The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1884-06-14
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS.
A Visit TO the Fruit and Vegetable
Farms of that Section.

Southern Illinois and saw much of
interest there. | went up the MARI
row Guage road from Cairo, which
follows the Mississippi levee around
back Of the city, affording a fne view
from the cars of the market gardens.
Cabbage is the principal crop and
large fields are grown Of the early
varieties, and they are beginning to
send them to market. | got off at
Jonesbors, thirty six miles above
Cairo, and crossed over to Anna, on
the Illinois Central Here met DR..
J. II. Sanborn, the Horticultural
editor of the Farm and Fruit Grower,
who kindly proAered to pilot me
around to the fruit and vegetable
farms. The DR.. is practical fruit
grower, having been in the business
in several States, including New
Hampshire and Florida. He has
fruit farm at Anna, but nearly all of
his time is devoted to his paper, and
his department is always filled with
information valuable to the fruit
grower.
w. first visited Mr.. Lufkins' place.
He has a beautiful residence and
grounds in the suburbs. His vege-
table garden lies on the south side of
a steep hill and portion Of it ter
raced. 1t is all in high state of
cultivation, producing two crops
yearly. He had several acres in early
cabbage, nearly ready for market.
He also grows strawberries largely
and was shipping about one hundred
cases per day. The furnished bug
that has been damaging their berry
crops so much and the rust had cut
his crop short, as was the case with all
the fields there.
Wenext visited Mr.. Caleb Miller's,
who grows all the small fruits largely,
also japan melons. He has a beau
tiful young peach orchard of several
thousand trees, not bearing this year.
was told that there would not be a
peach in Union county this season.
One thing impressed me here was
that there was not rod of land on
the large farm that was not under
cultivation and made to bring in
something.
Our next place was the famous
berry farm of Parker Earle q Sons.
Here was employed over 400 pickers,
divided Unto Iseven gangs, each in
charge of a foreman. They have
four large packing houses, where are
employed sixty packers, all ladies,
who repack the fruit as it lie brought
in from the fields. At one Of these
we met Mrs. Earle, who was superin'
tending the packing, stencilling, ETC.
She showed us all the different va
rieties and their manner of packing
each they are growing over a dozen
varieties, but largely of Crescent and
Sharpless. The selected crates of the
latter were very fine great care be
ing used in packing. Each variety
is numbered and employees only know
them by number. Mrs. E. placed
her horse and carriage at our dispose
and we took drive around the farm
Besides the 100 acres in strawberries
they have in lbearing 80 acres o
Turner raspberries and ten acres Of
Early Harvest blackberries, which
were loaded with young fruit. Their
Spring planting also is extensive
everything works like clock-work anC
no pains or expense is spared in get
ting the berries to market in first>clas:
order. Even the road from the farm
to town is kept sprinkled while thu
berries are being hauled, to keep thu
dust from them. They have theil
own cooling house at the depot anc
the berries are placed in it as fast a
c,atbared then loaded i'm refripe ratio