THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
65 
CHARLES M. PETERS. 
Charles M. Peters, senior member of W, M. Peters’ 
Sons, Wesley, Md., was born March 3, 1854, at Roses Bar, 
Uba Co., California. His first work was done at the Fruit- 
land Nurseries, situated at Newark, Delaware, operated by 
Mr. Randolph and W. M. Peters. This partnership was dis¬ 
solved, W. M. Peters, his father starting a nursery at Center¬ 
ville, Delaware, and conducting the business there up to 
December 1874. In 1871 a tract of land was purchased nine 
miles from Snowhill, Worcester Co., Maryland, containing one 
thousand acres. Charles M. Peters, the oldest son was put on 
this farm February 14, 1872, to start a nursery and fruit inter¬ 
est there. He planted the same spring fifty acres in peach, 
apple and cherry trees ; twenty acres in strawberries ; that 
same fall one hundred bushels of peach seed were planted. 
The following spring five thousand standard pear trees were 
planted in orchard form ; in addi¬ 
tion to this three thousand peach, 
one thousand apple trees and twenty 
acres in strawberries. 
The nursery interest was in¬ 
creased by putting out fifty thous¬ 
and apple grafts, 3,000 cherry 
stocks, 5,000 Norway maple seed¬ 
lings, 50 pounds of asparagus seed 
and 300 bushels of peach seed. 
The peach seed planted in the fall 
of 1872 produced seedlings in 
August 1873 ready for budding. 
InDecember, 1874, W. M. Peters 
went there to reside. His youngest 
son, Reese C. Peters, went with 
him. The interest started was in¬ 
creased and permanent employment 
was given his two sons. The next 
step was in the fall of 1886, when 
his two sons were gNen an equal 
interest in the business. Being situ¬ 
ated five miles from the nearest 
shipping point on railroad, another 
farm was bought containing 600 
acres at Ironshire Station. This 
gave a switch from the station ad¬ 
joining the nurseries making the facilities for handling trees in 
carload bulk unsurpassed by anyone. At this time the firm was 
changed to W. M. Peters & Sons. This same fall 800 bushels 
of peach seed was planted ; the following spring, Reese C. 
Peters moved to this farm to direct the planting of other nur¬ 
sery stock. The planting being increased every year. 
On June 15, 1889, W. M. Peters died. The firm then 
changed to W. M. Peters’ Sons, the business moving along 
very satisfactorily. Reese C. Peters, the junior member of 
the firm, gave his entire attention to the propagation of the 
digging, packing and shipping, C. M. Peters attending to the 
correspondence and other details of the business. 
The firm now has devoted to nursery stock 150 acres, in¬ 
cluding small fruits and has ready for fall and following spring 
600,000 peach trees, one year old from bud, to be increased 
by June budding during the month of June; 20,000 Japan 
plums, 15,000 apples, 3,000 shade trees, 15,000 grape vines. 
100,000 asparagus roots. There are strawberry plants to dig 
from 20 acres, planted this spring and a million peach seed¬ 
lings to bud in August next; also 20,000 apple seedlings to 
bud. Their specialty is peach trees and strawberry plants. 
GIANT CYPRESS TREE. 
CHARLES M. PETERS. 
The giant cypress tree of Tule (Taxodium mucronatum) 
stands on the grounds of the little church in the town of Tule, 
on the road from Oasaca to Guatemala, by way of Tehuante¬ 
pec, and is the largest of the Mexican Taxodiums, and perhaps 
the most famous tree in the New World. Its trunk at five feet 
above the ground, according to a comparatively recent 
measurement, has, in following all its sinuosities, a circum¬ 
ference of 146 feet, while the actual girth is 104 feet, the 
greatest diameter being forty feet, and the least twenty feet. 
Its height is estimated to be 150 feet, and the spread of its 
branches is 141 feet. As measured 
by Baron Thielmann last autumn 
its height was between 160 and 170 
feet, and its largest diameter forty- 
two feet. This tree, believed to be 
two thousand years old. was figured 
recently in Garden and Forest. It 
was mentioned by Humboldt, and 
his name is inscribed on the bark. 
Another of these wonderful Mex¬ 
ican Taxodiums is the cypress of 
Montezuma, the largest of the great 
Cypress trees in the gardens of 
Chepultepec, near the City of Mex¬ 
ico, and a noted tree nearly four 
centuries ago. The Cypress of 
Montezuma is a tall and still grace¬ 
ful tree, 170 feet high, with a 
trunk to which travellers have 
ascribed a girth varying from forty 
to nearly fifty feet, these discrep¬ 
ancies being due, no doubt, to the 
different points above the surface 
of the ground at which they were 
made. The Mexican Taxodium, 
although it grows to a much greater 
size, is specifically almost identical 
with the Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum.) 
Indiana and Illinois claim they have the oldest pear trees in 
the West in their respective states. There is one near Spring- 
field, Ill., known locally as the great Sudduth pear tree, which 
is fifty feet in height and ten feet in circumference. It is said 
to be fifty years old. This does not begin to compare with 
some of the old pear trees planted by the early German and 
Swedish settlers in the vicinity of Philadelphia, but it is 
remarkable for a country settled so comparatively recently as 
what was but a few years ago known as the “far West.’’— 
Meehans Monthly. Detroit has some old French pear trees 
which are known to be 150 years old, and are yet in bearing. 
The early French settlers planted pear trees along the Detroit 
River from Monroe to Grosse Pointe, and many are yet alive. 
The fruit is small, but of very choice quality, and a few trees 
yet furnish immense crops .—Michigan Farmer. 
