1900 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
719 
PEACH-GROWING ON THE HILLS. 
Taming a Mountain Wilderness. 
Part T. 
On September 21 I started from Baltimore over the 
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad for a short trip to the 
peach-growing districts of western Maryland. The 
members of our party, which contained such veteran 
peach growers as J. H. Hale, of Connecticut, and Ro¬ 
land Morrill, of Michigan, were guests of the Balti¬ 
more & Ohio. Mr. William Wood, its industrial agent, 
wished to show us a side of life and a phase of indus¬ 
try of which the general public scarcely dream. We 
went first to Cumberland, and then back and forth on 
short trips to West Virginia and Maryland. Most 
Americans know little of the rough mountain land of 
the Allegheny ridge, running southwest from Penn¬ 
sylvania. During the Civil War some one called it 
“the teeth in Slavery’s mouth.” We have been told 
by the novelists that the native mountaineers are the 
purest American stock left on this continent, and that 
they are close to the African Boers in their ideas and 
habits of life. Few have dreamed that these wrinkled 
and rocky hillsides are destined some day to revolu¬ 
tionize a great industry, and be brought directly into 
contact with millions of American homes. When I 
started I had no dream of such a thing—I returned 
fully convinced of it. I believe that these ridges are 
destined to produce the coming “peach 
for the million.” By that I mean the 
medium-sized, well-colored fruit of high 
flavor, which can be sold at a profit so as 
to be within reach of the clerk or me¬ 
chanic in the city. I do not think it pos¬ 
sible to grow such peaches on these hills 
as Mr. Morrill or Mr. Hale have grown. 
I saw only one fat man on these moun¬ 
tains. The tendency of all things 
seemed to be to run to firm, solid flesh 
rather than great girth in that invigor- 
ing air. When it comes to cheap land, 
immunity from frost and disease and 
quick shipment to the large cities, this 
region certainly has remarkable advan¬ 
tages. We all understand how grain¬ 
growing has slowly but surely gone to 
the great western farms. The eastern 
farmer still grows corn and wheat, but 
the bread for the million is produced on 
the large tracts of cheap land which, be¬ 
fore the Civil War, fed only wild men 
and wild animals. In like manner these 
mountain wildernesses will in the future 
be tamed and trained to yield peaches, 
not for the select few, but for the army 
of buyers. 
I doubt whether the individual of 
small capital or capacity should be en¬ 
couraged to attempt peach culture in 
these mountains. It is the land of large 
enterprises—the very nature of the busi¬ 
ness giving the large operator an advan¬ 
tage in the market. We visited one great 
orchard of 1,000 acres owned by the 
Miller Brothers which a little over two 
years ago was mostly in forest. The 
Millers bought 25 farms, threw them to¬ 
gether, tore down the fences, but left the 
homes standing. Now the whole space is 
in peaches. The members of the 25 
families work in the peach orchards, and 
the sum of their earnings is far more 
than when they worked as separate free¬ 
holders. As we drove through this great 
orchard, I saw dozens of fumigating 
cases with which busy workmen were 
treating young peach trees for the San Jose scale. 
“There is another advantage in having this indus¬ 
try in the hands of large growers,” said Prof. W. G. 
Johnson. “These large growers cooperate with the 
scientists to fight insect pests and diseases. Thus it 
is possible to keep the scale out of this region, while 
with 20 or more small growers on the same area it 
would be impossible.” 
I think the development of this mountain fruit re¬ 
gion is a matter of National importance, and I want 
to give some of the reasons for thinking that it has 
a future, and then tell something of what we actually 
saw there. 
In a general way at least we ail understand that 
each crop requires certain ideal conditions of soil or 
climate to produce the largest crop or the highest 
quality. Potato growers who have never been able 
to grow over 100 bushels to the acre read of men who 
grow 400 bushels with apparent ease. The first man 
may not believe the statement, because he will not 
understand that he is trying to supply by artificial 
means the conditions which Nature has provided for 
the other man. By observation, or perhaps without 
knowing why, men finally learn where crops can be 
grown to the best advantage. While nearly every 
farmer grows apples or potatoes, yet it has been 
found that western New York, Kansas or Michigan 
are places where apples may be easily grown at 
wholesale, or that central New York, Colorado or 
Minnesota are naturally adapted to the potato. In 
the same way peaches are grown everywhere, yet the 
amount of really first-class peach land is limited. It 
is a singular thing that wherever you go among peach 
growers you will hear them say that high hills are 
best for that fruit. In former years many good or¬ 
chards were set in valleys or low places, but now, 
with one accord, peach growers are saying, “Let us 
look unto the hills!” Perhaps they are carrying this 
too far, but just now there is a desire to get up on 
high ground. The chief reasons are that the uplands 
are usually cheaper (the lower lands being worth more 
for other crops), the fact that cold air runs down hill, 
and the belief that peaches grown at high altitudes 
have a firmer texture and “carry better.” H. w. c. 
THE SELLING PROBLEM. 
Local Dealer or Commission Man. 
I recently talked with two men who were soliciting 
consignments for commission houses. One said, “One 
half the trouble farmers have comes from poor or dis¬ 
honest pacKing,” and I added: “You send back re¬ 
turns the same to all patrons in one neighborhood, no 
T11E ISABELLA GRAPE. Fig. 275. See Ruralisms, Page 
matter how the products are put up.” He had just 
been telling me how to put up fruit, and said: “Al¬ 
ways face up the barrels; appearance sells the fruit; 
and put the small or inferior where it will not be 
found.” 
