The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-02-29
GREAT YEAR FOR TRUCK.
TWENTY-FIVE HUNDRED ACRES
PLANTED IN CHATHAM COUNTY.

| PLANTED IN OHATH AM COUNTY.
One Thousand Acres Planted in Pota-
toes Alone-The Crops In Fine Con-
dition and Shipping to Begin the
Latter Part Of Next Month - A
Glimpse of the Farms West Of the
City-Soms of the Men Who Supply
the Market.
From all appearances this Will be
great year with the truck farmers.
Unless some more severe spell Of
weather occurs than has interviewed during
the last menth the farmers around the city
will begin shipping truck in quantities by
the latter part of next month. The fields
are in fine condition at present and the
promise is Of large crops.
In company with Maj. g. NJ. Ryals,
Chatham county's noted truck raiser,
MORNING NEWS reporter took a ride
through the truck farms on the
Springfield plantation and along tie
Louisville and Augusta roads and
the Bay street read yesterday. The whole
| section OF the country west OF the city for
| two or three miles from the city limits is in
| truck, good part Of which is already above
| the ground.
| EVERYTHING IN GOOD CONDITION.
Immediately on the west OF Styles avenue
| L. N. Ryals has fine field Of English pease
| in splendid condition, and many of them
| in the field and it is as green as a meadow in
june. The rows are wide apart and Mr..
Ryals expects to plant tomatoes between
the rows Of pease very shortly.
| This is where the truck farmer makes his
money, in making the same land grow two
crops almost at the same time.
| II there is no severe cold Mr. RIVALS will
make pease for shipment by May 20.
| Maj. Ryals farm comes next. He has ten
acres OF pease equally as fine as his brothers.
| These pease were planted the first week in
| January. They are now 6 to 10 inches
high and will be in bearing the latter part
OF next month.
CABBAGE HIS BOAST.
Maj. Ryals' field Of cabbage is his boast.
however. He has thirty acres OF as hearty
| looking cabbages as can bs seen anywhere.
They are of the early summer and Jersey
Wakefield varieties, and Maj. Ryals de-
clares he can almost see them grow. They
were planted in October and November, but
only appeared above the ground few
4 weeks ago. They will come on the market
in April. Cabbages will bring a high
price this year. The Florida crop
is small and poor. and the Norfolk
crops have been severely hurt by the cold,
so that the Savannah farmers will practi-
cally control the field. Maj. Ryals expects
the returns from his thirty acres of cab
bages to repay MIN all his farm has already
| cost him this year and give him a years.
living for himself and family besides This
will make all his other crops clear profit.
Maj. Ryals planted $50 barrels OF pota-
toes-about sixty acres-this year, and the
| prospects are for a large crop. Potatoes are
| n oHnoCfad 20 hrin hn fOh D.;
year that they did last year. Maj. Ryals
paid s., 900 for seed potatoes last year. This
year he planted from home-raised seed and
sold $3.50 worth besides. Heis 81, 750 ahead
of last year on this item alone.
DIVERSIFIED TRUCK.
Maj. Ryals also has large quantity of
| spinach, beets and carrots up and growing,
and his hot bed is full of tomato and pepper
plants, which will soon be transplanted
His bed of winter celery is as fine as can be
seen anywhere and the celery is as crisp and
fresh as any that was ever brought from
Kalamazoo. He also has very fine bed of
onions His barn, which stands In the
| midst OF the farm, is huge structure
and is filed with labor-savinR
machinery, such as Is probably
unknown upon any farm in Georgia outside
Of Chatham county. To show how a truck
farmer makes q fortune where cotton
commence planting beans between his pea
rows shortly, and he will next plant q row
| of tomatoes upon each side OF the beans be-
fore the pease are harvested. He also ex-
| poets to get crop of hay off the land this
| fall after the other crops are harvested.
| Thus he will get four crops off of the same
| land this year.
TO KEEP THE LAND BUSY.
The idea in truck farming, Maj. Ryals
says, is never TO let the land lie idle if il is
| possible TO help il.
Mr.. L. NJ. Ryals has about $50 acres in
truck adjoining his brothers place. He has
about 100 acres Of potatoes. His pease and
cabbage are very fine.
Fell q Jones have some very good crops
on;the Augusta road. DR.. Norton also has
large piece of land in potatoes near by.
The Schley place around the old Ten
| Brock race course is planted in cabhaRes
and pease, both Of which make fine show
| ing.
The Exleys and others all have large
| crops of pease, potatoes and ether truck fur
ther west and north of this locality.
Altogether il is estimated, including
small as well as large planters, that there
are nearly 900 acres in potatoes in Chat
ham county, about 500 each ia pease and
cabbage or rather more of the latter than
the former. and perhaps about 500 acres in
| other truck
$500 ACRES IN TRUCK.
AT an outside estimate this would make
about {, 500 acres in truck in Chatham coun-
| ty this year. The acreage In truck is about
| the same as last year.
The Bay street road, or Bay street ex-
tended. is a great Improvement to this sec
ton of the country, and makes fine drive
The farmers and residents of the entire
portion of the county west of the city are
In hopes that the county commissioners
will open and improve Styles avenue and
extend it south to Ogeechee road.
This would give the farmers bringing in
their products an air line almost from the
Ogeechee road to Bay street extended,
from which it is but a short distance to the
Ocean Steamship Company's wharf and into
the city. The distance to the Ocean Steam
ship Company's wharf would be shortened
more than one half.
IL the crops turn out as expected and
prices are good Chatham county's truck
farmers will be happy lot this year.
For Malaria, Liver Trou-