The morning news., 1889-03-28
BIG MONEY TN BERRIES.
A NEW CROP OPENING UP FOR
SAVANNAH FRUIT GROWERS.

ries from Florida BeRun-Savannah
Truck Farmers Beginning to Take
Hold of Berry Raising-The Move
ment of the Truck Crops by the Rail
roads and Steamship Lines-The
Vegetable Fast Freight.
The first carload of Strawberries from
Florida was transferred to the steamship
City Of Savannah yesterday for shipment
TO New York. The car left the Lawtey
strawberry section Tuesday forenoon, com
ing on the Savannah, Florida and Western
railway, and from the junction over the
Central to the Ocean steamship wharves at
Ii o'clock yesterday, and the berries will be
in New York early Saturday morning,
where they will command from so to 90
cents per quart. The fruit was in fine
shape, and there were 172 crates, contain
ing 80 quarts to the crate, or 5.504 quarts
of berries.
This fruit was transferred by Mr. Purvis,
located here during the Terry and veg
etable season in Florida and Georgia
for the past five years, for Mr.. Dur
ling, New York merchant. The berries
were brought in refrigerator car buil5 for
the purpose with an ice compartment run
uIUg UQTOuEu IlJb CCllSt VI bLto Cdi iSnSVu-
wise from end to end and the berries are
stored in the two side compartments.
A refrigerator built for the purpose is 10
Gated on the upper between decks This
refrigerator is IS feet long, 12 feet wide aud
feet high. The ice compartment runs
through the center leugthwise, and the fruit
is stored in the side compartments. The
time of transfer from car to steamer
is about half an hour, but a
transfer was made in one instance last
season in ten minutes by al uncomfortably
close connection between the train aud the
outgoing steamer. The refrigerator is built
to accommodate a carload Of berries and
five tons of ice are used for a shipment,
about half of the ice coming back unmelted
on the return of the steamer. Another car
load will arrive Monday, and at the hight
OF the season about hye or SIX carloads
week will be received.
BIG PROFIT IN STRAWBERRIES.
The truck gardeners of Savannah have
been slow to recognize the Importance of
growing straw berries, but there is a very
material increase in the acreage in this sec
tion this spring. T. Fl. Massie e. Co. have
about four acres on Hutchinson's Island.
They have something like $4,000 plants
from which fruit will be gathered this sea
SOP. In the neighhorhood of Lawtey and
Starke, Fla, 10000 plants are set to the
other berry growing sections of Florida
they count 10000 plants to the acre.
Mr. Bliss Oh the White Bluff road, has
about five acres of fine plants an Increased
acreage over last season. Mr.. Bliss berries
took first premium at the floral and fruit
exhibition in this city last year. A few
scattering truck farmers set more plants
last year for this seasons fruit, but dry
weather unfavorably affected some of the
paintings.
Strawberry plants set in the fall bear the
followi G spring, and produce the largest
fruit and of tbs best quality. The berry is
somewhat inferior the second season, but
after the second year the fruit is not so
large nor so good A great many planters
| make 1t point to set new plants every
| year, and successful berry growers every
| other season at tbs farthest. The straw
| berry crop is most profitable one, and the
country about Savannah is especially
adapted to a successful cultivation of the
| fruit, of which very little is raised here for
shipment, but which would come in be-
| tween the Florida and Charleston berries,
| commanding ready sale and at good prices.
| The berries are now bringing from 80 to 90
cents quart IN New York, as to quality.
THE TRUCK GROWING INDUSTRY.
One of the most important industries of
| the South Atlantic states is the growing of
fruits, straw berries and vegetables for the
northern markets. and the shipments of
| berries and vegetables are very large and
lasts from the latter part of March to the
| first of August in this section, and proper
tionately later northward along the coast
until the northern products of the truck
gardens begin to take the place of the early
| southern shipments. The moving of the
orange crop begins in November, aad ship
ments last until late in the spring.
The railroads are beginning TO move
southern vegetables. The Atlantic Coast
| Line put on a vegetable train last seas On,
which became very popular with truck
| gardeners. The train picked up vegetables
| between Savannah and Charleston and in
| the latter section, aud this year two trains
will be run--one covering the same terri
tory as last year, and the other from
| Gainesville for the accommodation of
| Florida and Georgia vegetables The melon
| crop is moved by rail and steamer.
In addition to the heavy shipments oil
southern food products for northern markets
the shipments by steamer are very heavy
and the following lines carry large ship
ments to the northern markets.
| At Savannah the Ocean Steamship Com
| pany has three steamers a week for New
| York, and one each fer Boston and Phila-
| delphia, or altogether five steamers a week
| The Merchants and Miners TRANSFORMATION
Line has an outgoing steamer every five
days. Inc Mau ry line sends a steamer
| out from Fernandina, Fla, once a week
The Clyde line has a steamer leaving Fer
nandina once a week, aud jacksonville
| twice a week, touching at Charleston twice
a week. The Old Dominion line sends out
a steamer daily from Norfolk, Va, anc
| during the hight of the vegetable season
two steamers a day leave for northern ports
WHAT SAVANNAH SHIPS.
At present shipments of cabbage, beets
and lettuce only are going out from Savan
nab, but Florida is shipping these, and also
| peas and few beans In a week the beans
will begin to move more rapidly from
| Florida, followed two weeks later by pota-
toes and cucumbers. A few cold frame
cucumbers have gone north, but the prices
are fancy and only paid by the more ex-
travagant classes Of upper tendon and in
the more expensive hotels and cafes of New
| York aud Washington. Savannah will
| begin TO ship peas next week.
Vegetables command good prices in New
! York at this time The beans offered bring
| S50p6 a crate. and the Florida crate, which
! is called a bushel, is only about three-Quart
ers of busheL The Savannah crate is ar
honest busheL Savannah and Florida cab
bage bring $l@2 per crate as to quality
! peas $5@6 per crate, lettuce 81 for barrel
crates, beets 81 50@2 per crate The pros
| pect in this section is most fiattering for Q
| profitable season for the truck farmera
II your eyes are not properly fitted with glas,
we desire the opportunity of fitting them with