THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
99 
peaches so good, as this peninsula. The peach season 
here is longer than elsewhere, and the fruit is the best 
sent to the markets of the great northern cities. No¬ 
where else in the world have peaches been grown so 
long in great quantities for market, and in no other 
region is the peach relatively so important a crop. 
Delaware has been the chief peach growing region of 
the world for nearly half a century, and in spite of 
many discouragements and ill forebodings, in spite of 
ravaging disease and increasing competition, it is likely 
to retain its supremacy for many years to come, perhaps 
for many generations. 
“ The peninsula peach crop of this year is one of the 
largest in the history of peach growing, though some 
hundreds of thousands short of three or four famous 
crops of the past thirty years. The railways that net 
the peninsula are making ready to send 5,600,000 
baskets of peaches to market. That means 168,000,000 
pounds of fruit, or 84,000 tons. Besides all this there 
will be another 1,500,000 baskets sent to market by 
water or used in the canneries and evaporators, to say 
nothing of the immense quantity consumed at home. 
This peninsula will send its peaches to all northern and 
western cities within 1,000 to 1,200 miles of this point. 
Peach trains from here, or corresponding points in the 
peach region, reach Jersey City in fourteen hours, 
Boston and New England cities in thirty hours or less, 
Cincinnati and places in the Ohio valley in thirty hours, 
and Chicago in thirty-six hours. Peaches kept in 
motion will carry in good order to the most distant place 
named, and if need be half as far again, so that St. 
Paul and the cities in the western states bordering the 
Mississippi are not beyond the reach of the peninsula 
peachgrower. Whole trains of peaches are consigned 
to the great cities and from one to three cars to small 
places. So long as peaches may go in bulk to their 
place of destination, and are kept going, they are likely 
to reach these places in good condition. It is stopping 
and handling that destroy the peaches and make them 
unfit to eat. The railway charge from Delaware to 
Jersey City on a carload of peaches of six hundred 
baskets is $100, and to more distant points in propor¬ 
tion. The interstate commerce commission has decided 
these rates to be excessive, and peachgrowers hope for 
something better. Peaches are plucked by hand when 
hard, but handsomely colored, culled by machinery and 
packed in baskets, often with a few leaves on top by 
way of garniture. They are carried from farm to rail¬ 
way station in light wagons specially constructed for the 
purpose and arranged to hold a double deck of peach 
baskets. The driver is a negro, and the team is a pair 
of horses or mules. The peach season throughout the 
peninsula sets in between the middle and the last of 
July, continues to increase in activity until the last week 
of August, is brisk well through September and ends 
late in October. 
“It is estimated that there are more than 7,000,000 
peach trees on the peninsula, which would indicate an 
area of nearly 70,000 acres planted in peach orchards. 
When New Castle county, now almost abandoned for 
peach raising, was the chief peach region of the country 
and peach farmers made from $5,000 to $20,000 a year 
from that crop alone, a single peachgrower sometimes 
owned 150,000 trees. There are few growers who own 
so many now, and an orchard of 50 acres, containing 
rather more than 5,000 trees, is now esteemed large. 
Ex-Governor Benjaman T. Biggs, of Delaware, is now 
one of the greatest peachgrowers in the world, unless 
indeed some of the California orchards exceed his in size. 
Much of his peach-bearing land lies in Queen Anne’s 
county, Md., adjoining New Castle county, Del,, and 
if prices are profitable this season he will send to market 
ten carloads of peaches per day, or more than 250,000 
baskets. Other extensive peachgrowers are S. H. 
Ridgely, of Dover ; the Cannon Brothers, of Bridgeville, 
Del.; J. J. Ross, of this place ; E. H. Bancroft and 
Jacob Brown, of Wyoming, Del.; the Hon. W. T. Hep- 
bron, of Kennedyville, Md., and R. Thomas Cochran.” 
SOCIETY OF AMERICAN FLORISTS. 
The ninth annual convention of the Society of Amer¬ 
ican Florists was held in St. Louis, August 9th and loth. 
Among those present were : George Nicholson, curator 
of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, England ; Professor 
L. Wittmack, Berlin ; Victor Lemoine, Paris ; E. H. 
Krelage, Holland. The attendance was about 400. 
President Smith in his address stated that in 1891 there 
were 4,659 floral establishments in the United States, 
employing 16,847 nien and 1,958 women ; fuel cost over 
$1,000,000 ; advertising, independent of catalogues, 
about the same ; florists paid for postage $767,438.21, 
for freight and expressage $1,088,612.41 ; the sale of cut 
flowers, hardy shrubs, roses and other plants amounted 
to $26,211,805.77 I that it is safe to say there has 
been an increase of 20 per cent, on these figures since 
then. Statistics show that the florists of this country 
send to the Netherlands, Germany, England, France, 
Belgium and Bermuda over $1,750,372 for bulbs, plants 
and seeds. 
Secretary Stewart reported that the number of mem¬ 
bers paying dues in 1892 was 829. The number 
suspended during the year for nonpayment of dues was 
214, the number of resignations 40, deaths 4. 
Treasurer Hunt’s report showed a balance on hand of 
$2,125. 
These officers were elected : President, J. F. Anthony, 
Chicago ; vice-president, Robert Kift, Philadelphia ; sec¬ 
retary, William J. Stewart, Boston ; treasurer, M. A. 
Hunt, Terre Haute. The next annual meeting will be at 
Atlantic City, N. J. 
