About Atlanta Georgian and news. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1907-1912 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 24, 1909)
'ATLANTA—THE HALF-MILLION CITY” EDITION OF THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN AND NEWS. FACTORS IN MAKING ATLANTA THE HALF-MILLION CITY. ELBERTA IS THE QUEEN OF THE GEORGIA FARM Facts and Figures Concerning the Growth of the Peach Crop in the State. change It la. Instead of a few small groves, on a spring day one can now ride for miles and see nothing on all sides bjit apparently endless orchards pink with masses of.delicate waving lilossoms or lodencd with millions of fragrant fruit. Last year more than 7.000 refrigerator cars were required west, and to Macon, Port Valley and Marsliallvllla to the southwest. Slnco that first shipment the entire Industry has been revolutionised. Not only havo the number und size of the orchards been enormously Increased, but u pro- ' portlonate advance has been made In the production, cultivation, harvesting and marketing of the crop. Old inetli- Nineteen millions of peach trees, yielding an annual crop of from 5,000 to 7,000 bushels, and with an aggregate value of from $1,000,000 to $0,000,000, easily place Georgia In the lead In the peach Industry of the world. No won der the peach Is known as the queen of the Georgia farm, as cotton Is king. But. It has not always been so. The pencil | Industry la a comparatively young -one In the" state. ' Fifty years ago a tew 'small (teach - orchards noar Augusta were the only ones of whloh Georgia could boast.’ These were mere ly a continuation of the. peach belt of South Carolina, which was then the great peach producing state of tHe. South. From tl,ls ?hiall beginning, liowevffl the Industry grew", .at first slowly Georgia. It was learned, was nn excellent state In which to grow pea/hes,'lipt how to find a market for them, or more exactly, Itow in get .them to the market In'good condition when It was found, was the perplexing ques tion. There was almost no home mar ket for thriji. not sufficient to justify their cultivation on any scale of Im portance, and transportation facilities were too poor to Insure getting them to the large markets. of the country In good condition. - Trouble of the Early Days. In tboss early days the fruit was gathered, packed roughly In bushel basket!, divided with a hoard In the center, and'loaded on care which car ried It by, rail to Charleston or Savan nah. There It was unloaded lo be re loaded on steamers and shipped by rail to-New York. Refrigeration was un known, and the condition of the fruit when It reached Its destination could only be guessed by the farmer who lmd raised. It and started It on Its long Journey. In Its rosy beauty. Also, the price which It would bring him was a matter for guessing. Ths shipper never knew until his 'check arrived whether he wae going to get one dollar or five dollar*, a | bushel for his shipment. Now all is changed, and a wonderful ' __ ads have given place to new and Itn- 10 transport the Georgia peach crop. In - pr o Ve d ones, and the whole Industry a few hours' Journey, to the markets of the country. ■, , •_ What Berokmane Has Done. To J. P. Berrkmans, who for 32 years lias been president of the Genrgln State Horticultural society, belongs the honor of having done more than any one else to develop Hie peach Industry In the state. Notwithstanding thu difficulties of marketing the crop, the Industry had attalnod considerable Importance for ini' , I: i v at III,, mil break . ,r t tie Civil war. This industry, like nil others In the South, was paralyzed for a time, nnd It whs not until 1W1 thm any Inti l- llgent attempt was made at reorgani zation. Tho following year Mr. Berck- mane produced and brought to market a peach which was destined to bring speedy recognition to the Georgia or chards, It was callod the Alexander. The trees had been brought from Mis souri, and after having been planted tor fifteen months, they yielded their first crop, which amounted to less than three pecks and which brought their planter the sum of $32. ~ ■ .Ten years after this Bamuel Kumpf, of Marahallvllle, was making’ a search to find the Ideal peach to produco In Georgia. To this end he segregated over 1.200 seedlings and discarded them one after another until but one fruiting tree remained. This he named the Et- berta, In honor of his wife. Tho El- berta has done more than any other one peach to advance the Industry of the state, because of Its appearance and special qualities. It Is a very large, showy peach, tho not so sweet as eoine of the other varieties, and It stands shipment remarkably well. It le now more extenalvely produced and has brought more money to Its growers than any other of the Oeorgla peaches. Tha First Refrigerator Carload, In 1817 the first refrigerator carload of peaches was shipped from Georgia to Now York. Ifor seven years the cultivation of the fruit had been rapidly Increasing and had extended from ltd former restricted rei' nrllii. .Marietta and I '.today Is conducted on a scale com mensurate with the tremendous ad vance, of science and business. The largest single peach orchard In the state today extends over more than 2,0(10 acres and has about 300.000 bear ing trees. This.Is owned by J. H. Hale, a Connecticut horticulturist, who be came Interested In the Immense possi bilities of the Georgia peach while ho was head of the special horticultural census of the United States In 1800. The next year ho started the orchard at Fort Vallay. ii«. During tin- short pearh season, which'lasts only about I" .i months. In .lit Tun to linn persons are employed In harvesting the crop of this wonderful 'orchard, which' 'ships about 200 carloads of fruit "yearly, be sides maintaining a large canning es tablishment. Another Great Orchard, Another tremendous orchard of 250.