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7. Of the capabilities for fruit our New Castle correspondent writes: “ With 
proper attention the apple does as well in this county as in any of the middle 
States. The peach flourishes finely, and makes our State noted for its pro- 
duction. It is stated that 300,000 baskets of the fruit were shipped from 
Middletown alone during the last season, all produced in the lower sections 
of the county. The pear, grape, strawberries, raspberries, &c., are cultivated 
with ease and success.” Kent county, says the correspondent, “is famous for 
its fine peaches, immense quantities of which are shipped to New York and 
Philadelphia in season. Some orchardists have as many as 15,000 trees in 
bearing, and one claims to have 60,000 trees. he average yield of a healthy, 
well-grown orchard is about two and a half baskets of five-cighths of a bushel 
to a tree, and fifty cents per basket in the orchard is considered a paying price.” 
From Sussex we have: “ The capabilities for fruit growing in this county are 
perhaps not excelled by any on the peninsula, but the culture has been 
neglected for want of railroad transportation. The soil and climate are highly 
favorable to peaches, apples, pears, and the small fruits, which pay a large 
profit. The peach is largely cultivated, and the crop of the past year, though 
the season was unfavorable, reached 700,000 baskets; and the ‘number of trees 
planted the past fall and coming spring will probably swell the number to 
1,000,000 baskets. The average yield is one box to each tree.” 
