Evening star., 1934-04-22
MARYLAND CROPS
MAY BRING BIC
PRICE THIS YEAR
Planting Season Finds
Farmers Hopeful After
Hard Winter.

BALTIMORE, April 21 (R.-The
signs Of the past week in Maryland
pointed to Spring.
A robin built its nest on an electric
meter in Hagerstown; it was getting
strawberry-time on the Eastern Shore;
the Department of Agriculture issued
its first crop bulletin, and the Cover
nor of Maryland pitched base ball to
Mayor Howard w. Jackson of Balti-
more, to inaugurate the base ball sea-
son for the International League.
The smell of newly turned earth and
talk of crops, politics, and base ball
told Maryland that one of the worst
Winters in its history was over; that
the worst February in ll8 years was
well past.
Trucks rumbled along the Eastern
Shore piled high with crates, as straw
berry planters looked optimistically
toward season materially better than
the over-produced one Of last year.
Prices in June would be better, growers
believed, pointing to the fact that
many planters had plowed under their
fields to plant truck products and
others had not planted so thickly.
Last year on the auction block at
Marion Station, strawberry center, the
price sank to 10 cents. Berries rotted
in the field and picked ones were
hauled back. Two dollars 32-quart
crate was the price hoped for this
year.
In the household of Miss Elizabeth
Fridinger at Hagerstown, Spring was
undoubtedly at hand. A robin settled
on her electric meter, built its nest,
and prepared to raise family. Miss
Fridinger shooed the meter reader
away and told him to return next
month.
At Annapolis Carl Thomas looked
at Spring with concern. A kingfisher,
rousing from Winter lethargy, selected
his goldfish pool. Quickly Thomas
supply of goldfish dwindled from 100
to Is. and Thomas began wondering
if he could break the city ordinance
as regards the use of firearms.
The Department of Agriculture Of
fered the Spring like news that after
so much bad weather there was
much blowing. for corn. and also
planting Of peas, early potatoes, truck
and garden, sowing Of oats.
Pear and some peach trees are bloom
ing, apple trees are budding.
Grains and grasses are in fair to good
condition and nicely green
Gov. Albert c. Ritchie pitched no
political hint of whether he would
run for a fifth term, but he wound
up and pitched base ball to Mayor
jackson of Baltimore, and few min
utes later the Baltimore Orioles went
into action against Rochester for the
first International League game OF
the season. Rochester won, 9 to 8.
Spring brought thousands Of Mary
land motorists onto the highways,
and the death list for last week end
mounted to 5, with 80 injured. Aus
tin Baughman, State motor vehicle
commissioner, told speeders they
would be hailed before a magistrate
when apprehended.
Politics, budding all Winter,
bloomed vigorously and profusely.
Mayor Walter E. Quenstedt of An
napolis, candidate for the Republican
gubernatorial nomination, accused H.
Webster Smith and the hackers of
Harry Nice of "mud-slinging."
Gov. Richie, still silent about his
fifth term, remained silent. He talked
politics publicly once, but missed the
present situation by 800 years. His
politics concerned early Maryland and
we're in connection with the States
300th anniversary, scheduled for cele-
bration June Is at st. Marys City.
The Junior Order of United Ameri-
can Mechanics, in State convention
at Cumberland. adopted a resolution
disagreeing with Miss Frances Per-
kins, United State Secretary of Labor,
on what they termed her attitude of
liberality' toward aliens. They would
press for stricter treatment Of aliens,
they voted.