Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-08-07
WFDNFSDAY. AUGUST :. 1918.
Delaware Truly an III Dorado.

Tho recent report in Every Evening
that farmer in New Castle county had
raised AZ bushels Of wheat on his field,
this wear. recalls that not many years
aro farmer near Lewcs raised $40
bushels Of wheat on a ten-acre plot.
Both of these incidents bring to mind how
fertile is Delaware soil. and what a WIDE
variety of good things come from her
6clds her woods and her waters.
Referring to good things, naturally,
the first that comes to mind arc the
diamond-back tcrrapln, product oil our
tide water streams, perhaps, IN con-
noisscurs opinion, the finest dish that ever
was set before queen or maid, good enough,
some epicures say, to have formcd
feast for Cleopatra, 10 be washed down
with pearls dissolved in the rare old wines
of tho earliest davs. The diamond-back
tcrrapin won for John NJ Clayton,
Senator from Delaware, the highest
praise Of cpicurcs II brought all worth
while people Of tho nations capital 20 his
home here. where they feastcd on inns
Linclv dish and talked naught else but
IL excellence. sldc-tracking even the
nations pressing business while the terra
pin went around These delicaclCS he car
red to Washington by the ox-cart loads IN
the thirtics OF the Nineteenth Century. and
waiting dormant III cellar until President
or > diplomat was invited 20 the feast,
were the talk Of bis senatorial career,
aside from his acknowledged ability rs
ncmber of the Senate.
MIR. Clayton's home became the best
known rendezvous for Washington gour-
mands. as his tcrrapin was no less sought
after than was his peach and honey
Truly. a Delaware product is peach and
honey Il has been voted rs nectar TT
for the gods, and again "cussed as the
most insidious Of concoctionS, because,
while il was dchghting 70 the palate, i
VS. apt 10 steal away the senses sud
denly and wholly But when mo- abused
1t approached the tabled anhrosla.
The Delaware peach, for long time,
Was synonym for perfection and
llsciousness in fr,nt--the very queen OF
tho fruit realm. Before the yeilows and
other pests came INTO vogue. the Del
aware peach was truly q thing Of beauty
and a perfect 10Y TO those who loved TO
eat of the best supplied by nature
These later days, the Delaware apple
challenges the world, and the world can
not duplicate it The product Of Sussex
county> apple orchards, in competition
with the apples Of all or any of the other
states or countries. never fails 10 WIN the
hlue ribbon for favor and for the tnencss
Of the meat. Other states have wen
ribbons for color and conformation ot the
fruit. but no Judge has ever failed 10
note the unexceled favor OF the Del
aware product.
And 80 it is. all through the fruit and
vegetable kingdom Nothing surpasscs
the excellence OF Delaware strawberry,
or blackberry. or Delaware asparagus, or
corn, or peas or whatever product OF the
soil one may name.
And those who have eaten the soit-shcll
crabs taken from the lower Delaware
reaches. know that in no other place do
these dehcacies reach such perfection as
here. The Indiana river FISH, the rock
and speckled trout. IN the late fall, are
fat and firm Could fish bc better than
these? Impossiblei Nor must one forget
the caviar taken from the sturgeon which
are caught In the States waterways Who
can recall any other appetizer half SO
good? No one
Later come the wild fowl-duck and
goose and swan-abundant and worthy
the first line of any royal menu. Then,
oysters and CLAIMS, the latter soft or hard
she'll No other waters give them quite the
distinctive sea flavor as do the waters OF
this State. Then we have snipe, quail,
rail and reed birds They cannot be
eoualled by those of any other State; all
good, all very good.
One must 90 back to mention the
cantaloupes of Delaware, which make the
Rocky Ford melons seem stale and
insipid, and the new Afncan cantaloupe
favorless mass of oyersweet pulp
The Sussex cantaloupes are really without
a peer in the world 5 melon field while
the watermeIons of the old Paynter
Frame breeding seemed TO stand out ID
memory as the melon par excellence.
Yes, Delaware is truly blessed in
climate, soil, location all unite to make
the little State modern FL Dorado
where nature seems TO give an extra
perfecting touch to al her creations. and
q little better flavor to all Of her products.