The progressive farmer and the cotton plant., 1905-04-25
TRUCKING EDITION.
TRUCKING OUTLOOK IN EASTERN NORTH
CAROLINA.
Hortculturist II. II. Hume Reviews the Growth OF
the Industry, and Discusses Its Promising Future.

V,
Nessrs. Editors The story goes that in the
winter of 1871, clerk on one of the Charleston
boats. made the assertion in New Y ork that he
could bring fresh mint. lettuce, radishes and
strawberries from the South Such statement
WAS regarded with incredulity by his friends who,
never having known any other winter than the
rigorous one of New York, scoffed at the idea.
However on his next trip North, he proved the
truth of his statement by bringing, packed in
secondhand champagne basket, mint, radlshes,
lettuce and two quarts of Strawberries. Those
were the first Strawberries ever seen in New ork
in winter and were regarded as great curiosity
Development in Eighteen Years.
The first refrigerator car loaded with strawber-
ries reached New York from Florida, March 30,
1889. though the first all-rail shipment of truck
from Eastern North Carolina had been sent for
ward March g. 1887.
In the short space of eighteen years the truck
ing industry of the Eastern part of North Caro-
lima has grown until the output may be counted
by hundreds of carloads of produce in a single
season, and the packages making uE those car
loads may be counted by hundreds of thousands,
running even into the millions. In fact, con-
Servative estimate for the year 1904 would be
100000 packages. representing a cash value to
the State of approximately S6,50O,OOO.
The question naturally arises, What has made
this development possible? Soil. climate. trans
portatiOn facilities. together with changed meth
ods of living and increased purchasing power OF
the average individual living at or near the great
Northern and Western markets-these are the
factors which have brought about this enormous
increase in production.
Undeveloped Lands.
Eastern North Carolina has among its varied
soils. large areas we'll adapted to the trucking in
dustry, and the areas which have been opened up
and developed form but a small proportion of the
total The ratio of developed to unde-
veloEed is probably not greater than one to five,
or possibly more. The soils of various types are
capable of producing any truck crop, though not
all have received attention. Bearing this point
| cannot do better than give the list found grow
ing by John Lawson as far back as TIA. He
speaks of BEANS peas, carrots, leeks parsnps, tur
npS, potatoes, radishes beets onions. garlick, let
tuce, cabbage, cress. parsely, asparagus, "colly-
fower, watermelons. muskmelons, cucumbers,
sGuashes, and gourds. He further states that,
Strawberries, not Foreign, but those of the
country, grow here in great plenty. Last April
planted Bed of two hundred feet in length,
which bore the same year."
The climate is mild. and seldom indeed does
me area suffer severe injury from frost Ger
tamly the grower of diversified crops has nothing
TO tear. In sections of the district the low
est temreratures recorded in the last five years
nave not been below II or 1S degrees. So mild
i The climate that crops may be grown the year
DTonnd as many four often being produced
Notatons, such CD lettuce, (2) lettuce, 60
'"'ufnoers' (3) eggplant, (D cowpeas, not