1240 



PEACH 



reach its destination and plain cars for near-by pciinls. 

 The cost per baslcet on refrigerator cars to Boston, 

 Providence, Hartford, and other eastern points is about 

 40 cents, and to New York, Elmira or Syracuse about 

 :i5 cents each. In plain cars the cost to New York is 

 19 cents, and to Philadelphia about 12 cents each. 



A large proportion of the smaller fruit is used by can- 

 ning factories, of which there are one or two in every 



1678. Hale Peach 



town. A factory in .Seaford uses about 3,000 baskets per 

 day when running its full capacity. The Peaches are 

 peeled by women, anil the factories of the state employ 

 several thousand hiuids. F.inm rly a sooil many of the 

 smaller Peaches wi-i-r (■\-a|.i.)-ar.il, ami r\-:i)i(.raiurs were 

 built throughout tli.- l',arli-i;i-.,u m- I. .It. 'i'lir |.)'c>fut 

 low price of ev!i|"ir:il.-.| fvinl an.l the .-..iiiihI il icn of 

 California and tl;.- W'.m !,•,>.■ .an-.., I lliis ],|ia-.' .if the 



Peach l)n-ii.. -- I" !'■ n.ii.ii i. Num. I-,, II, larti.ries 



havei-iiir I I 'I ' i.-,-' ..I ..■itni an.l ..r |iuM- trees 



from :i t..:; r. m - mil .m- . i. i i r I-M.. 17 ■■.■nt-< each. 



4. Winrtl.s.^lu no othi-r fruit have the standard 

 orchard varieties changed more than in the Peach. 

 Many of the Delaware orchards planted not more than 

 ten years ago are now unprofitable because varieties in 

 demand then are now out of date. ^F.irtn.rly tlir white 

 Peaches, such as Oldmixon and Jl.iiintain li'ar.ripe, 

 were in strong demand; novjJJie^call i- l.'i \.l[..\v fruit, 

 and the finest white varieties have i.. I..- s.il.l at low 

 prices.] Early kinds also used to pay, but n.iw they 

 come In competition with the best varieties from 

 Georgia. Late varieties, which were also very profitable, 

 are now ripe when the best fruit from New York, New 

 Jersey and western Marvland is in the market. The old 

 orchards (.nn|iri>.- 'I'n.tli. Hale, Crawford Early. Moun- 

 tain Kns.-, ];. . \ .■. < »l.lniixon, Mt. Rareripe, (.'rawford 



Late. Stnni|.. Sii K. I imper Late, Garey Hold-on, and 



others, iin.i as in ddi.r fruits, most of them contain 

 too many kinds. A large proportion of these old kinds 

 have to go to the canning factories at low prices when- 

 ever there is a general Peach crop, as the market will 

 not take them. In the new orchards the yellow fruit 

 will predominate, with a few white varieties. Probably 

 the kinds most oft. ii l'..iiTnl in ..rcliards under five years 

 old are Foster, Sl.iniilain l{.isi., Reeves, Oldmixon, 

 Moore Favorite. Kiln ila. (hair Clioice, Crawford Late 

 and Smock. The Llljcrta is being planted more heavily 

 than any other variety. If the writer were to set a new 

 orchard his own choice would be as follows: Connett 

 Early, perhaps Mountain Rose, Foster, Reeves, Elberta. 

 Chair, perhaps Crawford Late, Prize and Townsend. 

 Nearly all growers wnnl.l always include Crawford Late, 

 and many of thoni M.„.r.- Favorite and Thurher. 



Of the newer variiii.-s in D.laware, Connett Early, 



PEACH 



Carman, Waddell, Greensboro, Champion, Mamie Ross 

 and Lady Ingold are the most promising, with prefer- 

 ence for the first three and the fifth and sixth. The 

 Delaware Experiment Station has an experimental 

 orchard of .100 varieties ten years old at Seaford, on the 

 writer's place, and another orchard of 75 varieties at 

 Bridgeville, most of which fruited in 1900. In the Sea- 

 ford orchard a number of Tasmanian trees were planted 

 to determine their orchard value and their suscepti- 

 bility to Peach yellows. A number were also planted at 

 the Delaware Experiment Station grounds and in other 

 parts of New Castle county. In Sussex county they are 

 vastly inferior to home-grown stock in the quality of 

 the fruit and in the grnwth of the trees, while in New 

 (.'astle county they pr:u-tir;dly all died from the yellows. 

 5. r.;i,h Yrll.nrs.-Th,- yellows swept the orchards 



intellitceiit -rowers hold it in check by cutting unt the 

 trees on the first indication of disease and burning 

 them, but there is no systematic attempt on the ])art of 

 all growers, nor on the part of the state, to stamp out 

 the trouble. There is a yellows law on the statutes, but 

 it is not enforced, though in the past its enforcement 

 did much good. For several years the disease has not 

 been so severe, though there has been a good deal of 

 complaint about it in 1900. New orchards are again 

 being planted on a large scale in Kent county and some 

 are again planting around Middletown in New Castle 

 county. Many believe that the yellows has run its 

 course in Delaware, and that by careful attention in 

 taking o\it trees the Poaeh can again be set in places 

 wh.'re th.' yell.iws lias wi|i.'.l .int tlii' orchards. 



I'l. (:,)i,-nil i;,,iHnl;s. ■I'll, ;;.of.'rnphical location of 

 D.'lawan- i^ ^.i.-li tliat n.. ..ili. r marki-t can approach it 

 in neafii.'^s to til.- i,n-.;.i .aiiiviniiint^- centers. It is at 

 the gateway of the -n ai. -t ,iii. s on the continent. 

 One night on the railn. a. I will r. a.li most of them, and 

 two nights all of the .l.-Mial.l.- mark. 

 excellent, heavy in ni.rlli.rn Delawar 

 in the central part, and a sandy loam 

 It is easily and cheaply worked, not s 

 kindly to treatment. Of the new lai 

 cleared of chestnut and sassafras ; 

 pine-land makes excellent orchards, 

 cow-peas or other cover-crops -r.iw r 

 humus and nitrogen to the s.iil. an. 

 ease of working and cheapm-s.^ ..I lali. 

 an orchard into bearing: an.l 



ts. The soil: 



brins 





very low cost. Late sjiring frosts are (be njost serious 

 drawback to the business. Sometimes several crops 

 will come through in succession, then for three or four 

 years the crop will be killed. In the past decade then' 

 have been four crops in the state. Other drawbacks are 

 the large orchards, making intensive culture without a 

 large capital impossible, while still another is the ten 

 ant system of working the land, which makes it difficult 



