The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1884-11-26
ABOUT TRUCK FARMING.
Eow IT Is cAnHInD on AnouNn
NEW wonK.
The MANY Uncertainties Of the muni-
ness and the Proefts 40 E1rimEs-
Whae IL Grown by she Fnrniorn.

Thc MANY Uncertainties Of the munl-
ness and the Profits ft Hrinwu-
What is Grown BY tho 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 large city, also see a
great deal Of available land ia the sub
urbs which appears to be admirably suit
cd 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 New
ark IN. 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 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
Ring it into the ground"
"What are the other reasons9n
"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.
"a 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 living at it man must work
early and late, and watch every item of
expense closely. At times favorable cir
cumstances may permit man to save
few hundred dollars, but he must always
expect to meet with 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 90 upon the
market for what it win bring. Cab
bages, which are o 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 q 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-
peusive, although the very cheapest kind
Ia 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 neighbor-
hood. They come to work in
the gardens for one dollar per day, and
thus help their husbands to make both
| ends meet. We employ them mostly in
wedding, and they work on all fours as
they creep to and fro between the rows,
and sometimes they use putty knife
for wedding, ana sometimes they just
pull up the weeds with their fingers"
The variety grown by the market
| gardeners is very great, and comprises
almost all of the spring vegetables, as
well as a great deal that is known to
produce dealers as ''heavy stuff, I"
such as potatoes, turnips, beats,
sweet corn, cabbages and melons.
Their chief reliance, however, is
the more perishable green stuff, in
which they have little competition from
the farmers OF the State. Early spring
greens and vegetables offer advantages
for market gardening, and only find
competition in the shipments from Ber-
muda and the South. The home grown
truck presents fresher appearance, and
consequently secures better price,
which is the only margin upon which
the gardener can depend for profits.
He commences operations as soon as the
frost is out of the ground, and plants
radish, lettuce, onion, spinach and other
seeds in frames covered with sashes. The
soil in the frames is warmed by a liberal
use of stable manure, and the plants are,
in measure, forced, so that they are on
the market as early as the same kinds
which come from remote Southern ports.
The life of market gardener is hard
one; he must be up before the sun every
day, and upon market days he begins to
load at about midnight. He works as
long as there is light to distinguish plant
from weed, and often spends hours Of
lamp light in asserting and punching.
His wife and children must share his
toll if they wish to succeed, and while
the working season lasts they must not
expect much leisure for amusement.
How Much Sleep.
The only rule is, take enough. Old
/ M1shar 1Taano in . HOooior