The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1891-06-07

EA ZJWANt4t&/ tgatlOu Nlthln the
100 past twenty years
@JFfD this infant industry
RoAF~A has grown to be one
whose extent may
uanced hy some Of the figures presented
cen.us bulletin. Upwards of 100000
GA GIG invested in truck-farming, aggre-
over half a million acres OF
.ri the annual products of which lafter
,,,7nc freight and commission) amount to
v-.r55. and require the services of 2j0,s93
ms. aided by 1880 horses and mulos,
sgi. 2os worth of farm implements and
.ry the income Of TINS comparatively
-.o traffic. after pay NJ for labor, ieiuIllcis
s ...l. is estimated at -3z.VlO,uOB
emotion is made between truck-iarm-
..' what rs known as markctgardenlug.
.er specially belongs t. small holdings
Easy driving distance Of cities ana
,. v.ne truck-farmmg IS defined as the
..r.u of green Vegetables on tracts re-
mote from market, the trucAlaImer otins
..n.,at ~ water and rall transportation
-r. delivery. and on cOmmlssion-men for
... II his products. For statistical con-
.--.e.re the county was divided into twelve
New England, New York and rhiia-
Peninsula. Norfolk. Baltimore,
A.HfH AfiMlLaE. AlNNI~0lUAfl NNilNN ff|hAAA~
49, Central. Northwest. Mountain. Pacific
Previous t. 1850 Long Island, New
.r.ey Delaware and Southern Illinois were
chiof truck centres. but to-day over 70
,.r cent. OF our vegetables come from the
t.,fh Atlantic States, the Mississippi Valley,
tt. celery districts of Ohio and Michigan and
from the Pacific ,oa-t
A very considerable portion of the truck
p-.4ucts consumed IN our great cities is
lr.Wn from 500 tO 1000 miles away. and
favored localities. more particularly at the
S.1th devote their energies % the growth Of
ere.4I varieties Ot green food. Tor which
t,.re is a speedy demand throughout tine
wear. Late in the fail and early IN the
forfnr florida and tie Lower Ml7ss-l o.
lsIev supply the Eastern and central cities,
md California those of the far West and
mountain section, until the advancing sea-
SON. at the rate of thirteen miles "a day, starts
tIe growth and consequent supply mp along
tne Atlantic Coast and the great Mlssissippi
Valley. when the full season OF midsummer
I'm the North continues the supply until
winter frosts once more compel "a return 70
the South, whore a fresh crop awaits the ue-
mand Of the market" ,
New Dotatoes. cabbages. cauliiowers. and
tomatoes are as yet the only vegetables snip
ned from California so far east as 81. LOUIS,
kansas Cit, and Chicago, and then only IN
small quantities 90 meet q partial tallure OF
crops in the Mississippi Valley ana florl"a.
But the law of natural monopoly has shown
itself IN the past. and cannot fail ia the flu
ture. With rapid development OF r~ulroadS
come fast trains and lower freight and
evnress CHARGES. and the artificial adj
vantaces VIII enable California, with q Iertl-
itv OF soil that produces every green thing
10 perfection and q climate largely free
rom the winter frost that occasionally
proves so disastrous 40 the South, % compete
sharply for much of the truck trade beyond
tho Mississippi. 70 has been only q few years
since the truck-farmers of the Norfolk and
Baltimore districts have successfully divided
r4tronage with the older and more northern
districts, yet already Norfolk growers grum-
BILE over signs of % shifting trade, because
owe in Florida are severely Furnishing
their Maryland and Virginia rivals. An est-
mate made in 1879 placed the value OF the
vegetable and berry crops shipped from Nor
fox az 81. 1857, C4j. while for the census year
ending June, 1890, the value OF the vegetable
crop shipments alone rose to $3.113,46l; IN
addition there were handled nj the same port
nearly gO0. 600 melons.
The average melon fields of the South At
lautic States yield about 400 salable melons
Der acre. 200 will load a car. which Will sell
III the North anywhere from a $50 10 SZI5,
leaving net returns from nothing up 10 @loO
per car. One gentleman in Dawson county,
Georgia. reports making u net prOht OF 81, dO
from tLirty-twO acres III 1889"
over ll4.O0O acres are devoted to melon
raising in the United States. a crop that has
gained In value of late years IN the Southern
districts is sweet potatoes: these now return a
handsome profit. II some cases ms nigh as HlUU
a. acre on farms which formerly barely
met expenses. One owner OF 80,
acres. near Cape Charles, Va, cleared
1000 last year from his truck,
or over 2j per cent. on the Investment; such a
return was only rendered possible by recent
favorable railroad facilities. The small sec
ton. Mobile county. Ala, shipped during the
past three years S1.62e. 9o4 worth OF truck;
other Southern distributing points, such as
Savannah. Charleston, Jacksonville, etc
supply equally significant returns.
fn the South Atlantic and Mississippi Valley
districts many freedmen are engaged 10 tins
industry. thew own their own farms and
teams. and successfully nval their white neigh
bors. Some of the special reports filled out
by these negro truckers prove thorough grasp
Of their business on both the practical and
commercial sides. One. selected for print,
shows an average netinccme per acre varying
from s75 for cabbage and 800 for asparagus
down 10 425 for watermelons, a crop which Is
more prolific, but less remuncratlYe, al the
South than in other districts.
The remarks appended 10 one report are a
good answer to much cheap talk ABOUT the
negro al tie South. Total number of acres,
l"l.I "efNElt Ndlllc llNA NNiRi AAyA- WV ." -'N'
number Of men employed during trucking
season, five; average wages per day, siSty-fye
cents number of horses and other animals
employed, four: value Of implements used,
e75. total amount paid for labor annually,
1925 total amount paid for fertilizers, Sl,425,
toial gross income, 1862; total net income,
SZ4z5"
The leading classes of vegetables raised by
turEen-in cOntradistinctiOn 10 market gar
deles-are as follows. ranking in acreage IN
Tie order named: Watermelons, cabbages,
peas. asparagus, melons (other than watermel-
ols sweet potatoes. tomatoes, spinach, lrlsn
pot4toes. celery and string beans.
The not returns from the same crop, IN the
flferent localities. vary materially. For IN
siauoA the highest net profit per acre reported
tor tonatoes is $500 in the New England, the
lowest 800 in the Northwest district. Inc
New England district also returns $1,000 per
acre as profit on c~ucumbers this enormous
profit results from their culture under glass at
groat expense), as against &25 in the Norfolk
sstuct. On the whole, il seems that Whine
TIE Northern districts report a larger return
per acre for certain of the truck staples-such
a. bo-ts, celery, spinach and tomat0es-the
south shows a high average proht on al yaIle-
Yes with a larger aggregate OF land ana laDor
employed IN trucking. In a word, the centres
W uuckfarmiDg are moving southwark ana
Ne3tWard.-NeW York Nation.