94 GARDEN FARMING 



transportation were too slow to be advantageously employed in carry- 

 ing the more perishable products. The transition from early con- 

 ditions to the possibilities of to-day in the way of varied diet, when 

 fresh meat may be had in any variety, and when the most delicate 

 garden products of the far South and the Pacific coast may be found 

 at any time of the year in the markets of New England, is a marvel ; 

 yet this has been brought about within forty years, and all but the 

 mere beginnings of it belong to the history of the last two decades. 



"In the fifties the raising of vegetables for Northern markets 

 began at Norfolk, Virginia. In 1854 the steamer Roanoke carried 

 the first shipment of 200 barrels of garden truck to New York. 

 To secure proper ventilation, however, it was necessary that these 

 should be carried on deck, so that the quantity which might be 

 transported on any trip was not large, 400 packages being about 

 the limit. The boats then in use required at least thirty-six hours to 

 reach New York, and hence the shipment of even small quantities 

 of highly perishable articles was attended with great risk. At the 

 present time forced ventilation allows of loading between decks, 

 increased tonnage enables a vessel to carry as high as 25,000 pack- 

 ages, and the trip is made in nineteen hours. 



" The first all-rail shipment of garden truck from the South 

 Atlantic States to New York was made from Norfolk, Virginia, in 

 1885 ; the first from eastern North Carolina was in 1887; and 

 the first from Charleston, South Carolina, was in 1 888. Florida sent 

 her first carload of oranges to New York in 1888, and her first 

 refrigerated car of strawberries in 1889. 



"In the states farther west, where water carriage was not avail- 

 able, rail transportation of vegetables and fruits for Northern mar- 

 kets began at an earlier date. There were shipments of peaches 

 from Crystal Springs, Mississippi, on a small scale in 1866, and 

 by 1874 they had reached 20,000 pounds daily during the season, 

 and by 1877, 40,000 to 60,000 pounds. Nearly as great quanti- 

 ties were shipped from Terry, Mississippi, and small amounts from 

 other stations. In Mississippi and Tennessee the cultivation of 

 strawberries for the Northern markets began about 1875. It proved 

 profitable and later spread to Louisiana and Arkansas. The tomato 

 industry about Crystal Springs, Mississippi, began about 1875. In 

 1878 less than one car a day was shipped from that point ; in 1885 



