THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, October 27, 1857. 
53 
THE AMERICAN PEACH CROP. 
Elkton, Md., Sept. 1,1857. 
The Peach season is now at its height. The delicious 
fruit is pouring into the city markets; and as a majority of 
the readers of the Tribune have but little idea of the pro¬ 
ductiveness of this crop, we will, for their benefit, give a few 
items in regard to Peach-growing, &c. Let us, then, take 
a peep at the celebrated “ Peach Blossom Farm,” which is 
one of the most extensive Peach orchards in the United 
States. This farm is situated in the lower part of this 
(Cecil) county, on the Sassafras river, and contains 650 
acres, 400 of which are planted in Peach trees. It was sold 
last winter by the creditors of the late James Casseday, (who 
in 1839 planted the first tree, which is still bearing,) and 
was purchased by Anthony Reybold, of Delaware, for the 
sum of 34,144 dollars 50 cents. 
The Peaches generally commence ripening about the 
5th of August, and from that time till the close of the 
season, say the 25th of September, they are gathered and 
sent to market at the rate of from 800 to 1,500 baskets per 
day. During this period from 50 to 100 hands are con¬ 
stantly engaged picking and shipping the fruit, and two 
steam-boats are employed in carrying it to the Philadelphia 
market. Tlie Baltimore market is much more convenient, 
but it generally commands such poor prices there that it is 
found advisable to send it to Philadelphia. The pickers are 
divided into gangs, each gang being composed of ten or 
twelve men, and having a captain or overseer to direct their 
movements, and see that no unripe or imperfect fruit is 
gathered. Thus arranged they pair off, and commence 
operations by every two men selecting a step-ladder and a 
couple of hand-baskets. By means of the ladders they are 
enabled more easily to climb the trees; and then hanging 
their baskets on a convenient limb, by a hook fastened to 
the handle for that purpose, they proceed with their labours. 
As often as their hand-baskets are filled they are passed 
down and emptied into the baskets in which the fruit is sent 
to market, and which usually contain about three pecks. 
Day after day the same routine is gone through with, and 
during the months of August and September a Peach farm 
presents quite an animated scene. Here on every side can 
be seen gangs of pickers, mostly Dutch and Irish, with their 
baskets and ladders ; there go peculiarly constructed spring 
waggons, laden with baskets filled with the tempting fruit; 
and yonder, at the wharf, lies a huge steamer taking in her 
luscious cargo. All is bustle, for the fruit is ripening rapidly; 
and the great object is to get it to market in proper condi¬ 
tion. A single day’s negligence or inattention may cause 
the loss of several hundred baskets of fine fruit. 
In consequence of the pecuniary embarrassment of the 
recent owner of “the Peach Blossom” orchards the trees 
have been much neglected of late, and having declined 
considerably are not near so productive as formerly. Some 
years ago as many as 70,000 baskets were gathered from 
them in a single season. In 1854 the crop sent to market 
was, in round numbers, 25,000 baskets; in 1855 it was 42,000 
baskets, and in 1856 about 12,000 baskets. The prices for 
the years above mentioned averaged as follows:—1 dollar 
14 cents per basket in 1854; in 1855 but 36 cents per 
basket, and in 1856 about 1 dollar 50 cents per basket. As 
the cost of getting the fruit to market is about 22 cents per 
basket, viz., 12 cents a basket freight, and 10 cents a basket 
to cover picking, selling, and other expenses, it will be seen 
at a glance that the most profitable seasons have been those 
in which there has been a scarcity of fruit. Thus :— 
Year. 
Gross Receipts. 
Dollars. 
Expenses. 
Dollars. 
Net Receipts. 
Dollars. 
but when the planting, worming, trimming, and cultivating 
the trees are taken into account, we doubt whether, one year 
with another, it is as profitable as grain-growing. Those 
who are engaged in raising grain extensively can easily 
make the calculation for themselves .—(Correspondence of 
the N. Y. Tribune.) 