He admitted that consignments were sold in a 
bunch, and there was no inducement for careful sort¬ 
ing if sold in the ordinary manner. His advice was: 
“Get an extra nice package, thirds for pears, some¬ 
thing dainty, mark it, so as to produce the impression 
that it contains something to be desired, a fine artis¬ 
tic printed label, a trademark, and then, make the 
fruit worthy of the impression. Write your dealer, 
and make arrangements to have it sold alone, and on 
its merits. Get a good honest man and stick to him 
till he gets your trademark introduced and reputation 
established.” 
He admitted that anyone could get references from 
banks and agencies, and one’s friends in the city 
could not tell more than what they heard; that there 
were many rascals, and finally admitted that he did 
not know how a common farmer could be sure he was 
sending to an honest man. Will those who accuse 
the farmers of useless stupidity in shipping to strang¬ 
ers, notice that one in the business knows “no way 
of finding out?” In spite of all, the only safe way for 
the farmer with small shipments is to sell to the local 
dealer for cash. The stealings of the bogus commis¬ 
sion houses in this county for the last 10 years are 
much greater than the profits over home prices. The 
local dealers now have partners or arrangements with 
firms to handle goods on joint account, and such firms 
will take care of their own first every time. 
C. E. CHAPMAN. 
Remarks by the Market Editor. 
FACING FRUIT.—I should hesitate to ship apples 
to men who recommend facing the barrels in the way 
mentioned by C. E. Chapman on this page. If they 
would deceive those to whom they sold the fruit, they 
would certainly swindle me in making returns. It is 
expected that barrels will be faced; that is, the finest 
put on the outside, but there should be no great dif¬ 
ference between these and the others. To “put small 
or inferior fruit where it will not be found,” in the 
middle of the barrel, is just what has harmed the 
trade. 
DULL MARKETS.—Produce will not always sell 
well. Trade gets dull, and often no one can tell just 
what is the matter. There are days, sometimes two 
or three in a week, when very few buyers come 
around. So no matter how nicely a man may sort, 
pack or label his stuff, or how reliable a 
man he may ship to, there may be times 
when he will not get a satisfactory 
price. 
A1 DEALERS.—Some of the most 
honorable men in the city are in the 
commission business. They have been 
for years at the same place, and there is 
no more danger in dealing with them 
than with the H. B. Claflin Co., John 
Wanamaker, or any other house that 
has a reputation to sustain. To be ab¬ 
solutely sure that one is dealing with an 
honest man, is rather difficult in any 
line of business. One’s neighbor, whom 
he has known for 20 years, may sudden¬ 
ly go wrong and scandalize the com¬ 
munity with his rascality. Handling 
produce on commission gives men un¬ 
usual opportunities for being dishonest 
Hence the suspicion that is attached to 
the business. A pretty safe rule is to 
steer clear of those who make extraor¬ 
dinary claims or offer prices much above 
the market. 
BUSINESS RATINGS.—Probably the 
agencies don’t mean to be misleading, 
and it is doubtful whether any of them 
would knowingly recommend a dishon¬ 
est man, but it seems to be a fact that 
people sometimes get far too high a 
standing in the commercial books. There 
have been several wars against these 
agencies, some going so far as to de¬ 
nounce them as mere blackmailing 
schemes to force people to buy their di¬ 
rectories, but on the whole the agencies 
are doing great service, and probably 
making as few mistakes as could be ex¬ 
pected in a business of this sort. How¬ 
ever, if a man starts in the commission 
business, conducts it carefully and hon¬ 
estly, does his best for every shipper, 
makes prompt returns, and sticks to this 
policy so long as he is in business, he 
will work up a name that will be worth 
more than anything a bank or commer¬ 
cial agency could say of him. 
A LOCAL DEALER wno is honest, has a correct 
idea of values, good judgment in handling produce, 
and tact in dealing with all sorts of people, can be of 
great service to a community and make a good liv¬ 
ing himself. Some have established a sort of depot 
for receiving produce, and kept wagons on the road, 
picking up small quantitites of stuff that farmers 
would not bother to ship themselves. But men who 
have all of the qualities to make a success of this are 
scarce. Probably more lack the ability to correctly 
value or “size up” poultry, live stock, or produce than 
any other one thing. If a man doesn t use good judg¬ 
ment in buying, he is sure to get caught, and then 
comes the temptation to make his loss good by offer¬ 
ing less for stuff than it is really worth. As soon as 
he does this his patrons lose confidence in him. 
w. w. H. 
Utica, N. Y.—Potatoes are 35 cents per bushel; onions, 
yellow, 5ff cents a bushel; cabbage, $2 per 100; squash, $1 
per barrel; sweet potatoes, $1.75 to $3 a barrel. Apples, 
Spies, Kings and Snows, $1.50 to $2; Baldwins, Russet and 
Greenings, $1.25 to $1.50 a barrel. Duchess pears, $1.75 to 
$2, 2%-bushel barrels; Sheldon, Seckel and Kieffer, $2.50 
to $3 a barrel. Concord grapes, five-pound basket, $7 per 
100; Catawba and Niagara $8 to $10 per 100. Peaches, 75 
cents per one-third bushel basket. Butter, 20 to 23 cent* 
per pound; egg2. 17 cents. *• 
