Lower coast gazette., 1909-07-17
They Want The Evidence.

other markets. It states that BreauX Bridge tele-
graphed everywhere to the effect Of carload ship
ments, but the results were not gwen. "A CARLOAD
of Irish potatoes was shipped from St. Martin to
Cleveland, Ohio, and the result was disastrous.
The Messenger goes so far as to say that it is OF
the opinion that none of these shipments have
been entirely satisfactory and if not, the planters
should know the result and not be LETT under the
impression that there is big money in truck farm
ing, and then ends it's editorial criticism with the
request for facts from all those who have shipped
vegetables to the outside markets.
Acadian St. Martin doesn't have to go any
farther than Acadian Lafourche, below Thibobaux
and on down to Lockport, where the French AGA
dian farmers of that locality have been producing .
potatoes and other leading vegetables for the mar
ket for a hundred years, with such a successful
record that their lands are worth several thousand
dollars per front arpent on Bayou Lafourche and
are rarely ever, or never, sold, except at success
sion sales. The great trouble with truck garden
ing is to know just how to do it and those who
have been in the habit of growing sugar cane or,
cotton cannot successfully drop right into the cul~
ture of Irish potatoes, cabbages, cucumberS, let
tuce, onions, etc. These various cultures demand
just as careful study as does cane culture and Who
ever goes into the business without adequate
knowledge of it will surely reap disaster. On the
Lower Coast, below New Orleans, where truck
gardening has come very much into prominence
during the last few years, the progress along
these lines has been comparatively slow and is
only now rapidly developing after its success has
been so thoroughly we'll established. 1t has taken.
twenty years in one single community to gradual.
ly educate the proprietors in the community and
the laborers in the community up to such careful
work in truck gardening as would insure success.
The foundation Of successful truck gardening
seems to lie, as does all agriculture, in the tho
rough preparation Of the land. After that, how
ever, the general features of intense agriculture
come into play and without this. intense culture,
satisfactory results are not procured. A very
large outlay Of human labor and of artificial ferti-
lizers is necessary in addition to the outlay re-
quired for the preparation of the land. The selec-
ton Of the seed is a matter Of vast Importance.
1t has been found that in certain soils certain
varieties of cucumbers will flourish better than
they will in other soils, and this is equally
true of all of the other leading vegetables. The
proper kind must be chosen. In the harvest sea-
son the matter of packing for market becomes one
of immense Importance. Certain packers in this
parish have established such a reputation for fair
ness and correctness in packing that their goods
are sought wherever they may go, buyers know
ing that they will get just what they see on the
surface. There is no false packing of large vege-
tables on the top and culls below, but simply an
even display made throughout the package, be the
vegetable what it may.
Apart from these essentials, perhaps the very
most important thing is that of being able to har-
vest these products early in the season. The
whole profit may lie in reaching the northen mar
kets two or three weeks in advance of other COM
peting sections of the country. The whole of
Texas is now looming up into a vast vegetable
garden and it becomes US here in Louisiana, where
we have rather a more favorable climate than they
have in Texas, to be on the alert, and to gain, if
possible, the two or three weeks advantage that
we have in the way Of climate. Our soils are
practically Incompatible and are peculiarly adopted
to the production Of lettuce and cucumbers for
instance. Far down on the Rio Grande in Texas,
where they have a climate as warm, or warmer
than ours, they have not the same soil. They
found, however, that they can produce onions
there very advantageously. The parish of Plaque.
mines has thus far not engaged to any extent in
onion production under our new intense agricul.
ture, whish is now being practiced. We believe
that this parish can now compete successfully
with Southern Texas and with Florida, but to dc
it requires the most extreme care in every one Of
, the points that we have named, such as the pre-
paration of the land, the selection of the seed anG
the careful culture of the plants, the careful har
vesting and packing and then the final selection
of markets. The gardeners of New Orleans anc
of the slower Coast have gathered together t
some extent in associations for the purpose Of ship
ping out carload lots daily to such markets as an
t the most promising and by maintaining an active
telegraphic correspondence with these markets 81
4 as to learn the trend Of the situation.