The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1908-04-16
The States Resources.
Congressman Thomas Speaks
of the States 8 Great Develop
ment.---E.astern Carolina One
Huge Truck Garden.
Mt. Olive Tribune.

Mt Olive Tribune.
During the consideration of q bill
before the National House of Repre-
sentatives several days ago, to pay
certain claims for stores and supplies
taken by the Federal army in the
South during the Civil War. Hon.
Charles r. Thomas, Representative
from this district, submitted some in
teresting remarks relative to North
Carolina's growth and progress in
population. agriculture, manufactures
and general development in the last
decade. Afterreferring to the glorious
history of the State, and of some Of
the great men she has produced, Con-
gresham Thomas spoke as follows
OF agriculture in North Caeolina, with
especial references to the trucking i'm
dustry in this Eastern section which
will be perused with interest by 7'ri-
bune readers:
Having every variety of soil as
well as climate, the crops of the State
are diversified and numerous 1t is u
land of corn and wine, of grape and
fig, OF sunshine and flowers, and pro-
duces all the staple crops-corn and
cotton, wheat, oats, rye, barley.
Perhaps the greatest progress of the
State, however, agriculturally, has
been in the raising Of tobacco and the
progress made i'm the cultivation of
truck crops. Eastern North Carolina
is particularly favored in it's climate
| and soil, its nearness to great mar
kets, and ready means of transporta-
ton, So far as the raising of truck
crops is concerned. 1t is today one of
the greatest, if not the greatest, truck
gardens of the country, and in my
Congressional District in the territory
| around New Berne, my home, and in
the territory lying along the Atlantic
Coast Line Railway from Goldsboro
to Wilmington. the sums of money
annually realized from the early
truck crop run into millions, and the
output is more readily computed in
| hundreds of carloads than i'm any
| other way.
"a traveller along the line Of the
Norfolk & Southern Railroad and
the Atlantic Coast Line in eastern
North Carolina during the trucking
season, in my Congressional District,
will see a landscape which appears
one huge truck garden. Everything
that fertile soil and kindly climate
will produce is grown in eastern
North Carolina. Every variety .oi
early vegetable and fruit is produced,
and every variety almost is money
maker. No section of the United
States has made greater progress
within the last TN years in truck
| farming than eastern North Carolina.
Men have made fortunes in raising
asparagus, lettuce, Strawberries, and
other early vegetables and fruit. The
strawberry crop in the counties along
the Atlantic Coast Line from Colds
boro toWilmington, Wayne, Duplin,
Pender and other counties, is worth
millions of dollars annually. About
the towns of Mount Olive and Faison
On the Atlantic Coast Line,the straw.
I berry business had it's first start, and
the soil there and all along the line
of this railway has been found to be
well adapted for the production o
the finest fruit. The first really fine
| berries sent north are from this sec
tion of North Carolina. OF course
earlier in the season Strawberries
come from Florida and from Other
more southern sections, but there are
none OF them equalin quality to those
produced in the counties of Pender
Duplin, and Wayne, in North Caro-
lima. The Irish potato is one of the
leading truck crops, grown for the
early market, and from the city o
New Bern alone over loo, 900 bushel,
.of early Irish potatoes are shipped
annually, and the crop in the adioin
ing county of Pamlico and other sec
tions is a very large one. In eastern
North Carolina are also grown tn,
finest crops OF lettuce. celery, cucum
bers, and other early vegetables. Il
is not rare to get $1,000 an acre
from the winter lettuce growing.
thousand bushels per acre is com
mon crop ofcucumbers,and the Nortl
Carolina asparagus is standard
article in the northern markets. BE
sides every variety OF early vegeta
bles and fruits. including the straw
berry crop, eastern North Carolina
OF course, produces also the stapE
crops of cotton and corn. In tn
western part of the State and in th
Piedmont section are cultivated al
the staple crops OF cereals. as well a
tobacco"
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