Mrs. Grundy. (Tracy City, Tenn.) 1903-1930, 1904-03-10
Preparing for a Big Crop.

indicate the early appearance in the
market for this truck and in quanti-
ties exceeding the production of for
mer seasons. Special reference is
made to the West Tennessee coun-
ties because those counties lead the
rest in the extent Of strawberry and
early vegetable shipments to the
larger Northern and Eastern mar
kets.
Conditions have been favorable
for strawberry and vegetable grow
ers, and indications are that these
conditions will continue favorable
for the early open air growth of all
marketable Szuck. Advices are to
the effect that preparations for
strawberry and early vegetable grow
ing have been made on a more ex-
tensive scale than ever before, and
that under favorable climatic condi-
tons truck shipments will be I'M
precedentedly heavy the coming sea-
son.
1t has also been observed that the
farmers are paving more attention
to the Investigation of their lighter
crops than formerly, many farmers
having large beds of cabbage plants
and other vegetables that bring good
prices if cotton on the market ahead
of the competition that comes with
the opening of the season in the
North and East.
An idea of the extent of last sea-
sons business may be gained from
official figures furnished by Lee Cla-
ry, division freight agent of the
Louisville & Nashville railroad.
These figures give the volume of
business handled by the Louisville
Memphis division Of the Louisville
& Nashville and have no reference
to the shipments over competing
lines, though the Louisville & Nash
vile handles the bulk of this traf-
fc.
The largest strawberry and early
vegetable shipping points are: Bells,
Gadsden, Fruitvale, Pomona, Hum
boldt, Gibson and Irrelevant, all be-
ing stations between Memphis and
Mckenzie, Carroll county. Last
season the Louisville & Nashville
handled al 600 crates of strawber-
ries, sold at an average price Of
$1.3j per crate; 81, 53S crates Of
tomatoes, sold at an average price
of soc per crate; S,4S2 hampers of
beans; 4,13O boxes of apples; 1886
sacks of potatoes; 1877 packages of
eantaloupes; 696 crates of cabbage;
223 crates of cucumbers, and 81
crates of green corn.
This season indications are that
the volume Of business from these
points will be nearly doubled. The
farmers realize the possibilities of
the traffic, and have prepared to in
crease their acreage,
1t is contended that the prices
realized on last seasons products
were below the mark of expectancy
for the reason that strawberries and
light vegetables, owing to retarding
weather conditions were not mar
keted in time to avoid competition
with the same products Of the later
season. The strawberry crop, for
instance, was two or three weeks
backward, hence shipments to the
Northern and the Eastern markets
came in contact with the products of
the more backward season. This
year, however, the farmers antici-
pate an early season, which if real
lied, will enable them to market
their truck at better prices.
1t has been demonstrated that the
greatest money crops are strawber-
ries and early vegetables, and the
counties of Crockett and Gibson
have prospered as never before in
their history since the farmers be-
gan the cultivation of the earlier
truck fruits and vegetables.
Last season, under conditions far
from ideal, farmers in the counties
mentioned realized as much as 5000
on an acre of land. This did not
represent a single crop, however,
but several crops, the land being re-
planted as soon as the preceding
crop was gathered. Hundreds Of
thousands of dollars are brought to
these fruit and vegetable counties
each season from the sale of early
light crops. The traffic has assumed
such proportions that the larger
commission houses of the North and
the East send buyers to the shipping
centers, and the farmers are paid
for their truck on delivery at the sta
ton.
Larru pierrA Patttrne