The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-03-04
WRECK OF THE CROPS.
THE SECOND FREEza HARDER
EVEN THAN TIE FIRST.

OAS 4ESy Will 10 El60 l1LO the
Thousands of Dollars - The Small
Farmers the Heaviest Losers-The
Freeze in the Sections Near savan-
neh-The Outlook for To-day.
In spite Of Itself mercury failed to go
below &C. yesterday morning.
The freezing weather continued through
Sunday night, and, IS YVES predicted by the
MORNING NEWS OF yesterday, there was q
killing frost.
At 11:30 O'Clock Sunday night mer-
curry went down to the freezing point
nd fell steadily until, at o'clock
yesterday morning, the Thermometer regis
tered 26', and it stood at that low tempera-
ture until $3.50 O'Clock, when it began to
grow warmer.
The second heavy freeze, following closely
upon the severe freeze Of the night previ-
Gus, destroyed all hope Of the truck farmers
that their advanced crops would rally from
the hrst visitation Of the cold wave.
FARMERS AT A LOSS WHAT TO DO.
Maj. @. Ii. Ryals took a round of his
farm yesterday morning, and on his return
to the city at noon be said that he did not
know just what he will do now. II he re-
plants his peas they viii come in so late
that truck growers north Of Savannah will
have just as early a start. To replant
means to wait two months for peas, and he
thinks that the best he can do is to trust to
the vines rotting, and suckers shooting out
and producing a crop inferior in quality
and quantity. Peas Of this kind, he
says, viii csme in in thirty-ive days, and
be in good demand. The wisdom of such q
course in the light Of the later news from
Florida seems to be conceded by truckers
who grow for northern markets.
THE CABBAGE CROP DAMAGED.
Maj. Ryals finds that his cabbage crop
mas been much more seriously damaged
than ne had expected, but he is inclined to
think that the increased prices which first
crops W i'll bring four to i've weeks later
will IN measure compensate for the pres
emit damage. He still thinks that a second
blossoming Of Strawberries will follow, aud
lair crop OF berries will be the result
his potatoes are not injured as they had
only here and there begun to show them
selves above ground.
q. E. g. Fell, large planter on the
Augusta road, thinks that his potatoes, be-
ing OF native seed, are not DESTROYED al
though they were well advanced. He has
had his vines cut down three times in one
year and then raised good potatoes, but
his nelghbors, who planted northern pota-
toes, although the vines were cut down by
frost but once, did no good. The vines
grew up again and appeared thrifty, but
when the potatoes we're dug they were found
to be no larger than marbles. Mr.. Fell
says That his peas are total loss.
TEE FRUIT KILLED.
Col. W. w. Gordon says he fears that he
may lose $50 young pear trees. He bought
them from a Richmond, Va, nursery, and
as many more from Huntsville, Ala, but
the northern trees put out foliage, which
was killed. He has fine pear orchard of
trees to years old, which were in bios
som when the frost struck them, and the
germs are killed
Maj A. L. Hartridge says that when he
left Montgomery yesterday morning at z
O'Clock the mercury was at go. All the
early variety of pear trees were in bloom
before the frost and the fruit is blasted.
The same is true Of the peach blossoms
The truck farms in that neighborhood show
the same devastating influences Of a two
nights freeze
+. Marion Bliss brought to the MORNING
NEWS Office yesterday a basket of straw
berries picked yesterday morning. The
cold weather had done its work effectuallv.
and the berries were soft and tasteless. Mr.
Bliss expected to be delivering 1000 baskets
within few days, and now he has not a
mar ketable berry on his farm. He saws.
however, that his April cropis very promis-
ing.
HARD ON THE SMALL FARMERS
The losses Will be more severely felt by
the many small truckers scattered through
out this section of the state. They had in
majority of instances planted fully up to
their credit, and all is lost, and they will,
IN only few instances, attempt another
general planting. This will tend to curtail,
largely, the output Of early vegetables in
Eastern Georgia, and as result the prices
which VIII be received in April by the
more extensive and independent truck
farmers for peas and cabbage will even up
the losses. Peas which were bringing SO to
~ 80 per crate last week will bring double
that amount four weeks hence, and the pro-
portion Will be the same for cabbage.
DIFFICULT TO ESTIMATE LOSSES.
A MORNING NEWS repo rter sought yes
| terday to get some estimate of the aggre-
gate losses to truck farmers, but unavail-
ingly. One large truck farmer said: ave
who plant on large scale ere
comparatively few, and what we ship
Is but small part of the output of this
section. The small truck patches are num-
! bered by the thousands, and they bring in
their truck in carts and it is boxed here
and shipped by commission dealers, and no
one knows how much comes this way, or
| where it comes from. In a majority of
cases the small truckers have planted on
| credit rat is they owe for seed. fertilizers
! fencing and provisions. The loss of their
crop, which was what they depended upon
to meet their obligations, means, in the
| greater number of cases, no more planting
| Tor the northern market this season.
A BAD OUTLOOK.
"They will not be able to obtain the credit.
for the dealers who had advanced them
know that the seasons is now too far ad-
vanced to compete with Charleston and
Norfolk, who will begin to plant as soon as
| the cold wave has passed of, and they will
be very little behind in getting their truck
to the northern market. With potatoes it
viii be different, but as there has been a
great drought In Florida, and which still
prevails there, the trucksters, little and big,
who have good stands of potatoes ought to
realize good prices for them.n
| The effects of the freeze on the semi
| tropical plants in the squares and parks
have been most discouraging. The banana
trees were in full foliage, and they were
frozen and the beautiful leaves withered
and turned plsck in the sun yesterday. The
leaves of the china, umbrella and mulberry
trees had attained quite growth, and they
were frozen and began to turn black yester-
day. The dew which fell Sunday night
made the freeze much more damaging to
vegetation.
THE FREEZE IN CAROLINA.
| Word comes from the truck farms along
| the lines of the Charleston and Ssvap1o =