372 



GARDEN FARMING 



POTATOES AS A TRUCK CROP AT THE SOUTH 



Distribution of the crop. The growing of Irish potatoes as a 

 truck crop at the South has assumed large proportions. Thousands 

 of acres are annually planted to early varieties of potatoes, which 

 are harvested as soon as they have reached suitable size regardless 

 of their maturity (as suggested by figure 141), and immediately trans- 

 ported to Northern cities for distribution and consumption. This 



FIG. 141. A good stand in the trucking district 



industry extends along the Atlantic seaboard, from the southern- 

 most terminals of railway transportation to the vicinity of the great 

 centers of consumption. Florida produces a large annual crop of 

 early potatoes, followed by Georgia, South Carolina, North Caro- 

 lina, Virginia, Maryland, and New Jersey in turn. The great early- 

 potato-producing sections of Florida are centered around Hastings ; 

 in Georgia the sections are largely confined to the vicinity of 

 Savannah ; in South Carolina a large acreage is cultivated in the 

 trucking region about Charleston ; in North Carolina a very exten- 

 sive crop is planted in the vicinity of Wilmington ; while Norfolk, 

 Virginia, probably outclasses all other regions along the Atlantic 

 coast so far as acreage and yield are concerned. This vicinity is 



