The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1884-10-24
ABOUT TRUCK FARMING.
HOW 1T Is CARRIED ON AROUND
NEW YORK.
The Many Uncertainties of the Rusi-
ness aud the Profits IL Brings
What is Grown by the Farmer o..

ness aud the Profits IL Brings
What is Grown by the Farmers.
Many persons who observe the beauty
of the vegetable gardens near New York,
and see the advantage of having them ON
the outskirts of a large city. also see
great deal of available land in the sub
urbs which appears to be admirably suit
ed for the same purposes, and they won
der that more of it is not under the same
high state of cultivation.
A truck farmer was asked by a New
ark On. j. Sunday call reporter why
more land was not used in growing gar
den truck, and he answered. "For sew
eral reasons, and the chief one is that
truck farming is a lottery, and people
who want to gamble with their money
can find easier ways of doing it than
spending it in manure and employing
their bodily strength and hired labor Dig
ging it into the ground"
"What are the other reasons?"
"Well, taxes are too high in the neigh
borhood of towns, and competition is al
together too lively in New York, where
the local truck gardeners are obliged to
contend, first against the shipments
from the South and later against the
immense truck farmer on the cheap lands
of Long Island
ga score of years ago." he continued,
"a few men accumulated fortunes by
truck farming, but they did not do it
without the most diligent labor and at
tention and at that time The competition
was comparatively light. Market gar.
dening is hard and steady work, and to
make a living at it man must work
early and late, and watch every item Of
expense closely. At times favorable cir
cumstances may permit a man to save a
few hundred dollars, but he must always
expect to meet with a spell of bad luck,
when he will be obliged to spend all he
has made. Sometimes his bad luck will
lie in poor crops, but oftener it will re-
suit from an over production and conse-
quent glut in the market which forces
him to sell his truck for less than the
cost of raising. There is no such thing
as holding back the stuff he raises, for
when it is ready it must 60 upon the
market for what it will bring. Cab
bages, which are great reliance OF
the gardeners, grew too plentiful last
spring. and lots of money was lost
through them. 1t is only by using the
same ground two or three times in year
that any money can be made, and this
is only possible when manure is plenti.
fully applied. Most of us use manure
on every inch of cultivated ground twice
year, and this is one of the heaviest
items of expense. Labor also Is very ex-
pensive, although the very cheapest kind
is employed. We take men from Castle
Garden, give the bed, board and wash.
ing and pay them ten to fifteen dol.
lars a month, all the year round,
At certain seasons we have help from
women living in our neighbour
hood. They come to work il
the gardens for one dollar per day, and
thus help their husbands to make botf
ends meet. We employ them mostly in
wedding, and they work on all fours q:
they creep to and fro between the rows,
and sometimes they use putty knit,
for wedding, and sometimes they jus
pull up the weeds with their fingers"
The variety grown by the market
gardeners is very great, and comprise
almost all of the spring vegetables, a
well as a great deal that is known t.
produce dealers as 'heavy stuff,
such as potatoes, turnips, beats
sweet corn, cabbages and melons
Their chief reliance, however, il
the more perishable green stuff, il
which they have little competition from
the farmers of the State. Early sprinj
greens and vegetables offer advantage
for market gardening, and only fine
competition in the shipments from Der
muda and the South. The home grow
truck presents fresher appearance, ant
consequently secures a better price
which is the only margin upon whicl
the gardener can depend for profits
He commences operations as soon as tn
frost is out of the ground and plant
radish, lettuce, onion, spinach and othe
seeds in frames covered with sashes. Tn
soil in the frames is warmed by liberia
use of stable manure, and the plants are
in measure, forced so that they are o
the market as early as the same kind
which come from remote Southern ports
The life of a market gardener is "A har
one; he must be up before the sun ever
day, and upon market days he begins t
load at about midnight. He works a
long as there is light to distinguish plan
from weed, and often spends hours G
lamp light in asserting and punching
His wife and children must share hi
toll if they wish to succeed, and Will
the working season lasts they must nc
expect much leisure for amusement
How Much Sleep.
10 70 fol-