1 82 VEGETABLE GARDENING 



232. Transportation by rail. Enormous quantities of 

 vegetables are transported by the steam railways of the 

 country, shipments being made by freight and express. 

 It is not common to find solid trains of a single kind of 

 vegetable moving toward the great centers of population. 

 A prevailing practice for local shipments of miscellaneous 

 vegetables is for the train crew to distribute cars in the 

 forenoon and to collect them on the return trip to the 

 city in the afternoon. . 



For summer shipments the cars must be iced or well 

 ventilated. Refrigeration is universally employed for 

 long distances, and when the distance is very great re- 

 icing may be necessary to insure the delivery of the 

 vegetables in first-class condition. In the winter, cars 

 must be properly insulated to prevent the freezing of 

 vegetables. The trolley is becoming an important means 

 of transporting garden crops. 



233. Transportation by water. Boats are used to a 

 considerable extent in the transportation of vegetables. 

 At Norfolk, Va., many truckers own gasolene boats, 

 which are used in carrying produce to the large steamers. 

 Loading proceeds all day, and in the evening the steamer 

 departs for a northern market with its thousands of bar- 

 rels or other packages. Refrigeration is also used if 

 necessary on the steamers, and is accomplished by plac- 

 ing the ice over the packages, or at the sides of the ship 

 if the produce must be protected from the melting ice. 

 Water transportation is regarded as highly satisfactory 

 and the freight rates are usually lower than by rail. 



An extensive market gardener at Orient, Long Island, 

 uses several boats in delivering vegetables. Figure 57 

 shows one of the smaller sizes. A large dock house has 

 been built on this farm, and it is also used in storing sup- 

 plies, such as fertilizers and packages brought in by boat. 



234. Selling to the consumer. When a limited area 

 is cultivated it is often an advantage to sell direct to the 



