Milford chronicle., 1925-11-06
LATE DELAWARE CROPS
ABOUT ALL HARVESTED
Continued from first page)

: AcOuLLuuSu from uTSL pdB6J
weeks ago blew many of the apples
from the trees that Orchardists were
hoping would remain on the trees
until the end of this month and this
| has hastened the final harvest of ap-
pies this fall. The yield has been
good and the prices obtained all
that normally could be looked for.
The shipments to England two
months ago netted between three
and five dollars a barrel which, with
freight and other expense deducted
gave fair margin of profit.
In sweet potatoes it has been a
big year. Most of the farmers have
gotten their crops out and placed
in storage houses where the pota-
toes are first subjected to a heating
process that makes them sweat out
much of the moisture that is a short
time would cause them to rot, and
then the potatoes are dried through
the use of heat which insures them
more or less from decaying during
the winter and until they can bring
a big price in the spring.
While there is no accurate way of
determining how many sweet pota-
toes have been put away, it is esti-
mated that there are now between
125,000 and 175,000 barrels of sweet
potatoes in storage, where they will
remain until January, February and
March before offered to the market.
''The Delaware sweet potato
grower is about fifty years ahead of
many other states in the matter of
treating and storing sweet potatoes
says prominent state officials.
"They know just what to do and
how to do it to keep sweet potatoes
and that's why the problem of stOr
ing them, which farmers in all
states where sweet potatoes are
raised are now realizing, is making
money for them.
"The past fall has witnessed stor-
age houses in South Jersey for |
sweet potatoes being erected, but |
these houses are being used by Del
aware growers and brokers who |
have gone to South Jersey and |
bought sweet potatoes raised there |
and are now profiting by their ex-
perience in treating and keeping
them The handling of sweet pOta
toes is almost as much of a secret .
process among many sections and .
growers as the packing of straw
berries in May and June, which is
another detail in agriculture which
Delaware farmers know lot |
about"
During the past few weeks there
have been many sweet potatoes sold
at from ninety cents to $1.15 a
bushel which is most encouraging
to the farmer, because it indicates
that later in the year and fore part
of 1926, he is going to get even fan
cier prices for his stock in storage,
if they keep well.
About the only thing being can
ned now is pumpkins. Because of
The hardness of this vegetable, it
can withstand more severe treat
nent than most other fall products
and it doesn't hurt it to lie out in
he field in weather that would de-
;trOy other things. So the farmer
S now leisurely hauling the pump
lins he raised to the cannery and
as good price as he did
asst fall and which, to those who
20 in extensively in raising pump
Tins, is no item to be sneered at.
Next week it is anticipated that
he meeting of cooperative tomato
,ackers and raisers of this vege-
able will be held in Wilmington to
onfer about plans for merging their
interests. The exact date has not
een fixed but has been left to the
'ri-State Packers Association Off
ials