The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1899-04-19

ing, and within few years the
farmers of this section Of South
Carolina will suddenly realize that
while they were Shaving themselves
to death plastering their lands with
mortgages and growing poorer year
after year growing cotton, the more
wide awake farmer of adjacent states
were growing early vegetables and
accomplishing competence. Within
the past Eve years trucking has
grown from an insignificant begin
ning TO immense proportions in the
eastern section Of North Carolina
along the lines of the Atlantic Coast
Line sytem of railroads, and cotton
has been almost wholly abandoned
SIS crop in the same sections.
Thousands of acres are planted In
strawberries, but asparagus and all
other early vegetables are also grown
in the greatest quantity. What is
being done in North Carolina can be
done in South Carolina, and just as
large profits will reward the truck
growers if they use the same indus
try and Intelligence in the cultivation
of their crops and the same care in
marketing them that the North Caro-.
lima truckers have displayed. There
will be no conflict between the
truckers of this State and those of
North Carolina, for the crop in this
section of the State would be from
ten days to three weeks earlier than
the crop of eastern North Carolina,
and the bulk of it could be marketed
before the first shipments from North
Carolina would be ready for market.
Every body cannot run truck farms.
of course, but those who own lands
adapted to truck along the line of
railroad can do so very probably,
and as it becomes more evident every
wear that cotton as a money crop has
played out, it is time for our people
to be casting about for a substitute
For those who are favorably situated
and truck are substitutes
that will yield larger returns in cash
than cotton has at any time within
the past ten or twelve years. An
idea Of the price truck commands in
the north right now csa be gained
from the following clipping from a
Wilmington, n G, paper
In New York Friday Charleston
sold at Is to so cents
per quart; Florida fancy varieties.
IS 1893 North Carolina asparagus
So. 90 to $500 per dozen bunches
beets. $500 to $500 per hundred
punches T; North Carolina lettuce,
$1.00 to 81 so per basket.
The magnitude of the truching
industry in the Wilmington district
is shown by statements made in the
Wilmington Star, concerning the
being made to handle
this years crop:
"Now that the strawberry crop in
this section is beginning to ripen and
in large quantities will be
in order in ehort time ali possible
dispatch is being exercised by Mr.
G. ". Woodward, agent for the C.
F. T. Company, and his assistants,
in putting their refrigerator cars in
order fox handling the crop. They
have a large force Of laborers at
work thoroughly renovatipg the three
hundred cars which they have con
centrased here for the special purpose
of handling the strawberry shipments
However, Mr.. Woodward does not
think that his refrigerator cars will
be brought into service before the
25th inst
The berry crop seems to be almost
two weeks later this year than last,
the first refrigerator Car of berries
having been shipped last year on April
10th. with S8 crates on board. 1t
will De of interest to note that the
frs. shipment of berries by express
last year was March 3lst.