The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1906-03-16
TRUCK CONDITIONS
Lettuce Bringing Good Prices
and Crop is Fine
FIRST CARLOAD SHIPMENT
Will Probably be Made First of
Next Week
Tros bic Already Being Experienced
about Getting Lettuce to Northern
Harkets-The General Strawberry
Observation-Disclosures Point to a
Very Fine CrOp-SeasOn Some Ear
Iier Than Last Year.

lier Than Last Year.
The trucking season has already be
u and lettuce is going forward inI
large quantities but no car 0 ship-I
ments have yet been made. 1t was
thought that the first car load ship
ment would be made by the 18th but
the cold weather of about two weeks
& put the crop back and prevented
the lettuce from heading up rapidly
For the past week good stock was
placed upon the market and the prices
ranged from $3.50 to $500 per basket.
This is regarded as a very good price,
and if the truck growers could realizeI
this much per basket during tteeentireI
season they would never fail to reapI
rich returns from the crop.
1t is early in the season but trouble
is already being experienced in regard
to transportation. Shipments are ar
irving at boil Philadelphia and New
York late and the result is, that the
lettuce is not bringing as good prices
as it should. Shipments due to leaveI
here at 1925 on Tuesday morning
should be in Philadelphia at 6 o'clock
on Wednesday morning. The market
men get their vegetables very early
in the morning as very nearly all the
marketing in cities is dom before 10
o'clock in the morning. When rneI
shipments arrive late it does not pre-
vent the sale but the lettuce sells far
cheaper than would otherwise be the
case. If there was a night express this
would be relieved and several weeks
ago the executive committee. after a.
conference with some of the Coast Line
officials felt almost certain that thu
service would be inaugurated but it
has not yet come to pass and there isl
no probability of a night express SER
vice. 1t is to be seriously doubted if
another instance can be found wherel
a town the size of Wilmington has
such inadequate express service. ThereI
is a passenger train running out of
here at $50 for the north hut it car
r1eS no express car.
Shippers are beginning to feel I'M
easy about the outlook for handling
the strawberry crop. Traffic on the
Coast Linz at the present time is terri
bly, congested and they faart that seri-l
Gus trouble will be experienced Whenl
the berry season opens This will be-
several weeks hence, though, and the
truck rover are hopeful that in the
meantime the Coast Line will get the
situation in hand.
In reviewing the strawberry and
vegetable situation from Florida, all
the way up through the two Carolinasi
and Virginia, The Carolina Fruit and
Truckers Journal, of this city, will
say in its issue today, in part, as fol-
lows:
with the approach of spring inter-i
est daily increases in the strawberry
outlook from Florida all the way up|
to the Carolinas and Norfolk, in Vir-I
ginia, incidentlly including h easternl
shore of Maryland and Delaware dis
trict. AS the result of an investiga-I
ton by the Carolina Fruit aud Truck
ers' Journal recently made, 1t has beenl
discovered that the strawberry grow-i
ers in several parts of the country dis
continued in large part the cultivationI
of this choice fruit last year, as the
result of the disastrous. results attend-I
ing their efforts in 1905. The result of
all this has been that practically all
the great consuming and distributing
centers of the Northern, New England
and Middle Western States are giving
their attention more than ever to this,
section, and in fact depending largely
upon the two Carollnas and Virginia
to ship their supplies during the ap-I
preaching season. |
In addition to enjoying transported
ton facilities We might say superiorI
to those enjoyed by any other eection.I
which places us in closer proximity toI
all the great consuming centers and!
cities of this country, We begin the!
shipment Of strawberries and vegeta-I
bleS at a season of the year when ALL
the world and human nature Graves
both. We are, therefore, none tool
soon. such as would curtail the de-
mand and not so late as to be in conf
petition with any other part of thei
ountry Such conditions have hong,
Injured to our advantage. resulting I'M
commission merchants all over the,
country making good money each year,
out of this business. h latter fact
has become so apparent and we'll eS-I
tablished that the number of operators
seeking business out of this territory
steadily increases one year after the
other.
In the two Carolinas and Virginia.
the work of strawing the fields has
already begun, and every preparation
possible is now being made for now
ing the crop with more promptnessi
and regularity this season than ever
before. The vines in the main look
strong. halthy and vigorous, and uni
less all sisns fail the 1906 crop will
reach the high water mark, both I'M
volume and quality.
Alabama. Tennessee, MISSISSIPPI
and Texas are lining up for the straw
berry campaign, and but for the dis-l
astrous results of last years season.
would make a good showing this year,
Over on the eastern shore of MarylandI
and Delawa the crops and outlook
are reported to be slightly better att
this time than was thought to be the
case early in the year. Virginia will
do better than was at first expected
but North and South Carolina SEEM
te be the storm center of activities this,
year, and commission merchants are'
alreadw on the ground, with others