1854 . . . 28,500 5,500 23,000 
1855 . . * 15,120 9,240 5,980 
1856 . . . 18,000 2,640 15,360 
In 1855 there was an immense Peach crop in every section 
of the country, and the city markets were constantly glutted; 
hence the very low' price of fruit that season. The present 
year the crop will be a very light one ; the prices will range 
high, and such of the Peach growers as are fortunate enough 
to have any fruit will realise large profits. 
From the statistics given above a casual observer would 
conclude at once that Peach-raising is one of the most pro¬ 
fitable agricultural pursuits in which a man could engage ; 
TANKS FOR AQUARIA. 
The aquarium is no longer a novelty; it is an established 
home pleasure, a favourite domestic ornament; it has opened 
many new leaves in the book of Nature to inquiring 
students, and largely aided in the popularising of certain 
distinct subjects; for while it pleases the eye and affords a 
pretty scientific recreation, it is also a new source of useful 
and entertaining knowledge. 
I attach great value to the privilege accorded me by the 
Editors of The Cottage Gardener of communicating with 
aquarian students through these pages; and as we shall 
consider seriatim the several steps which conduct us to the 
proper study of Marine and River life, it seems best to begin 
at the beginning, and in this paper, therefore, we will 
briefly deal with tanks and their construction. 
There is scarcely a town of any importance in the 
kingdom but has its makers of tanks for aquaria, and now 
that the proper mode of constructing them is pretty 
generally understood there is not much difficulty ex¬ 
perienced in getting them of any size or shape, and at 
almost any price, from a few shillings to many pounds. 
Still an experienced eye will note in the windows of vendors, 
especially in London, many offered for sale that would be a 
disgrace to the home of an aquarian; for though anything 
that will hold w'ater may in some way or other be used for 
the purpose, success for purposes of either ornament or 
study is only to be attained by the use of vessels made after 
the most approved models and of the proper materials. A 
great many try their hands at the work who have never 
spent a single day in fitting or managing an aquarium, and 
it is impossible that such persons should understand 
thoroughly what are the requisite conditions. Hence we see 
lumbering boxes that are called aquariums, because there 
happens to be a few squares of glass clumsily squeezed into 
them; and generally speaking amateurs who make their 
own vessels are very unfortunate—they are either ugly, or 
inconveniently shaped, or leaky, or poisonous. And here 
let the first condition be understood—the metal used should 
never come in contact with the water. 
Not long since I was requested by a friend to look at an 
aquarium which had been voted a perfect nuisance. It had 
been stocked again and again, but nothing w’ould live in it 
beyond a week or two. What those poor fishes suffered pen 
could not describe. First they were over-fed and the water 
made putrid, when they died of plethora; another lot was 
got and starved; when they perished a third shoal was got, 
the water changed daily, the house kept in a continual slop, 
and every day or two all the victims were caught, laid in 
plates, and the coldest spring water dashed on them. With 
all this they would not live; pisces no sooner rose to the 
horizon than he underwent a gloomy occultation, so the 
water cure proved quackery, and the family came to the 
solemn conclusion that to keep an aquarium is to make a 
fool of yourself. In some such cases this might be very 
fairly inferred. 
When I saw it I pronounced it a pretty and well-made 
tank, and it was certainly well stocked as far as the 
purchase of fishes went, but the plants were in a miserable 
state, and the noble gold fish languishing. I emptied it 
and cleared out the bottom, and what was my astonishment 
to find that inside it had a zinc bottom. The remedy was 
simple. It was scrubbed out, well dried, and the bottom 
covered with a coat of pitch, then seasoned by being kept 
filled for a week, then stocked in fine style, and has done 
well ever since, and the good folks declare the result to be 
wonderful. Now, I know that that tank came from a house 
that has sent out a great many, and they are now as good 
makers as any in the trade, therefore we need not Lancet 
them for adulterating the water; but the fact set one 
thinking how many enthusiasts they must have driven crazy 
with these their first efforts to popularise the aquarium. 
