The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-05-28
A DAY AMONG THE MACS.

alone, $50 car loads of Watermelons,
and they paid well, too.
This is comparatively a new indus
try in this county, but it is destined
to grow, for there was no truck grown
here prior to 1890. One season 200
car loads of watermelons were ship
ped, and this season if there is moth
ing to give the crop a set back, the
shipments will be the largest i'm the
history of the county. Aside from
watermelons and canteloupes, which
afford the principal crop, there is
considerable quantity of beans, Irish
potatoes, dewberries, Strawberries as
paragus, cucumbers and various other
small vegetables and fruits. This sec
ton is unsurpassed for the develop
ment of these industries and promises
great inducements to capital and to
practical and educated farmers. Mr..
A. j. McKinnon, (they give him the
Scotch "Sandy"), who. is a successful
pioneer in the cultivation of truck, has
made no little money on it and
is regarded as an authority upon how
to grow and ship truck for market
He was the first man here to grow
truck on large scale and to demon
strate that it could be made a paying
business. Indeed the first year he
shipped canteloupes on a large scale,
he is reported to have struck it rich,
but he does not give out any figures,
but has continued to grow cante-
loupes, but wisely putting much of
his acreage in asparagus and other
truck so as not to put all his eggs in
)ne basket. Not long ago the Pro-
yressiVe Farmer got out Truck Edi-
ton and asked Mr.. McKinnon as an
ship asparagus. His letter may help
others and so ! give it here:
To the Editor:-My experience
caches me that asparagus should be
grown with the view of attaining per-
lection as nearly as possible. This
dea, however will apply to all kinds
Of market gardening. To secure this
result the first requirement is a good
healthy root. / would advise the use
Of one year old roots, we'll drained
quick land, heavy fertilization and
good cultivation. / have an eight
@cre asparagus patch. The rows are
seven feet apart, the roots are eight
cen inches to two feet. We ditched
out a furrow to a depth of about
twelve inches then set the roots, put
ting about an inch and half to two
inches of soil on them. We put on
4 heavy application of barn yard ma
nure, 1000 pounds Kainit and not
less than 1000 pounds of ammoniated
guano. / use annually a special
formula prepared for me, Analysing
; per cert acid, per cent ammonia,
per cent potash. We put this on i'm
December or January. After this we
make a bed that will enable us to cut
/ about eight inches under the ground
without injuring the crowns When
we have finished cutting for the sea-
son we pillow down the beds and try
% leave only about two inches of soil
IN the crowns. cultivating sufficiently
20 keep it clean during the summer.
When it begins to peep out in the
spring, we go over it daily or every
other day according to the weather,
md cut the spears about eight inches
Inder the ground. using a knife made
for the purpose. We lay it carefully
ing trough, from trough to packing
table, where it is packed in standard
punches, then put into crates holding
two dozen punches each. 1t is then
ready for market.
have never been able to get a
tandard bunch like some pictures /
have seen, but we have had some
punches with thirteen spears to the
bunch. 1t would take very fine as
paragus to average a bunch to every
thirty stalks. My profits on asparagus
iCf1 4
time, / would not advise it's culture
for market unless the grower is we'll
upplied with barn yard manure and
willing to use fertilizer very literally.
Never let it suffer for if it ever has
a setback it will not do SO we'll any
more.
A. ]. McKINNON.
This is good town, dominated by the
right sort of views. Here is an illus
traitor of how it AM other robeson
county towns he'd for temperance:
Fourteen years ago there were five
saloons here and proportionately as
many in the other towns of the county
Led by such men as Rev. VIM. Black,
(then a lawyer living here) and Mr..
Il ~ loCIol, 0l.' VI LulhDei tol, anu
like men all over the county, the peo-
pie secured the passage of a law to
prohibit the sale and manufacture of
whiskey in the county. The law was
contested (for then the whiskey inter-
2sts thought they could dominate)
md the question was carried to the
supreme Court. 1t sustained the law.
Then it was common to hear the pre-
1iction that it would injure the towns
n Robson county and ruin business.
The experience of fourteen years has
demonstrated that there was nothing
n that argument, for the progress
md growth since then have been far
greater than in many previous like