The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-12-25

ally planted. Our southern people follow
in the tracks of our market garden RS
and plant only the earliest sorts. while if
they would plant the later growers in
spring, not for northern shipment but for
the home market, they would get larger
crops than the early sorts give and real
lie better prices at home in fan than the
early potatoes often sell for north. Such
varieties Jas Rural New Yorker No. >,
Rochester, Bill Nye and Pride of the
West, are large yielders and ripen alta sea-
son that will enable US to keep them at
least until Christmas, unless the higher
price makes us sell sooner and then
the fall crop is ready and
will keep without starting an eve
until June. But our southern city mar
ketS are supplied from late summer until
the following spring with only northern
potatoes and at prices that would make
northern farmers mouth water The
climate is all right. 1t only needs little
foresight and good culture to grow these
supplies as well here as anywhere
asked a retail dealer in Raleigh a few
days ago if he could get no home grown
potatoes, adding that 1 was Stin eating
last springs potatoes in good condition.
None worth handling said he they
bring them in, yellow, sun-scorched
things, from good market size down to
the size of n marble, all mixed together,
so | am compelled to buy northern pota-
toes that have been properly handled
and culled."
Herein lies one great trouble with our
farmers. They 90 not realize how the
sunlight hurts potato and they seem to
think that potato is a potato, whether
large or small. The same practice rules
in everything brought to our markets
from the country. Sweet potatoes are
cheap enough, but they are never culled.
and it is almost impossible TO find a lot all
of one kind. | stopped at wagon drawn
up at the market house some time ago
with load of sweet potatoes. and in a
little while | picked out of the pile north
ern vans, white Barbados, Peabodys,
yellow Barbados, Hamaus and Jewell
vans, six sorts all mixed heller SHELTER in
the same lot, and running from the size of
ones little finger up to several pounds
weight. The white Barbados is the fav-
orite. The market people call them Bay
duseS,.' and every man with sweet
potatoes will declare that his potatoes are
pure "Bayduses," when the ''Bayduses'
are in decided minority in the lot. And
yet we have a few growers for the local
market who uniformly put clean, we'll
culled products on sale. But they do not
hang around the market house long, for
the dealers pounce upon them and buy
their entire wads at once, while the
OIu6fS SJduu around ana wonder why
they cannot get rid of their 'taters-and
yet none seem to realize that it is their
own fault The same careless practice
prevents our homegrown apples bringing
good prices in the home market Knotty,
scabby, little and big. red green and yell
low all dumped into one package, and to-
day prime northern apples are retailing
al 80 cents peck in Raleigh and country
apples, really better, if theworthless ones
were culled out and properly assorted and
packed, are retailing for 20 cents a peck
Cur people seem slow to learn the
value of careful culling, sorting and pack
ing for market All through the coming
winter there will be apples from our
mountain country selling in Raleigh for
half the price of northern fruit. simply
because the growers do not understand
that apples must be culled and the differ
ent sorts put to themselves, and above all
that they must be packed tight in barrels.
Apples properly packed in the north reach
our markets in fine order, while those
from our own state, shaken off the trees,
shriveled up and poured into a barrel
loosely, with plenty of room to tumble
about, arrive half cider. Perhaps when
some energetic fruit growers from the
north, who know how to pack apples
come into our grand apple regions our
people may learn how to ship AS yet
they dosnOt. 81 a. TOO 1o199F Sc