The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-12-04
North Carolina Leads all Other states
in Strawberry Production.

Wilmington. N c., Nov. 25.-On
the subject of strawberries and othef
fruits and the States leading in their
respective varieties, the Carolina Fruit
& Truckers Journal of this city, Will
say in it's issue tomorrow:
According to the latest compilation
of statistics and other data North
Carolina leads all other States of the
Union in the growth and production
of high grade strawberries for domeS-
tic and commercial purposes. She
ranks third in melons and canta-
IoupeS. first in lettuce and first In
huckleberries and hoop-poleS and be-
sides is rapidly climbing to the top OF
the ladder as an Irish and sweet po-
tato State 1t is doubtful if there is
another State in the Union that pro-
duces so many and great a variety of
vegetables as the Old North State,
but OF this there is no record in this
and other States with which to make
a comparison. In number of items,
however, this State is exceeded by
several others. All told there are over
100000 acres in orchard fruits and
no branch of agriculture has made the
gains that fruit growing has in the last
decade. The acreage and percentage
of gain for the different varieties of
deciduous fruits are: Apples. 1000
900 and IS; peaches, 100000 and
217; prunes and plums. 307 800 and
1874: pears $4,000 and 246: cherries,
10000 and 112; apricots, $1,000 and
III. Twenty-four of the States re-
port a fruit crop exceeding $1,0O0.OOO
manual value. California leading with
$21700.000 New York is second
with $10,500,000; Illinois fifth, with
$3.S00,000, &c, &c, down the list. At
the same time North Cardinals net
gain in strawberry production today
&c
about So per cent or $2,225, 600.
While California shows up with
sol, 100000 fruit crop, New York with
a 10,500,000 fruit and Illinois with
$3,500,000 fruit crop, North Caro-
lima steps to the front with Seed
600 strawberry crop, leading a num-
Der of other States in as many other
things. In apples Missouri leads all
the States withan acreage of 100000
New York is second with $50, 900
acres, and Illinois third with $4,000
acres. Several of the States show a
tremendous per cent of increase, as
Arkansas and Nebraska, 500 each;
Washington, 900: Alabama, ESQ: Col
orado and Wyoming, $500; Idaho,
/, 200; Montana. 5000: Minnesota, 500;
Utah, 700, and New Mexico 1900.
Michigan leads in peaches and is
third in cherries and pears; Kansas,
which is sixth in apples, leads in cher
ries with Pennsylvania second. CAL
ifornia leads in pears, with New York
second. Illinois ranks nineteenth in
peaches. sixth in cherries and ties
with Pennsylvania for seventh place
in pears. California leads in prunes
and plums with $4,000 acres. Ore
gon is an easy second. Illinois is sew
enteenth with 800 acres. Califor-
MIA has practically q monopoly of april
cots, $4,000 acres; olives. $4,000 acres,
and figs, 1900 acres. California also
dwarfs it's only competitors in the or
ange and lemon industry. The figures
are $4,000 acres of orange and $1,000
acres of lemons, as against $4,000
acres of oranges in Florida and 225
acres of lemons.
California bears off the palm as a
fruit producing State leading in or
anges, lemons, figs, olives, apricots,
pears, prunes and plums and ranking
high in peaches and apples. It's esti-
mated orange crop for 1903-1904, for
instance, is $4,000 carloads, on which
the freight alone will be something
like $9,000.000
The fruit and trucking industry is
not only revolutionizing agriculture
and horticulture but is likewise do
ing much to solve the perpleXing labor
problem, since it has demonstrated
that those growers who cultivate only
such acres as they can take care of
without the aid of outside help are
the ones VINO make the greatest net
profits in business. Those who keep
an army of hands employed the year
round find at the end of each year
that they have to pay out the lions
share of all they make to some one
else. Thus it will be seen that the
system of intensive Farming yields by
far the greatest amount of net results
to the grower, thereby enabling him
to accomplish by his own efforts and
such as he can control that which
would be purely problematic were he
relying largely, if not wholly, upon
some one else or the ordinary labor
of today.
In the same connection it might be
interesting to know that the strawber
ry growers in North Carolina alone i'm
one day last spring paid into the cof-
fers of the Atlantic Coast Line Rail-
road Company more than $40,553.62
in freights on the single item of straw
berries AS to the amount paid other
roads of the State for the same pur-
pose, we have not the data at hand.
IN