The peach-industry in Connecticut is a recent development, as in
the South. As late as 1880 the crop was negligible in the State; in
1889, 37,295 bushels were grown; 61,775 in 1899; and 417,918 bushels
in 1909. This, considering the smallness of the State and the very
uneven surface of much of it, is a rather remarkable development.
Winter-killing, which takes place about one winter out of four, is
the chief drawback but the high prices received from nearby markets
make the peach, despite the occasional off-year, a profitable crop.
Connecticut peaches are characterized by large size, bright color
and good quality. From Connecticut the industry has spread into
Massachusetts where all conditions are essentially the same.
Peach-growing in New York has never been spectacular. Along the lower
Hudson before the Civil War and again a decade after it there was a
thriving peach-industry such as there was in New Jersey and Delaware. A
peach-industry is first of all dependent on quick transportation--the
fruit must move. This meant in early days that there must be nearby
markets and water transportation--western New York had the latter
but not the former. Peaches, however, were early grown, in fact, as
we have seen, were cultivated by the Indians, in the lake regions
of western New York. In 1828 the Domestic Horticultural Society, the
third such organization in America, was organized in Geneva, having
for its field ten counties in western New York.[198] The Monroe County
Horticultural Society was organized in 1830,[199] and in 1831 the
_Genesee Farmer and Gardener's Journal_ came into existence. These
institutions bore fruit, more literally bore orchards, and a taste for
horticulture, which, together with the nurseries that by this time
were being established in the salubrious climate and excellent soil of
western New York, gave a perfection in fruit-growing long unrivalled in
America and now equalled only in California.
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