The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-02-13
Truck Farming.


NJ, c. J. Little, of RoSsville, Md, writes
az follows to the Home aud Farm: Truck
farming or trucking, as it is commonly
called. differs materially from farming. a
man who goes to trucking without any
practical knowledge has an uphill work
before him and, unless he has undoubted
energy and pluck, will give it up and say
there is no money in it. He may pride
himself on the successful manner i'll which
he raised vegetables in the kitchen garden,
Init TO raise vegetables in small quantities
for YOUR own use and raising them in large
quantities for profit are entirely different
things. The farmer can raise but one crop
,cereaD in each year on piece of land; the
trucker never raises less than two crops on
the same land in year If farmers one
crop fails he has nothing to depend on dur
ing that year. Not so with the trucker and
it is this succession of crops from the same
land in one season which makes successful
trucking pay better than farming 1t is
attended with more labor and heavier out
Law but the income is also much larger.
All land is not suitable for trucking and
this brings us to consider the kind of soil
best adapted to it. A heavy soil is best for
growing cereals, but light, sandy loan is
best for vegetables. 1t can be cultivated
much earlier in spring, with less labor and
vegetables thrive best in it. Experience
has fully demonstrated here that a soil COM
posed entirely of sand is better for truck
ing than heavy clay soil. The land should
be level or only slopIng sufficient to give it
good drainage. 1t should be in a position
TO get the full benefit of the sun both morn
ing and evening, especially where the nights
are cool, for unless they are well warmed
during the day the night air would retard
their growth The land must be fertile, it
can hardly be too rich for vegetables, but
the trucker does not depend so much on the
soil for the growth of his crop, but upon
what he puts into it with the seed he sows
or the plants he may set out. Manure is
the essential thing after the land is secured,
for without it no man can be a successful
trucker He who depends on commercial
fertilizers alone will fail. He had far better
undertake it without anything, for without
it alone he would soon get his land into
such condition it would not raise any
thing. Many farms here have been ruined
by them. 1t may be used and is a valuable
assistant in connection with the manure
No matter what may be the many advan-
tages afforded in other things, if plentiful
supply of manure is not available it would
he folly to think of engaging in trucking.
Compost may be used as a substitute for
manure and very often answers the pur-
pose, but as a general thing will not give
the same results. Horse manure is best for
all purposes, as it furnishes more heat to the
plant at a time when it is needed. This
leads us to consider the best location. This
would be near a city, as it would give
source from which to draw plentiful sup
ply of manure and at the same time afford
market for produce In circle of some
Is miles around Baltimore you will find
mostly truckers and during the winter, one
hand with team, for each farm is engaged
in hauling manure from the city.
As all cannot live near a city the next
best location would be near a railroad, so
he may have easy and rapid facilities for
euppllB. ne WOulQ nave Iu6 COIlIllSSlOQ
and freight to pay, yet if he were able to
do the work with less hands and horses it
might eQualize matters in the end. This
would be the case if he had long distance
to haul, for he SvJlG have to keep hand
and team for that purpose alone. If man
is long distance from a city and has poor
facilities for shipping he had far better
confne himself TO raising other things than
vegetables, for they sh 'uld be in market
within few 1ours after they are gathered
or they will be wilted and unsaleable. The
crops raised here by truckers are peas, sweet
corn, tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, cucum-
oers, kale, spinach and celery. As the ear
lest always command the highest price our
object is to produce them as early as posi-
bic, hence hotbeds must be used. These
have been described so often in agricultural
papers and in almost every seed catalogue