NORTH AMERICAN STATES 2213 



period. Here injurious frosts extend into the early days 

 of June and again set in about the middle of September. 

 This gives only about 100 days of safe plant growth for 

 the season in this region. Along the waters of Chesa- 

 peake Bay, in southern Maryland, the period of safe 

 growth is more than again as long. 



Over the coastal plain, the land is mostly light and 

 largely dominated by the sassafras series of soils. The 

 lighter of these soils are well adapted to early truck 

 crops, while on their heavier sandy and gravelly loams 

 peaches and apples thrive. In the northern tier of 

 counties the soils are heavier and the agricultural 

 interests are more diversified. The mountain slopes 

 are well adapted to fruit-growing. 



The transportation facilities, both land and water, 

 are unsurpassed. Chesapeake Bay, with its numerous 

 long, broad, navigable tributaries ramifying all parts 

 of the state, gives Maryland a water-frontage larger 

 that that of any other equal area. A large fleet of 

 vessels is kept busy carrying produce from bay and 

 river ports to Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington, 

 and other markets. Maryland is well supplied with 

 railroads. Six distinct lines enter Baltimore. There are 

 also a number of electric lines that 

 carry freight. The Maryland State 

 Roads Commission maintains an ex- 

 cellent system of state roads. 



Climate, soil, transportation facili- 

 ties with large markets near at hand, 

 combine most efficiently to make 

 Maryland a great horticultural re- 

 gion. Although small in area, it 

 enjoys a remarkable range of soil and 

 climatic conditions and because of 

 this great range all of the horticul- 

 tural products of the eastern United 

 States can be grown with ease. In 

 the entire region south of Balti- 

 more, the growing of vegetables has 

 assumed large proportions. The 

 tomato is the most extensively grown 

 vegetable crop of the state. In the 

 production of tomatoes Maryland 

 leads all other states. Potatoes, sweet 

 corn, sweet potatoes, peas, canta- 

 loupes, cabbage, beans and watermelons follow in the 

 order named. Baltimore County leads in the produc- 

 tion of early potatoes. Recently a rapidly increasing late 

 potato area has developed in the higher altitudes of 

 Garrett and Allegany counties. This region produces 

 an excellent "seed" potato which has been found fully 

 equal to the Maine-grown seed potatoes. These pota- 

 toes are now displacing the Maine-grown potatoes for 

 planting purposes in the warmer regions of the state. 

 Most of the sweet potatoes are grown on the light, 

 warm, sandy soils of Anne Arundel County, although 

 they are grown to some extent in every county of the 

 state. Maryland ranks third in the Union in the pro- 

 duction of spinach, green peas, and sweet corn, and 

 sixth in the production of green beans and cantaloupes. 



Strawberries stand out conspiciously among the 

 small-fruit productions of Maryland. In the production 

 of strawberries Maryland outranks every state in the 

 Union, producing in 1909 nearly 30 per cent of all the 

 strawberries grown in the United States. Strawberries 

 thrive over the entire state but are most extensively 

 grown in Anne Arundel, Wicomico, Somerset, Worcester 

 and Caroline counties. In these counties, strawberries 

 are produced in enormous quantities and during the 

 picking season, which begins about May 12, special 

 trains from these regions carry Maryland strawberries 

 as far west as Chicago, and as far north as Montreal 

 and Quebec. Anne Arundel also led in the production 

 of blackberries and dewberries in 1909, but of late 

 years the production of bush-fruits has been greatly 

 on the increase in Washington and Allegany counties. 



Maryland has long been famous as a peach-producing 

 region. The first commercial orchard in the state was 

 planted in 1800, in Anne Arundel County, 20 miles 

 from Baltimore. The orchard was owned by Thomas 

 Robinson. It contained 20,000 trees, and proved 

 highly profitable. Other orchards soon followed; and 

 soon peaches were grown on a large scale in Anne 

 Arundel County. It is not known just when the first 

 orchard was planted on the Eastern Shore. In 1830, a 

 Major Philip Reybold planted an orchard of 6,000 trees 

 in Kent County, and in the same year a Mr. Cassady 

 planted 50,000 trees along the Sassafras River in Cecil 

 County. Under the influence of the congenial soil and 

 climate, with practically no enemies to contend with, 

 the industry flourished and by 1865 the water fronts of 

 Cecil, Kent, and Queen Anne counties presented the 

 appearance of a continuous peach forest, extending 

 inward for several miles. The peach industry of western 

 Maryland is of comparatively recent origin. John A. 

 Nicodemus planted the first orchard at Edgemont, in 

 Washington County, and his orchard became the cradle 

 of the industry in which many beginners received their 

 first lessons in peach-growing. W. D. Hues also planted 



50 



I I -I "I' '-I 



STATUTE MILES 



2509. Maryland, with the line of demarcation. 



an orchard of 300 trees on the Blue Ridge Mountains, 

 near Keedysville, in 1880. Keedysville is now a large 

 shipping point for peaches. The first orchards were 



Elanted on the Blue Ridge; gradually they spread to 

 )wer levels and other ridges. The higher elevations, 

 however, are considered the more desirable, as on the 

 lower levels the crop is more frequently ruined by frosts. 

 This is a brief outline of the beginning of the peach 

 industry in Maryland. For many years it dominated the 

 fruit industry of the state. The comparative ease with 

 which peaches were grown led many ambitious grow- 

 ers to plant larger areas than they could properly man- 

 age, and with the advent of the San Jose" scale and the 

 yellows, peach-curl borers, and other pests, many grow- 

 ers were forced to curtail their operations. This was 

 more noticeable on the Eastern Shore than in western 

 Maryland, where the plantings were more conservative 

 and the orchards, on the whole, better managed. On 

 the Eastern Shore, peaches were largely superseded 

 by vegetable crops. At first, the cause of failure was 

 attributed to a change in climatic conditions. This, 

 however, is not the case, for under proper management 

 and scientific methods peaches can now be grown on the 

 Eastern Shore as well as formerly. Through the activi- 

 ties of the State Horticultural Department, in connec- 

 tion with the State Agricultural College, the growers 

 have learned to overcome the inroads of scale, yellows, 

 brown-rot, and other pests; and, since 1900, the plant- 

 ing out of peach, as well as other fruit-trees, has been 

 on the increase. The following are among the leading 

 commercial varieties grown: Greensboro, Carman, 



