62 THE STRAWBERRY IN NORTH AMERICA 



least S20,000." ^ The same year the West Jersey Fruit 

 Growers' Association delegated a committee to collect 

 information concerning the extent and condition of the 

 strawberry industry in that county. Compiling the re- 

 sults of a canvas, the committee reported : " In the six 

 townships — Burlington, Beverly, Chester, Cinnaminson, 

 Evesham and Newton — there were 520 acres of straw- 

 berries in bearing last season, yielding in all 29,030 bushels 

 of fruit, w^orth in the market $133,737.41. The average 

 yield per acre was 55| bushels, and the average price per 

 bushel, 84.60." In 1867 there were 1000 acres in the 

 vicinity of Hammondton alone, chiefly Wilson and Tri- 

 omphe. 



The Delaware-Maryland peninsula. — The construction 

 of the Delaw^are Railroad opened a new and fertile field. 

 The story of the beginning of a big industry in a little state 

 is told by A. W. Slaymaker, of Wyoming, Delaware : ^ 

 "The first attempts at berry growing in Delaware came 

 with the northern settlers who located in middle Dela- 

 ware at the close of the war. The business went up with 

 a whoop. One of the first, if not the first, grower for 

 market in the state was located at Milford, — Mr. Jester, 

 who, in 1865, or 1866, shipped berries in thirty-six quart 

 crates that brought $36 per crate for eight crates in one 

 shipment, in the New York market. A few years later, 

 about 1870, Mr. E. H. Bancroft, of Camden, picked 4000 

 quarts from an acre of Wilsons grown in hills. Others 

 began business about then near Smyrna, Felton, Bridge- 

 ville, Wyoming and iMilford. Pickers soon became scarce, 

 and the market much lower in price." 



The planting soon extended down the peninsula into 



1 U. S. Agr., Kept., 1865, p. 282. 



2 Rept. Peninsula Hort. Soc, 1905, p. 66. 



