464 



DELAWARE 



The center of the peach belt in 1890 was along the 

 southern l.Mnli-r nf Ki-nt county, where the trees were 

 comparain i l> li.^ihln, Imt in 1890 the yellows had ex- 

 tendeil im ■ 1 1 i i, -ii,>i-x, where it has remained sta- 

 tionary I i I , In 1896 the Delaware division 

 of the riMi.i'i' Hihi I, W ihiiington & Baltimore railroad 

 -carried mcr iwo million baskets of Delaware peaches, 

 "which was over yu per cent of the total crop, and esti- 

 mated that there were between four and five million 

 beariilg trees in the state. 



The peach-yellows has been responsible, primarily, for 

 the shifting of the peach-growing centers. No sys- 

 tematic, cooperative effort has been made to suppress 

 the disease. Yellows legislation is inoperative from 

 a lack of public and political support. Intelligent grow- 

 ers remove trees at the first indication of infection, but 

 the efforts of a few individuals have not been effective 

 in checking the progress of the disease. The ultimate 

 remedy for the yellows in Delaware lies in a more 

 diversifi.n !i-i i i- u'- i.i-. . 



The J.r; 

 Foster. < I 



Mountiun i.- -< , i.rc > 

 Crawford ijau-, .Mutu 



Next to the peach 

 small fruit interests, which are 

 veloped in the southern half 



of peaches are : Hale Early, 



Oldmixon, Moore Favorite, 



vorite, Elberta, Brandywine, 



1 Smock. 



commercial importance are the 



stensively de- 



1 the western 



nd 8,000 acres 



iiics in these 



1 • .f the P. W. 



' r 90 per cent 



111 is road car- 



a still larger 



tS of 



& B. K. I, 

 of the tot;,! ,.,,.,1 

 ried over L'4.I100, 

 quantity in 1899. 



Since 189G, the Lucretia dewberry has been set out in 

 large quantities in both Kent and Sussex counties, while 

 the blackberry acreage has fallen off in consequence. 



Among the principal varieties of strawberries are Bu- 

 bach, Tennessee Prolific, Gaudy, Greenville, Michel and 

 Haverland. The Souhegan, Palmer and Mills com- 

 prise the prominent black raspberries ; the Miller, 

 Cuthbert, Loudon and Bi ^nd\^vlno the r(d \ am tits , 

 and Early Harvest and \\ iNon thi blackb( rries 



In Kent county tlit pear industr\ is a prominent 

 horticultural featuu The Kiefftr is the leading ^ i 

 riety. Its adaptability to \arious soils, its earlj and 

 precocious bearing tendencies, and the cheapness of its 

 production give it unusual commercial \ alue throughout 

 the state. In the fill of 1897 nioi. th m 40 000 Kii ff, i 

 trees were sold in centi il x i n t\ 



and young orchards iron ~ i\ 



and New Castle counties ^ iln 



Kieffer to a large e\tciii i I- 19 



there were about 100,000 K i i . ii., 



old and 60,000 trees o\er J ji ii^ .id m tin ^i iti 



Previous to the advent of the Kiiffcr the Bartlitt, 

 Duchess, Lawrence and Aiijou were the leading Kinds, 

 the orchards existing m the tno upper uuuntjew. 



The introduction of the Japanese plum has opened 

 the way to plum culture. Scattering orchards of Bur- 

 bank and Abundance have been set in Sussex and New 

 Castle counties, but an extensive development is under 

 way in Kent. In the vicinity of Clayton and Smyrna 

 there were 6,000 trees in bearing in 1897, since when 

 10,000 trees have been set. There were 32,000 trees in 

 the state in 1899. TheJapanese plums, as a class, arc 

 well adapted to the state. TJIiey are .l.-itin.-.l t.. im.v.- 

 an increasingly important factor in ih. li. n i. i;;i n m v. 

 the future, but with their concenti ' 



hoods, their weak points may be e\ I . 



prominently. Burbank, Abundanci- anu i il ^ l.i . i.. . n 

 the leading varieties, and Red June, Chaljot and Hale 

 are growing in popularity. 



