NORTH AMERICAN STATES 



NORTH AMERICAN STATES 2211 



The grape industry as a commercial proposition is 

 comparatively new. Although grapes have been grown 

 in the northern part of Kent County since 1855, it is 

 only within the last decade that grape-culture has come 

 to occupy an important place in Delaware horticulture. 

 The industry is centralized in two rather distinct 

 regions, the older one near Clayton and Smyrna and 

 a newer and what will probably prove to be a more 

 extensive one, near Dover. The grape industry only 

 awaits the advent of the grape-juice factory to bring 

 it to its proper place among the horticultural products 

 of the state. 



Pear-production is on the wane. There are large 

 plantings of Kieffer in Kent and southern New Castle 

 counties; but of late years the pear crop has not proved 

 very profitable. The old orchards have suffered from 

 the pear-blight, leaf-spot and psylla. There are but 

 few new plantings of pears being made and present 

 indications (1915) are that the next decade will witness 

 the passing of the pear industry. The northern part of 

 New Castle County is especially adapted to the grow- 

 ing of varieties like Lawrence, Seckel, Duchess and 

 Anjou. 



As the next decade will probably witness the passing 

 of the Kieffer pear, the past decade (1905-1915) has 

 witnessed the passing of the plum. From 1895 to 1900, 

 there were large plantings of Japanese plums made in 

 the state. In 1899 there were 32,000 trees, while at the 

 present time the plum crop is comparatively unim- 

 portant and the farmyard tree controls the output. 



The strawberry is the most important horticultural 

 crop grown in the state. Its cultivation is largely 

 localized in Sussex County. There are two great straw- 

 berry districts in this county, one at Bridgeville in the 

 western part and the other at Selbyville in the south- 

 eastern part. In the Selbyville district especially, 

 strawberry-growing is the principal farm industry. The 

 acreage in this district is constantly increasing. The 

 agriculture of the Bridgeville district is more diversified 

 and the strawberry-production, while great, is not so 

 large as it was about 1912. This district has recently 

 become a large producer of cantaloupes. The principal 

 varieties of strawberries grown in the state are Gandy, 

 Chesapeake, Superior, Klondyke and Parsons. 



The tomato is king among vegetables in Delaware. 

 With the exception of a small area in the northern part 

 of New Castle County, tomatoes are grown for canning 

 purposes over the entire state. In 1914 there were 150 

 canneries in operation in the state, all but two of them 

 specializing in canning tomatoes. The principal varie- 

 ties grown for canning purposes are Greater Balti- 

 more, Success, Stone, Red Rock and Paragon. 



Since 1911, the growth of the sweet potato industry 

 in the state has been phenomenal. At the present time 

 (1915), the principal sweet potato region is in the 

 western part of Sussex County from Seaford south- 

 ward through Laurel to Delmar. Seaford, Laurel and 

 Delmar are the great sweet potato shipping centers. 



The leading horticultural regions of the state are 

 Kent County for apples and grapes; Kent and Sussex 

 counties for peaches; Sussex County for strawberries, 

 cantaloupes, sweet potatoes and watermelons. 



While the climate and soil of the state are well 

 suited to the production of the English walnut and 

 chestnuts, the industry has not been developed. The 

 ravages of the chestnut blight have practically 

 destroyed the chestnut orchards and it is doubtful 

 whether any new plantings will be made. Black walnuts 

 grow naturally over a large part of the state. There 

 are no cultivated orchards of this nut. A few pecans 

 are grown, but the success of growing this nut in Dela- 

 ware as a commercial venture has not as yet been 

 demonstrated. 



The census figures of 1909 regarding the greenhouse 

 interests are misleading, as they show the industry of 

 growing plants and flowers to be of more importance 



than it really is. There are but few florists' establish- 

 ments within the state. 



The appreciation of fine landscape effects is steadily 

 growing in the state. There are several large estates 

 near Wilmington that have been well developed, such 

 as the numerous Du Pont estates lying between Wil- 

 mington and the Pennsylvania line. The smaller towns 

 and villages have been awakened to the need of parks 

 and playgrounds and the next decade ought to witness 

 a better appreciation of the beautiful in nature. 



Practically few of the many varieties of fruit grown 

 in Delaware have originated within her borders. Pos- 

 sibly the only variety of national fame that Delaware 

 can lay claim to is the Reeves Favorite peach. 



Among those men who have helped to form the horti- 

 culture of Delaware, may be mentioned Joseph Carter, 

 of Smyrna, who may be called the father of the grape 

 industry in Delaware, and J. G. Brown, of Wyoming, 

 who had great influence in establishing apple-growing 

 in the state. 



Public-service agencies for horticulture. 



The land-grant college of Delaware is Delaware 

 College located at Newark. This college was established 

 in 1833, but it was not until the passage of the Morrill 

 Act in 1862 that any provision was made for teaching 

 agriculture. The horticultural staff consists of two men 

 who also devote their time to the work of the Experi- 

 ment Station. 



The Experiment Station is closely connected with the 

 College. Aside from the land devoted to experimental 

 growing of crops, the Station has forty concrete tree 

 pits that are used for investigational work in the plant- 

 food requirements of peaches. 



There are no special horticultural schools in the state, 

 but horticulture is taught as a part of the agricultural 

 work in all the graded schools. 



Extension work is carried on through the state by the 

 College and also to some extent by the State Board of 

 Agriculture. 



The State Board of Agriculture controls the nursery 

 inspection and all public matters concerned with the 

 enforcement of horticultural laws. 



Historically, geographically and horticulturally, 

 Delaware is closely linked with the "Eastern Shore," 

 of Maryland. This close community of interest of the 

 two states has been recognized in the Penisular Horti- 

 cultural Society, whose membership is drawn not only 

 from Delaware and Maryland but also from the "Eastern 

 Shore" counties of Virginia. The Society has ever 

 played a most important part in horticultural develop- 

 ment of the two states, Delaware and Maryland. 



Statistics (Thirteenth Census). 



The approximate land area, according to the Census 

 report of 1910, is 1,257,600 acres, of which 1,038,666 

 were in farms, or 82.6 per cent of the land area. The 

 acreage of improved land is 713,538; that of woodland, 

 252,032, and other unimproved land in farms, 73,296 

 acres. The total number of farms in Delaware in 1910 

 was 10,836, the average acreage of which was 95.9 acres. 

 [The total area of Delaware is 2,370 square miles.] 



The leading agricultural crops are cereals and hay 

 and forage. The land occupied by cereals in 1909 was 

 43.3 per cent of improved land, or 309,288 acres, as 

 compared with the acreage in 1899, when it was 318,- 

 772. The value of the products in 1909 was $4,692,329. 

 The acreage of hay ajid forage in 1909 was 80,669, as 

 compared with 74,800 in 1899, showing an increase of 

 7.8 per cent. The value of hay and forage in 1909 was 

 $1,174,473. The forest products sold from the farms 

 in 1909 amounted to $346,062 in value. 



The horticultural crops grown are vegetables, small- 

 fruits, fruits and nuts, and flowers and plants, and 

 nursery products. In 1909, the total acreage of vege- 

 tables, including potatoes, was 37,871 and their value 



