Sullivan republican. [volume] (Laporte, Pa.) 1883-1896, 1893-07-28
MARKETING FARM PRODUCE
LOADED FARM WAGONS CARRIED
TO NEW YORK ON TRAINS.
How the Long Island Farmer Gets
His Truck to Town for the Early
Morning Trade.


His Truck to Town for the Early
Morning Trade.
r ONG ISLAND farmers who
r. bring fresh country produce
to town each morning and
offer it for sale on the big
west side plaza called Gansevoort Mar.
ket do not, as is generally supposed,
drive their teams all the way in from
their farms. That used to be the way
in the old days, but now the farm
wagons are placed upon fiat cars and
come in by rail.
The only way by which farmers
could reach their early morning Gus.
toners in the city few years ago was
to drive; but this was very inconveni.
ent, for the country roads were usually
bad and the distances great. The morn.
ing market was an early one, and it
was generally necessary to start the
evening before and drive all night in
order to reach Gansevoort in time.
From 10 to II o'clock every night
the long and dusty roads reaching out
from Long Island City into the great
truck farming country along the North
Shore were travelled by long lines of
big two-horse wagons loaded with
fresh country produce and driven by
sleepy farm hands. 1t was an expen.
sive matter for the farmer, too, for it
was necessary to have two complete
outfits of horses and wagons and men.
The round trip, including the market,
required ill most cases nearly all of the
twenty-four hours.
Nowadays the North Shore farmer
loads his truck wagon the evening be-
fore and goes to bed. He gets up be-
fore the sky has yet shown signs of
dawn, bitches up his horses and drives
to the nearest railroad station. He
finds there nm elevated platform the
height of flat car, built alongside the
track. 1t is approached by long in
cline of slight pitch, up which his
horses have no difficulty in dragging
the wagon. Then he rolls over on his
seat and goes to sleep, or falls to talk
ing country gossip with his neighbor.
Long before the train comes the plat
form is filed with wagons, and others
are waiting below.
The train ut length comes putting
and rumbling along and stops beside
the platform. 1t consists of n dozen
or two broad fiat cars and caboose
or an old and shabby passenger car.
The farm wagons are pushed aboard
the flat cars, the wheels rolling in
grooves which hold them in position.
They are strapped fast SO they won t
roll off, for the wagons nre run cross
way on the cars. Each car carries
four wagons placed side by side.
When the wagon is secured the
farmer takes his horses into one of the
box cars and puts them in stalls which
are built in the car and plentifully
strewn with straw. Finally he betakes
himself to the caboose or passenger
car and smokes black tobacco in II
wood pipe all the way to Long Island
City while he talks crops and markets to
his fellow farmers. The chances are
ninety whine in hundred that he
growls the whole distance over the
bad season and low prices.
Long Island City is reached and
the farmer bitches up his horses again,
drives on n ferryboat and finds him.
self in Thirty fourth street. He then
makes for Gansevoort Market at n
round trct so rs to get there early and
secure good place; for at Gansevoort
Market first come is first served i'll
matter of position.
By this time it is daylight, but the
sun is only just out of bed The big
plaza is full of farm wagons from Long
Island and Westchester County and
New Jersey. In n short time the
streets all around are choked with
grocers' and butchers wagons. and a
great swarm of retail dealers call upon
the farmers and buy the vegetables
they require for their days trade.
If the farmer is lucky he is sold out
by the middle of the morning. Then
he drives on to Long Island City
again, puts his horses and wagon on the
train md comes back to New York, il
he has time, to enjoy himself after the
fashion of farmers when they come to
town, until the afternoon hour arrives
for the market train to go back into
the country.
At home the fnrmor finds that his
men have gathered n supply of truck
for the next days marketing. This is
loaded on the wagon at once, and the
farmer goes indoors to his ham and
fried potatoes, his pipe and his feather
bed. New York Herald