The native plums of the Hortulana and Chickasaw 

 groups, which ripi-n licfi.ri' the northern Doimstica va- 

 rieties, ar.- r.i].;.l'., :ill:,Ii,iiK: .I.-i r-, . .1 |.r..n,:ii-ii-. , Tliey 

 are hai-'l' ' • .' ■" ' ." •,.! re- 



DELPHINIUM 



150 to 200 acres of grapes, where the history of viticul- 

 ture began about 1855. Grape culture has been a 

 profitable industry in this neighborhood, the net income 

 frequently exceeding $100 per acre. Recently, however, 

 the profits have been somewhat less on account of the 

 lower prices and the grape diseases. Many of the vine- 

 yards are models of intelligent tilling, pruning, spray- 

 ing and training. The principal varieties are Niagara, 

 Moore's Early, Concord, Brighton, Agawam and Wyom- 

 ing Red. 



Delaware is widely known, W't onh- tlironeh her ex- 

 tensive orchards and small tr m i! ii i '-i^. but also 



through the products of her en _ . -. In 1895 



the tomato output amounted t- - ' - : jteaches 



to 50,000 cases ; peas to nearly a hi,, .piini ;i_\ ; corn to 

 over .50,000 cases ; and a large amount of berries, pears 

 and other fruits, not separately classified. Since 1895, 

 the amount of the various canned goods has not fluctu- 

 ated widely, except with canned peas, which in 1898 had 

 rearlM .1 111. (inn , a^.s; and with tomatoes, which have 



■ \l' I' lie is preeminently a horticultural 



Stan , . , M ... i.ni.s in horticulture are largely unde- 

 veloia.l. li.. i.li>Meal environment makes it a natural 

 fruit garden. There are several industries that could 

 be profitably introduced or extended to larger acreages. 

 Apple culture ; plum culture, of the Japanese and early 

 native types ; sour cherry culture, especially for can- 

 ning ; nut culture, on cheap land ; vegetable" growing, 

 and glass-house gardening-all offer opportunities for a 

 greater horticultural diversity. The various fruit inter- 

 ests are gradually extending over wider areas, and it 

 may be expected that Delaware will not only maintain 

 its present horticultural prestige but will be an m 

 creasingly potent factor in American hcrticulture in the 

 *"♦"'■<'• G HlR LI I «ELL 



DELPHINIUM (Greek, a dolphu t I 



r 



mg natives are worthless for Delaware, as the markets 

 are then supplied with Domestica plums. 

 In the vicinity of Smyrna and Clayton there are from 



zone. Annual or perennial, erect, branching herbs: Ivs. 

 palmately lobed or divided: fls. in a showy raceme or 

 panicle; sepals 5, petal-like, the posterior one prolonged 



i sessile, forming many-seeded follicles. Full 

 i :ii I, I .ii Ills are very common in a number of the spe- 

 n pare Figs. 685, 686). 

 1 ' :, i nmras thrive in any good garden soil, but are 



iiiih! . I li\' a deep, rich, sandv loam, exposed to the sun. 

 !>., |. , I. i.,n:n I ;h. -oifi. verv important. The 



aiinn.. -,-■ j. "'..'. ■■■■!■:-.-.■. 1, \> liirii ar.' very slow 



ill^.!"..' ,.;..,'.' ~' ■ .|M P.. .,,M II III 111., falltopro- 

 diire ihiM I- . ail;, 11m iM \i ~. a~oii. The ] ren ii iiials may be 

 prop. : ( 1 1 Hy root division in the fall or spring. (2) By 

 cuttings, about whicli J. B. Keller says: "Take a few cut- 

 tings from each plant in early spring, when growth is 

 about 3 or 4 inches long, or else use the second growth, 

 which has come after the flower-stems have been re- 

 moved. Cuttings root readily in a shaded frame, no 

 bottom heat being required, but an occasional sprinkling 

 during dry and hot weather is necessary. When rooted 



