466 HOTANICAL SUEVEY OF DISMAL SWAMP REGION. 



important truck crop for about 1 hat length of time. Hut a spring with 

 unusually rapidly rising temperature will largely obliterate the differ- 

 ence ami bring Xewbern into competition with Norfolk. 



The principal garden vegetables grown at Newbern are potatoes, 

 cabbages, strawberries, tomatoes, peas, beans, squash, rutabagas, 

 cantaloupes, sweet potatoes, eggplant, cucumbers, asparagus, and 

 lettuce. Of these, as at Norfolk, potatoes rank first in acreage, cab- 

 bages second, and strawberries, of which the cultivation is rapidly 

 increasing, third. Pumpkins are also raised in the vicinity of New- 

 bern, the usual practice of planting them with corn being followed. 

 Of several of the early summer vegetables a second crop is often 

 made in the fall — e. g., potatoes, string beans, and peas. The second 

 crop of potatoes is partly used for seed and the remainder is mar- 

 keted for table use. Potatoes are largely grown near Newbern on 

 land that has been reclaimed from swamps, but the product of such 

 soil is said to be often dark in color, while the Early Hose potatoes, 

 which are grown in the typical truck soils of the region— light, sandy 

 loams — have a fine white color. Potatoes are extensively grown in 

 the bottom land of the Neuse River, but there the soil is sandy rather 

 than silty. 



Cabbages are grown in the vicinity of Newbern in the light loams 

 as well as in heavier soils, but the latter are best, suited to this crop. 

 When cabbages are to be put into the light lands, compost is usually 

 applied to serve as a mulch. The ordinary yield of this crop at New- 

 bern is about 200 barrels to the acre. 



Strawberries are successfully grown both on the light loams and on 

 the somewhat, heavier and richer "gallberry" lands. This crop is 

 usually more highly cultivated than at Norfolk, care being taken to 

 keep the rows constantly free from weeds. Quality rather than quan- 

 tity is aimed at in the endeavor to hold a high-grade market for this 

 section. The Thompson is a popular variety, and lately the Brandy- 

 wine has come into favor with some growers. The "vines" live 

 through the winter about Newbern without protection, but are usually 

 covered in early spring with a mulch of pine straw, which tends to 

 prevent the plants being huried in the sand during heavy rains as 

 well as to protect them against late frosts. At Norfolk some growers 

 believe that the presence of weeds among the strawberry plants serves 

 as a partial protection during the winter. 



Lettuce is sown at Newbern in frames, and the plants are then sot 

 out in large beds, 10 feci wide and over 200 feet iong. Two crops are 

 usually made, one being marketed between Thanksgiving Day and 

 Christmas and the second some weeks later. 



The amount of fertilizer necessary in order to make a good truck crop of 

 course varies somewhat, with the character of the soil and the crop, but is 

 always considerable. About one ton to the acre is the usual quantity for 

 the typical light soils. The black gallberry lands near Newbern require 



