Evening star., 1901-09-12
MIN STAR TED IT.
How the Great Southern Trucking
Industry Originated.
HAS GROWN 10 GREAT PROPORTIONS
Good Things to Eat Sent in I'M
mense Quantities UP North.
FA VORED LOCALITIE S

| FAV VORED LOCALITIE S
Few persons are aware of the fact. which
mas been brought out i'll its latest bulle-
tin by the Agricultural Department, that
| from the carrying by southern man to
New York of small quantity of mint
| some years ago arose the great southern
| garden truck business of today, which
gives employment to thousands of men and
| Involves the expenditure of millions of dol
| lars annually
A prominent official of the Pennsylvania
Railway Company is authority for the
statement that in the winter of 1S41 No. IA
| fire engine of New York had its headquar-
ters on Church street, between Fulton and
Vesey. Fire engines I'm those days were
manned by citizen firemen. Next door to
the engine house the boys rented loafing
| parlor, and 1t goes without mention that
toddies and the stiff mixtures were always
! in season. clerk on one of the Charles
ton boats, which then landed at Pler 4,
North river, front of Morris street, was a
guest, and while taking something re-
marked the drink was nothing compared
with the mint julep of the south, such
one as had a few days ago." The boys
received the reference as a yarn, Tor Wnere
could mint be gotten in the middle OF Win
ter, they having no PERSONAL experience
| of any other climate than that of New
York. The clerk promised to prove his
statement upon his next trip north. He
| left the boys. accompanied by a commission
merchant and in later conversation added
that he would bring not only mint but
| lettuce, radishes and strawberries as well.
At this the merchant was doubly doubt
full, and challenged the statement with
| treat. Upon the return of the steamer
the clerk proved the truth of his asser-
tion. In a second hand champagne bas-
ket he brought lettuce. radishes, mint,
and, within an inner basket, were two
quarts Of strawberries. The straWberrleS,
the first ever seen In New YORK IN winter
time, were placed In a store window as a
curiosity where they We're visited and ex-
amined by hundreds
Marvellous Development.
The greatest concentration of truck
farms occurs in the neighborhood Of Bos-
ton, Mass; New York, n. Y, and Phila-
delphia, Pa, and In the peninsular district
of Delaware and the eastern shores of
Maryland and Virginia, while probably the
finest trucking country In the world is To-
Gated on the Atlantic coast from Norfolk
to southern Florida. The development of
this district In recent years, particularly
along the Florida coast, has been almost
marvellous. 1t is possible in Florida to pro-
duce fruit and vegetables in open air at
impossible to raise them in any other part
of the country, except under glass, and In
consequence there has been great demand
for Florida products at very high prices
The success of this business has been so
gratifying and the profits so large that 1t
has become one of the chief industries Of
the state.
AS the trucking business depends almost
entirely on proper transportation facilities
it is absolutely essential that the proper
centers for the reshipping of garden truck
should be along the lines Of railways or
located at some seaport where ready COM
munication can be had with the various
large cities, which are nearly always the
distributing points for this class of pro-
duce. In this respect the south Atlantic
states have been particularly fortunate.
and have been greatly aided In their devel-
opment by superior steamboat accommoda-
tions From Norfolk, Va, there are lines
Of ocean steamers to Philadelphia, Pa:
New York, N Y. and Boston, Mass, which
during the height OF the season dispatch
several steamers, every day, loaded almost
entirely with garden truck. In addition to
these there are daily lines to Washington,
D. c.: Baltimore, Nd, and Richmond, Va,
among their miscellaneous cargoes. Charles
ton S. c.; Savannah, Ga, and Jacksonville.
Fla. also have a large feet of steamers
which land enormous quantities of truck
in New York, N. Y, and Boston, Mass. In
the territories tributary to Norfolk and
Baltimore there numerous bays, rivers
and creeks. upon which small steamers
sailboats and f1atboats are used to trans
port truck from the farm to the central
point where 1t is to be reshipped direct by
steamer or railway.
Value and Size of Truck Farms.
The increasing demand for land IN GER
tain regions of the southern states, owing
to the establishment OF great numbers Of
truck farms, has resulted in a RENAL able
advance in the value of property, and
many farms on the Atlantic seaboard
which were almost worthless or valued at
from So to $5 per acre before truck farm
ing was introduced have increased In value
to from $40 to $500 per acre, according to
location with regard to the markets.
An average truck farm will contain from
ten to fifteen acres, while some Of the
| larger farms contain from 15 to 100 acres
| A ten-acre patch, well cultivated and skill
| fully worked, will often produce $4,000
worth of garden truck in a season.
| In the years 1896 1897 and 1898 New
York received 2, 49, 715 2,632, 776 and 1885,
] OBS packages of vegetables, respectively
! from southern territory, and in the single
month of June 1889, over million pack
| a ges were received from the same sources
| During the height of the season 1t Is no
| unusual sight to see piled on single rail-
| road wharf along the river front in New
| York city 100000 southern watermelonS
| awaiting delivery, while as many as 200
| carloads of southern peaches have arrived
| in single day.
Norfolk the Greatest Center.
| Norfolk Va, Is the greatest garden
| truck center in the south, it's location CIV
ing 1t many advantages. The soil of the
| surrounding country could hardly be i'm
| proved upon, and the climate Is well
| adapted for the business, being insured
against sudden changes in temperature by
] the close proximity Of the great gulf
| stream. Moreover. this district Is almost
| entirely surrounded by water and is in
dented by numerous sounds and channels
| from the ocean, from Chesapeake bay,
| from Hampton Roads and from the Eliza
| beth and James rivers.
Next to Norfolk, Va, Charleston is prob
| ahlv the center Of the greatest trucking
area in the south. strip Of land known
| as ..The Neck" located between Cooper
and Ashley rivers and comprising about
! - 600 acres is the main source of supply
| for the produce shipped. from Charleston
| although many hundred acres of truck
/ farms will be found at Mount Pleasant,
s. G.. and on lands about the harbor and
! coast. Truck begins to move from Charles
] ton about the first week In April and con-
| tinues for four or five weeks. The highly
| perishable fruits and vegetables are for
| war6ed by an all-rail fast-freight service,
/ while those of a less periShable nature are