing stack and pulled it away Wig
a traction engine. The loss was con
fined to 125 bushels of wheat and the
straw of the one stack.
The Valley Turnpike Company. which
is being sued in the Rockingham coun-
ty circuit court at iIarrisonhurg by the
estate Of the late J. D. crowder OF
Covington, Va. who was killed one
night recently on his way home from
Washington when his new automobile
crashed into a pile of lumber near
concrete bridge. has completed its an,
swer to the bin of the plaintiff. and
the same Will be flied at HarrisonburS
next week bv r Gray Williams of Win
chester. general counsel for the COM
pany Preliminary pleas will also be
argued at the same time The suit, II
is expected. will be heard at the Sep
tember term of court. Damages amount
ing to $4,000 are asked for in the bill
of the plaintiffs.