Report of the Committee on Vegetables. 
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BY W. N. GIST. 
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen: 
I cannot in this paper, convey to your 
minds a comprehensive idea of the vege¬ 
table industry of the State. It is varied. 
It is a deep subject calling forth much 
energy and “gray” matter, and let me 
accent the latter if the grower wishes to 
be successful. It calls for as much care, 
thought and energy as the raising of chil¬ 
dren of which we expect to make men 
and women of the highest types; that 
may be an honor to the community in 
which they may be cast. 
The vegetable industry is too varied to 
be discussed fully here at this time, but 
I may say that it is one of the moneyed 
industries and possibly would be pardon¬ 
ed for saying that it now brings more 
dollars into the State than the orange 
crop. The movement of truck (you 
know we grow truck and ship stuff), 
commencing in November and continues 
until July, giving nine month’s shipping 
season for the State; some part of the 
State having suff that is wanted by the 
man who has the dollars; all through 
this period, and the market demand for 
all our produce is increasing. Twelve 
years ago the growers around Gainesville 
would not have thought of shipping a 
carload of lettuce to New York at one 
time, now that market can take care of a 
trainload at paying prices and I might 
mention other crops, for instance, what 
effect would Hasting’s potato crop have 
had on the market even five years ago. 
The demand has increased and also 
the means of distributing, and I might 
say this part of the business has been 
seriously neglected. It should be a busi¬ 
ness separate from the growing. The 
growing and packing is a job big enough 
for one man, but nearly every trucker 
thinks (and I’m one of them myself) he 
can ship his stuff to better advantage 
than the man who keeps up with that end 
and makes it a business, giving his entire 
time and attention to distributing. 
There is money in the business! There 
is also sleepless nights and gray hair to 
the one who falls a victim. 
