The Gardens of the Chesapeake. 143 



the ground was exclusively devoted to the particular fruit or grain. The 

 owner estimated the products in money as follows : 400 baskets of 

 peaches, $21^0; 40 bushels corn, $30; 500 melons, $50. — making an 

 aggregate of $330 per acre. The manure (sea-moss) had cost him $8 

 per acre in six years for carting and spreading, while he had cultivated 

 the ground chiefly with his own hands and a single horse, when not 

 employed with his business of oystering. 



We visited a small fig orchard, the third year in bearing, and found 

 on the trees from hal^ a bushel to a bushel of fruit, w^hile much had 

 fallen, and remained ungathered. Fig raising is said to be less profit- 

 able than peach growing, where a market can easily be reached, as the 

 figs require care in preparation, and boxes for packing are not readily 

 obtained. 



Experiments in dwarfs, especially pears, and in grape vines, were in 

 all cases satisfactory. Standard pears were not much planted, but the 

 fruit of the dwarfs was very large, and perfect in color and flavor, 

 excelling in the latter respects all the California fruit of that kind we 

 have yet seen. The long season, the almost uninterrupted sunshine, 

 and the light character of the soil, that reflects the sun-heat, form a 

 combination of causes all tending to give high color and exquisite flavor 

 to the fruit. Few improved grapes are planted. The fox grows well, 

 but does not appear to grow so vigorously as in our low, rich, clay soils. 

 Although we saw a few wild grape vines climbing over the highest 

 trees, we remarked, as a genei'al rule, that the growth of the vine was 

 comparatively slow, while the fruit was plentiful, large, and perfectly 

 colored. The vine comes early into bearing, and the fruit is so matured 

 in all its wine essentials as to make excellent wine without the addition 

 of either sugar or brandy. 



The sea-moss, which is thrown on the beach in large quantities in 

 certain seasons, supplies all the fertilizing properties needed by the 

 vegetation of the islands. In a comparison with the best stable manures, 

 it has been found to be equally beneficial for most crops, and more 

 durable. It is gathered by all, without charge, and is often j^urchased 

 by farmers from the main-land, at about five cents the cart-load, and 

 conveyed up the rivers in scows adapted to the purpose. 



With all the natural advantages of climate and soil, and the freedom 

 from injurious insects, together with the abundance of fertilizing mate- 

 rial so cheaply obtained, the want of regular communication with the 

 great markets has heretofore been a bar to the extensive cultivation of 

 the more perishable fruits and vegetables. The Baltimore and Wash- 

 ington markets are principally supplied with melons and sweet potatoes, 



