Eaton weekly Democrat. [volume] (Eaton, Ohio) 1866-1875, 1871-06-22
EATON, O., THURSDAY, Jul
Truck Farming i'm the South.
Correspondence From The Hearth And Home.-

NORFOLK, Va, April 18th.
Norfolk is the great center of the
trucking business of the South. The
other places are comparatively mere gar
dens. This neighborhood is a visit plan
tation of peas, strawberries, tomatoes,
Iris potatoes, cucumbers, blackberries,
etc. Here the business was first COM
and here it is carried on most
because transportation
by the Old Dominion Steamboat Co., or
as an old gentlemen once styled them,
the "New York and Norfolk Ferry
boats,'' is rapid and certain. The boats
are built with special adaptation to this
business, and they run all the year
round with as punctual regularity as a
Fulton Ferry boat. and herein is the first
great requisite of success in the truck
ing business.
Moreover, the soil and climate are
favorable. This last element has been
out of gear for the last two years., so
year everything so far is running in
natural order, and there is every pros
pect of profit enough to make up for
the loses of the past two Improbable
years.
The soil is black sand, mixed with
quantities of vegetable matter, and con-
tains some clay and lime. Good land
near the city sells at 500 per acre, and
for every mile from the center it is safe
to take off $40 of price. Most of the
truck farms are located on West Branch
where owing to shelter from the north
west wind the soil is supposed to pro-
duce earliest. The manures are lime
and stable-manure. This last is brought
from Baltimore and Washington cities,
and sells at The waters edge at ten cents
per bushel. Norfolk and Portsmouth
also add to supply.
The only crops going forward from
this section just now are radishes and
some rhubarb. The first is not paying
more than expenses. Last year these
were the only crops on which any mon
ey was made, hence this year an unusu-
al quantity has been planted. One gen.
tleman told me the proceeds of the sale
of these articles would not more than
pay for barrels and freight. Nearly all
the early vegetables come through this
place, even those grown near Savannah.
They are brought here by rail, are then
sent by Bay boat to Baltimore, and are
thence distributed by rail. The cars
are run through with the fast passenger
trains, ahd hence reach New York COM
paratively fresh.
Mr.. Shio, Superintendent of the Sea-
board Air Line, told me that they aver
aged about two car loads day on this
freight during the early season, say
March goth to May 1st. Then the
Norfolk vegetables and fruits begin to
come in, and those grown in the far
South can not compete with them. 1t
is, however, as busy scene as one need
wish to look upon after the train has ar
rived, and twenty-five or thirty negroes
have to transport this kind of freight to
the steamer in just five minutes. The
rattling of the hand-trucks, and the jolly
cries of the boys, the putting of steam
from the escape-pipe, the glare of the
lamps, combine to make a scene of SEEM
ing confusion, yet the most perfect sys-
tenn really prevails.
This rush does not last much more
than a month, and then comes the
steady pull of work and transporta-
tion done by the New York line OF
steamers.
Some early York cabbages and aspara-
gus are also going forward from this
section, though but little has as yet been
done in forwarding the latter. The
chief early crops of this section are
strawberries and green peas. A gen.
tleman told me that there were full
800 acres in strawberries around Nor
folk and Portsmouth. The same gentle
man, Joseph A. Cannon, Esq, told me
that most of them were Wilson's Albany
with few Stewart and Southern Pride
|
grow here or further South in the Allan
tic belt, but grows well on Inland abov'
Richmond and near Raleigh.
| The first of their main crop is peas
then Strawberries, then Irish potatoe
and beans, followed by cucumbers, toma
| toes and blackberries. Irish potatoe
have paid as much as 5000 per acre. To
matoes grow well here, but do not flour
ish on the Atlantic belt further South
Early apples too, are source of mucl
income. Previous to 1860 the countie
of Nansemone and Southampton on tn
Seaboard r. r. had large orchards, tn
fruit of which was turned into brandy
now they ship the apples to New York
Mr.. Shot told me they bought over thei
road and sent off in one day 1000 bbls
of apples.
Another new industry may mention
on the line of this railroad is peanu
, culture. Ten years ago it was not though
of: now the peanut crops yield annual
" nearly million of dollars to tina
section. Land that ten years ag
, brought poor corn and poor cotton, noN
: gives rich returns in peanuts. An
while am DEPRESSING 1 will add that a
inspection of the freight lists of tn
Virginia and Tennessee Air Line show
ed me some interesting facts as to ne'
e ideas and new industries which the pee
pie have taken hold of. This line eS
e tending through the length of Virgini
carries freight so cheap that many art
cles of mineral and vegetable wealtl
that in the days of King Cotton la
; idle, are now being actively WORKED
9 The people here complain that thes
s railroads do not benefit Norfolk becau!
the freight all goes to New York. The
forget that all tLings go where they al
e wanted, and usually seek the cheape
= and quickest channels.
This railroad has brought from west
q Chattanooga-mostly near Memphis
: "a, 900 bales of cotton at $3.50 Der ba
and thereby secured immense retul
# freight. 1t presents a pleasant al
q fraternal combination in its manag
q ment. Brigadier-General Malone Qa
d c. S. Al is its President and Virgin
e manager, while Col. G. E. Evans, wi
commanded Union brigade is its Ne
York manager. Don't think L a
"a 'fgrinding an ax,'' for did not tray
IL over an inch of their road, but simp
,e mention them because they deserve
st and because they they inaugural
p at the South-on that line at least-t
to system of cheap freight and rapid trar
portation,
n, The region around Norfolk is proper
n, about twenty dayg ahead of New J(