The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-03-04
MANY ACRES OF CROPS.
TRUCK FARMERS COUNTING ON
BIG YIELDS AND PRICES.

The Vegetable Acreage Greater than
it Has Ever Been-The Damage by
Frosts Slight The Potato Plant
Nearly Twice as Large as Last Year
What Northern Dealers Say About
the Condition of Things Here and in
Florida-The Strawberry Outlook.
The truck farmers are busy aud happy.
A MORNING NEWS reporter interviewed
quite number of them yesterday in regard
to the spring crops. The recent frosts did
but comparatively small damage to early
vegetation and the crops will be large.
There is much larger acreage in vege-
tables this year than in former years. The
potato crop will be from 90 to 100 per cent.
greater than it was last year. Some ship
ments of lettuce and cabbage have already
gone North, while Macon, Augusta and
Atlanta have been supplied for some time.
Jacob Dieter, of the firm of 6. Dieter 81
Son, on Lovers Lane, says that the frost
did little or no damage. Early potatoes.
where they had begun to show out OF the
ground were nipped off, and early peas
were frosted, but the damage is slight The
acreage of potatoes and vegetables general
ly, he says. is larger than last year, and If no
heavy frosts come there will be big crops.
JACK FROST IN THE GARDENS.
Jacob w. Cell is a very intelligent truck
farmer who has planted thirtysix acres,
and he says that he manages to get three
crops off his land in one season. The pota-
toes on his farm, which had cropped out of
the ground were cut down by the frost and
that will reduce the yield, but potato plant
ing is now in its very beginning, and he ex-
poets to plant for the next three weeks. Peas
that were in bloom lost their blooms by
the frost, but new blooms will take the
place of the old Ones making the crop a
little later Mr.. Cells observation is that a
much larger acreage of gardening, and
especially of potatoes, has been planted this
year in the neighborhood of Savannah than
ever before. He says Strawberries are doing
well. They were not affected by frost and
the yield will be considerably larger than
in past seasons.
George Mastick said that the damage to
peas is more serious than was generally sup
posed, and he does not think that many new
blooms will take the place of those killed.
There is large increase in acreage Of all
vegetables, he said, and the potato
acreage is very large.
THE BUSY PLANTING SEASON.
Walter S. Hill, of 1870 Reade street, New
York, who has just returned from a trip to
Florida, is stopping at the Harnett House.
Mr.. Hill has been visiting the truck farms
around Savannah for the past three days,
with view to estimating the crop and
handling his share of it. He says that the
bulk of the potato planting, which is phe-
nomenally large, was finished yesterday,
and he cited one farmer who had planted
ABS barrels of seed. Farmers are now busy
putting in beans. The planting of all
vegetables, he says, is heavier than he ever
knew it to be in this section. Peas, he says,
are not much injured and shipping will be-
gin in about three weeks. The season, he
says will begin about the first of the last
week in March. The season will open with
peas, and potatoes, beans, cabbage and to-
matoes will follow.
THE STRAWBERRY MAN.
David Purvis, the strawberry agent of c.
s. During 1872 Duane street New York. is
in the city and will remain here for the
next three or four months to superintend
the transfer of Florida Strawberries from
cars to steamship. Mr.. Purvis says that the
truck farmers about Savannah make a
a great mistake in not growing Strawberries
Land planted with Strawberries, he SAYS,
will pay $500 per acre, and Savannah ought
to do as large berry business as Charles
ton does whereas it scarcely raises enough to
supply the local market.
Florida this season, MI Purvis says that
there is a heavy increase of acreage at
Lawtey, Gainesville, Hammock Ridge,
Ocala and other points in the berry section
of the State. Last year his house brought
tifty-three carloads out of Florida reship-
ping by Savannah steamer, and he expects
TO handle more this season. Ten refrigera-
tor cars are used, with a capacity of from
10 to $50 thirty-two quart crates. Five to
k-N,,. % a-a, col 10
the berries are transferred they are housed
in box compartments, in which about the
same weight of ice is kept. Two of the ten
cars i'll use are owned by Mr.. Durling, the
other eight by the Florida Railway and
Navigation Company, but they were fitted
up by Mr.. During.
THE FLORIDA BERRY CROP,
Mr. Purvis says that so far this season he
has handled only about 5000 quarts of Flor
ida berries, which commanded from 81 to
81 25 per quart i'll New York These went
by rail, but all the shipments from now on
will so from Savannah by steamer.
Mr. Purvis has been looking over the
truck farming interests around Savannah
and he says that the acreage this year is
much greater than it has been for many
years He is surprised that the potato
planting is so heavy.
1--WE can eat all you raise down here"
he said, land New York, Boston and Phil
adelphia have the money to pay
for all you can grow"
Going back to the strawberry crop hs
emphasized the fact that Savannah ought
to ship more and earlier Strawberries than
Charleston does. He SAYS that the fact
ought to be impressed upon planters who
have plenty of soil, well adapted to straw
berry culture, which is allowed to remain
idle and unproductive when it might be
made to pay 500 per acre.