- 000 bearing treea la of particular Inter est because It Is owned by the'eon of the man who 80 years ago owned the largest orchard In tho state. This con- slated of 10 acres and was situated to mllea from Atlanta. Uomnarlson of Its slxo with that of the orchard now owned by ths son Is symbolic of the growth of the Industry of which It Is a part. These are ohly two nmong the hun dreds of peach orchards'how hanging In else front a few hundred to hundreds of thousands of acres. Many of these huge farms have their own Individual railroads, pocking houses and hotels and furnish employment to thousands of people. The year before last the transporta tion of Georgia's peach crop cost ths owners over $1,000,000. Tho difficulty, with so many shippers In the field, was to market the crop so as to get the best prices possible with the least cost for transportation. With hie end In view the Georgia Peach Orowers' Exchange has been recently formed. The ex change now handles practically all of the peach crop of the state. It Is under the management of a man who has had years of practical experience In the railroad refrigerator set-vice. The cars are so distributed as to prevent any glut In the market, and the exchange Is run in tho most systematic manner. It Is estimated that the Peach Exchange will save the peach growers of Georgia many thousands of dollara'annually. WHAT KIND OF A SAW DO YOU NEED? The Southern Saw, Works makes nil kinds of saws and sells them everywhere. Our factories are at East Point, Go., New York and New Orleans; our agents are in ever}' -important eity in tho United States. Our line consists of all sizes and styles of solid and inserted chisel tooth , circu lar saws made from tho highest grade of crucible steel; chisel bits and shanks for nearly all known makes of chisel tooth saws; shingle saws aud collars; saw man drels and saw tools. Our saw repairing department is the most modem aud complete in the country; and by our superior methods, burned saws can be made practically as good as new. Southern Saw Works FACTORY: EAST POINT, ATLANTA, GA. Offices and Salesroom: 59 South Forsyth Street, Atlanta, Ga. Capital City Tobacco Co. (Successors to J. J. Coodrum Tobacco Co.) 176-178 Marietta Street "The Only Exclusive Cigar and Tobacco House in Georgia” IMPORTERS AND JOBBERS Distributers for the following well known brands of cigars, besides many not mentioned: - El Principe do Gales, 19 sizes La Prefercncia, 5 sizes Portino, 5'sizes La Splcndora, 10 sizes Kelley Bouquets, 6 sizes Chancellor, 5 sizes El Belmont, 5 sizes Idols (Master Work) El Toro De La Selva Anna Helds La Raptura (Clear Havana) Buck, 3 sizes Havana Smokers Cremo Georgo W. Childs’ Cabinets Ilenner Poncica Grande Orders (3 sizes) We carry complete stock Imported Cigars, Ask for quotations. We also carry a complete stock of Imported and Domestic Cigarettes Plug and Smoking Tobacco, Pipes, etc. Our facilities for handling all orders are first- class. The only jobbing, house in the South equipped with first-class Humidors. We Solicit Your Business Wt St'l fo Merchant* Only ONE OF FINEST LIBRARIES IN SOUTH —— SSlIitei ftlife Photo by Edwards. I THE CARNEGIE LIBRARY OF ATLANTA. Munificent donations by Andrpw Carnegie added to the splendid collection of books owned by the Young Men’e Library association have given Atlanta a superb public library, which ie regarded aa one of the finest of the bayee on which the Half-Million City will be built. FOR QUARTER CENTURY THEY HAVE MADE GOOD The Malaby Company, manufacturer* and dealers In all kinds of machinery supplies, was established $5 years ago, with John D. Maleby as Its first presi dent. In 1$04, shortly after the death of John D. Maleby, the company was Incorporated under tha laws of Georgia, and J. C. Maleby elected president and G. O. Shipp, vice president and treas urer. These two men have continued a, officers of the company since Incorpora tion. A very complete line of machinery supplies Is carried and a strict guaran tee la given with every purchase to the effect that all goods proving unsatisfac tory will be taken back and money re funded. This plan of guaranteeing Its customers was begun by John D. Mole- by $S year* ago, and has been mainly Instrumental in building the company to Its present high standard. Ths following Is a partial list of, prominent machinery supply manufac turers for which the Mslsby company I* agent: Peerless Machinery Company, American Saw Mill Machinery Com- pany, Houston, Stanwood A Gamble Machinery Works, Erl* City Iron Worke and Myer A Schnelr, dealers In heavy saw mill machinery. The com pany makes a specialty of all saw mill machinery supplies. „ Tho chief trade of tho company l» confined to the gulf state*. It only em ploys experienced mechanical engineer*. Salesmen represent the company to the buyen throughout the gulf states, and the«e salesmen aro men of years of ex- parlance along mechanical lines. This rule of employing only men of excep tional mechanical abilities as represen tatives has been helpful In building up a business of the Malaby company's pro portions. The company's store Is located at 48 South Forsyth-st. Prospective buyer-'' of any machinery supplies will be given a cordial reception at tha company's store.
