The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-01-28
TRUCKERS HARD AT WORK.
THEY ARE MAKING up FOR THEIR
LOSSES BY THE FREEZE.

The Damage Done by the Last
Freeze Greater Than Was First
ThOught-The Planting of English
Teas Finished and Some Of the
First Paintings Already Up-A
Few Potatoes Planted, But the
Principal Crop VIII BE Put in in
February-The Truck Acreage in
Chatham COunty-Figures on Last
Years Crop.
The truck farmers have had a pretty
hard time of it this winter. The first
freeze killed about everything there was
above ground and the succeeding freeze
knocked out what was left. The last
freeze was more severe on the
growing vegetables than was at
first thought and very little was left after
it.
The farmers have about finished
planting English peas and some of the
first paintings are up.
Some few Irish potatoes have been
planted, mostly from home-raised seed.
Virginia second crop Irish potatoes will
be planted during the early part of
February, and northern and eastern seed
will be planted from Feb. IS to March l.
Beans, cucumbers. ETC., will not be planted
until March.
There are from seventy-five to 100
truck farmers in Chatham county plant
ing from 1900 to 5000 acres in the aggre-
gate, or an average Of about thirty acres
per farm.
Mr.. NJ. L. Exley, secretary of the Truck
Growers Association has collected from
the officials of the various lines of trans
portation leading out of Savannah, by re-
quest of Commissioner of Agriculture r.
F. Nesbitt, the following statistics, show
ing the amount of vegetables in barrels
and barrel crates and of baskets and bas-
ket crates also of melons, raised here dur
ing last season:
Via Ocean Steamship Company, 1909
barrel and barrel crates; &c, or baskets and
bushel crates; $50 water melons.
Via Merchants and Miners Transporta-
ton Company, 5,2H barrels and barrel
crates; S,26S baskets and bushel crates; no
melons reported.
Via A. c. L. & A. c. D., $50 barrels and
barrel crates; 4,02S baskets and bushel
Via Central railroad, 921 tons vegetables
and S6 tons melons, equal to about r. 2S0
barrels and barrel crates and 5000 melons.
The shipments by the Central railroad
were mostly pototoes and cabbage, scarce
ly any small vegetables being shipped by
that line.
There was no report of Florida Central
and Peninsular shipments. Presumably
very little went by that line as it deliv-
ers In Jersey City. The bulk of the truck
went by the Ocean Steamship Company,
which confirms the charge that the Penn
sylvania railroad made a mistake by
changing it's delivery from New York to
Jersey City.
The total number of barrels and barrel
crates for the season was Sc, 1915; baskets
bushel crates, 1865, and watermelons,
$3.50, which is very little more than half
a crop. Chatham county usually ships
100000 barrels of potatoes and cabbage,
and about 10000 baskets and bushel crates
of small vegetables.
The small crop can be accounted for
by the severe freeze in March, which
killed all perishable vegetables after they
had been growing thirty days. The pota-
toes came up again, but the freeze was
followed by a severe drought, which cut
down the crop nearly one-half. The crop
of smaller vegetables, such as beans, Gu
cumbers, etc, was so late that very little
was realized from it; the bulk of the
crop being left in the field unpicked.