Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1919-09-05
STATE
CAPITAL

~fefe ffath ftiNs
Annapolis
Bugs, rain and cool nights this sum.
mer have been valuable allies in Mary
land Of the profiteer ia keeping the
high" in the high cost Of living" ac-
oording to DR.. A. f. Woods, president
Of the Maryland State College OF Agri.
culture.
Not for years has Maryland had
poorer yield from the acres which. un.
der wartime stress and effort, the
State had under cultivation, he says.
Farmers had been expecting this year
the greatest property in their history,
not only because Of probable good
harvests. but because they cultivated
more ground and farmed more inten.
sfvely last season than ever before.
Many things, however, have contrib.
uted to upset calculations and bring
about poor harvest For instance,
Dr. Woods estimates the damage done
to the wheat crop by the wheat disease
which became evident before the har-
vest and by the rain which caused
sproutlng after the harvest, will cut
the crop down from s5 to 40 per cent.
And that which has been harvested, he
says, is generally Of poorer quality
than Maryland usually produces.
How Wheat Was Hurt.
The wheat disease which settled in
the stalks before the harvest, DR..
Woods estimates. cut the crop about
10 per cent Then. after the wheat
had been cut, the farmers could not
find labor to take the shocks into
barns. They stayed on the field dur
ing the long rainy periods and the
wheat sprouted. resulting in loss
of from rs to 80 per cent. more Of the
crop. according to Dr. Woods esti-
mates.
Under the circumstances, and con-
sidering the long and heavy rains, DR..
Woods finds the corn crop 50 far,
favorable, except in the low. wet lands
which are found principally on the
Eastern Shore. 1t is there that the
rains have settled to such an extent
that corn suffered heaviest damage,
as there was not enough sun and hot
nights to sap up the rain quickly
enough to prevent injury to the crop.
The total loss in the corn crop. be-
cause Of the rain, may not reach more
than S per cent. Dr. Woods figures.
But 1t had been expected that an un-
usually large crop would be harvested.
SO the actual loss Of per cent. does
not Indicate the real damage.
Tomatoes Hit Hardest.
Tomatoes suffered more than any
other vegetable in Maryland On the
Western Shore. this was due almost
entirely to the rain, but on the East
ern Shore, around the canning centers,
where the tomato patches are largest.
there was another enemy to fight--the
collar rot which was unusually
prevalent on the east side Of the bay
This and the rain caused blossoms to
fall from tomato vines, and, while this
dld not auect early tomatoes particu-
larly, it meant that tomatoes that or
dinarily would be picked at this time
aren't to be found on the vines. AS
result, Dr. Woods believes the tomato
crop viii be cut in half. This loss, Of
course. has greater direct effect in
Maryland. because OF the dependency
Of the canneries in this State on the
tomato crop
The only cheerful part of the whole
agricultural situation, says Dr. Woods,
is the fruit crop. Although Maryland,
he believes. lost a little more heavily
from its fruit trees than other fruit
growing States this year, he finds the
apple crop fairly good and the peach
so far excellent"
Exact figures on the volume of the
various crops are not available. but
DR.. Woods believes they will bear out
the approximate estimates which he
has made.