INTRODUCTION. 19 



much more profitable, as well as the returns quicker, and 

 thousands of acres have been given to them. 



Still another is, that the richer soil, milder climate, 

 earlier maturity, and finer fruit of the Peninsula, have 

 rendered competition useless in this branch of agricult- 

 ure. The result is that she has wisely abandoned peach 

 culture, as a leading interest, and devoted herself dili- 

 gently to berries, in which she has been eminently suc- 

 cessful. Her crop of peaches now, even in a good season, 

 does not exceed two hundred thousand baskets. It is 

 sold in New York and Philadelphia. Since the first 

 edition was published, peach culture in New Jersey has 

 been much more successful than it was then ; the crop 

 for 1887 was estimated in May at 1,000,000 baskets. 



Ohio ranks high as a peach growing State. Along 

 the lake shore, on the sand-stone hills of the Ohio 

 river, and on the uplands of the Miami valley, large 

 quantities of peaches are raised. Thin land, and high 

 ridges, suit best. The orchards are generally small, not 

 exceeding two thousand trees, and seldom half so many. 

 The trees commence bearing, if the season be favorable, the 

 third year, and average two or three crops. The average 

 production is about half a bushel to a tree. The fruitful 

 seasons are generally five or six in a period of ten years. 

 Much of the fruit is shipped to Cincinnati, Cleveland, 

 and other points. It is usually sent in bushel boxes. The 

 price varies very much, as it does everywhere. Fifty 

 cents to four dollars per bushel may be. set down as the 

 extremes, and the net returns to the planter from naught 

 to two dollars the earliest and latest varieties being the 

 most profitable. The crop of 1867 was very large, and 

 was returned by the assessors of internal revenue for that 

 year at an aggregate of 1,450,000 bushels. Our private 

 information leads us to believe this an overestimate. In 

 1869 it is set down at 599,499 bushels. There is no doubt 

 it may be greatly increased; but were it double 



