The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-05-21
HANDLING THE TRUCK CROP.
A Fast Vegetable Freight Put On By
the Atlantic Coast [ inc,

the Atlantic Coast Line.
The truck farms in and about Savannah
were looking remarkably healthy and Wig
orous yesterday, and to add to their vitality
and productiveness the rains of last night
fell in an suspicious time. The rain was
worth barrel of money to Savannah, for
/ it will nearly double the cucumber crop
| shipments of which have just begun. Al
| though Mr.. Purvls shipped two car loads Of
| Florida ''cukesn 10 Durling, on the Ma
coochee yesterday, the florida article will
| be driven from the market by the Savan'
nah article in a week ., ten days.
The rains will also be especially beneficial
! to Irish potatoes. The shipments of pota.
/ toes last week have been very large and will
| be very greatly increased this week, as they
command from 81 30 to IS per barrel in
! New York
! The Savannah truck farmers have been
signally blessed this season. The usual
average of the potato crop is about forty
! five barrels 20 tue acre, but this season il
will trench very closely on fifty-flve or sixty
barrels, or from $40 to $50 bushels to the
acre, and the prices obtained have rarely
been as high Us potatoes have thus far com
| manded. One consignment from Baltimore
of 5000 empty barrels was soon exhausted,
ana the truck farmers have been complain
ing OF the difficulty in getting barrels for
their poyatoas.
The shipments were so heavy last week
that shippers were unable TO get ship room,
and nearly every steamer sailing has been
compelled to refuse some local truck The
largely increased acreage and harvest of
vegetables around and tributary TO Savan-
nah has been such that an all-rai oppOs-
ton has sprung up, and the first through
shipment by rail on fast freight left Sa-
vannah Yesterday
The Atlantic Coast Line dispatch has put
on two fast freights to follow the express.
leaving Savannah at o'clock a. m and
o'clock p. m. for Richmond, Washington
Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and
Boston, to go through in forty-eight hours.
The schedule went into effect yesterday.
This means vigorous opposition 10 the
steamship line, and in order to make the
opposition more pronounced, a special vege-
table train will run between Savannah and
Montelth station, on the Charleston and
Savannah railway, to gather up the truck
along the line and bring it to the Savannah
Florida and Western railway wharves for
reloading on the fast freight for the North.
The plan, it is believed, will result in
drawing largely from the vegetable carry
ing, of which the steamers have had almost
the exclusive control. 1t is claimed that
the truck farmers south and southeast OF
savannah will take their produce to
the Savannah, Florida and Western
wharves, owing TO their nearer prox-
| unity to the truck farms, and because,
while the steamers require sixty hours to
land the produce in New YORK, the fast
freight will do it in twelve hours less.
The difference in the freight charges,
however, is very considerable. Tn, rail
freightage is 76c. per barrl and
39c per crate to New York, while
the Ocean Steamship Company car
ries barrels C. Abe. and crates at PC, diff
ference of from 40 to As per cent. in tho
cost of carriage. The prospects are SO
favorable, that for the next few weeks both
steamers and fast freights are likely to have
all they can handle
A MORNING NEWS reporter had an inter
view last night with Richard c. NJ. Craw-
ford, the Savannah agent for w lter =.
Hill, of New York. Mr.. Crawford had Just
returned from drive TO Monteith station,
visiting on the way the truck farms and
melon patches. He reports the gardens in
the most prosperous condition and the truck
farmers Immensely pleased with results
already achieved, and the glowing pros
poets for good shipments and returns the
rest of the season. Among the melon fields
visited by Mr.. Crawford, he says those of
Lamar Kellar and Paul Kellar, near
Monteith, are looking most promising. They
have from twenty-five TO thirty acres each
planted. The vines are prolific of fruit and
blossom, and many melons are as large as a
mans fist. Mr.. Crawford is very enthusi-
astic over the fast freight and the train
that picks up vegetables between Savannah
and Monteith, aud he says the truck farmers
up that way are delighted with it.
Mr.. Purvis, representing Durl ling, said
that he has been here three months
shipping Florida strawberries and Florida
and Savannah vegetables, and he has no
complaint to make in regard to the steamer
freights. IL is true, he said that he bad
some local truck that had to go over to
anoth IT steamer, but the heavy shipments
of Florida vegetables had made this I'M
avoidahle. In few days the Florida ship
ments will have to give way to, Savannah
truck.
Mr.. Purvis said that the strawberry ship
mentS are very large for the season Just
closed, Florida growers netting in some in
stances from $50 TO as high as 81 200 per
acre. Mr.. Purvis thinks that next year the
strawberry crop will be much larger, and
he said that when IL is considered that the
soil here requires but a trifiing amount for
fertili2ing and yields well, land owners are
making a great mistake in not turning their
attention to strawberry culture. The de-
mand never Stacks, and the Savannah
berry would follow the Florida berry and
bring good prices and, of course, be earlier
than the Charleston crop.
Referring to the rumor that his house
Mr.. G. S. Durling, had sold their refrger-
ator plant, Mr.. Purvis said there is not
money enough to buy it. Their refriger-
ator cars are patented, and are neither for
rent nor sale. Mr.. Purvis comes to Savan-
nah every season, with headquarters at tue
Harnett House, 10 look after AND reship
fruit and vegetables from Florida and Sa-
vannah. He said last night, in abiding to
the growth of the berry and vegetable acre
age and the trade of his house, that next
season he expected to have to build more re-
frigerator cars, and he will build them at
Savannah.
How is the market this weekl" he was
asked.
You may expect to see beans drop" he
replied; they brought 81 80 per crate last
week, but the crop is so large, and is ma
turing further up the coast, so that present
prices can hardly be maintained without
there should be a Stacking of shipments.
Potatoes still command 81 30 to SO per
barrel. Savannah will send Off some very
fine cucumbers this week, and the ship
ments of potatoes will be heavy
IF more attention was paid TO peaches in
southwestern Georgia, Mr.. Purvis said that
his refrigerator cars would be sent up there
TO handle tho crop, but at present it is too
light TO justify the expense. II is a most
favored locality for pelch culture and Its
people cannot recognize this too soon. The
sooner they do recognize it the more pros
porous and independent they will become,
and the more rapidly their land will appre.