Of course, failures will occur in this, as in every other pursuit; but where favorable conditions of soil, situation, etc., exist, sober, economical, industrious, and intelligent farmers who attend closely to their business, can make this a most profitable branch of agriculture. As an instance of successful truck-farming, I may cite a case within my knowledge. Among the prosperous gardeners near Savannah, are three brothers, plain farmers from Effingham County, Georgia. They were without any special advantages as educated horticulturists, but under favorable contingencies, and possessing in themselves the above named desirable characteristics, they commenced to farm on their own account seven years ago. They had a borrowed capital of one thousand dollars wherewith to operate their first small crop, and make a payment on account of their purchase of land. They were not only able to pay for the land in full, from the proceeds of their crops, but have acquired in the aggregate two hundred and seventy-five acres, making at various intervals cash payments ranging from one thousand five hundred dollars to nine thousand one hundred dollars. Besides this, they have expended various amounts in buildings, and other improvements, and have cash on hand and a bank account. One of the brothers has also invested in railroad stock, and the elder of them has lately purchased a house and lot in town, for four thousand five hundred dollars, while there is not a mortgage, or lien, of any kind, on any of the property of the brothers.

A. O.

TRUCK FARMING AT THE SOUTH.

CHAPTER I.

LABOR.

Owing to the perishable nature of the products, the areas at the South devoted to truck-farming must remain confined to certain limits. These will be near the larger cities and along the routes of railroads, by which products can be safely and expeditiously dispatched to market. Although truck-farming can employ but a comparatively small proportion of the labor of the South, it must be followed according to the same principles and system that govern general agriculture.

The negro must be accepted as the only practical solution of the labor question, and, notwithstanding his instability, he is the best for many reasons. It would be impolitic, even were it possible, to trust to more intelligent and energetic laborers from abroad, and mix the two races as field laborers. No dependence could be placed upon retaining the foreign help, as his greater energy and a praiseworthy desire for self-elevation would soon prompt the emigrant, or white laborer, to change his status and better his condition.

Accepting the negro as the God-given instrument for the development of the agricultural resources of the South, while profiting by his general wastefulness and improvidence for his own good and our own, it should be the constant aim of every employer, who has the welfare of southern agriculture at heart, to elevate the laborThe employer can, by strict justice, fairness and

er.

even kindness, render him satisfied with his lot, to the end, that, instead of being an irritating element of the body politic, he may become a contented and useful member thereof. Exceptional instances of self-elevation and independence should be correctly appreciated and encouraged as a spur to others.

The death of slavery was, so to speak, the birth of truck-farming on an extensive scale in the South-Atlantic and Gulf States; indeed it would otherwise have been impossible. I was probably the largest slave-owner, engaged in vegetable culture, in this section; but of forty-five grown negroes, twenty-six only were available as field laborers, the others being mechanics, house-servants, etc.; and at no time could I have controlled more than that number of hands, and few, or none, could have been hired. At the present time there are in the vicinity of Savannah many truck-farmers who employ one hundred to two hundred laborers during the picking season.

Ex-Governor Hammond's prediction: that the negro, in case of emancipation would "seek the towns, and rapidly accumulate in groups upon their outskirts," has certainly been verified. It is the better class of this population, those who are willing to do some work, which supplies the truck-farmer with sufficient labor during the pressing season of gathering his crops. The table below gives the usual average rate of wages, without board, paid by truck-farmers in the vicinity of Savannah.

Three baskets fill four crates. When boys and girls are hired the pay is at half rate per day.

A few of the most efficient and trustworthy hands, who are particularly useful during the marketing season, and receive an increased pay, are selected to care for stock. Some farmers pay selected hands five cents per basket and one cent per crate additional for packing cucumbers and tomatoes; while others use the gang of day laborers for the purpose, depending upon their personal supervision to prevent injudicious gathering. For cutting hay with scythes, men are allowed one-third the cured hay, to be bought (at option of the hand or not, as may be agreed upon), by the employer at four dollars per rack-load of about eight hundred pounds.

The hours of labor are from sunrise to sunset, with variable allowances for meals during the different seasons of the year.

During the shipping season there is no fixed time for breaking off work; but extra pay is generally allowed in case of much night work.

If the hands are made to bestir themselves properly during their work, it is not unreasonable they should expect that the employer will not delay, or hesitate, in delivering compensation. Apart from considerations of justice, it is considered his policy to pay promptly after breaking off work on Saturday and before the stores are closed. Hands of the better order, and these are to be encouraged, may be depended upon to present themselves on Monday morning, whether in funds or not; but by far the greater majority will require time on Monday to get rid of their money, if they have had no opportunity of so doing Saturday evening and night, and will be absent at roll-call.

According to the report of the Agricultural Department of 1879, the latest authority at command, the average rate of wages paid, without board, in the interior of Georgia, was ten dollars and seventy-three cents per month.

CHAPTER II.

SOIL AND ITS PREPARATION.

The requisites the truck-farmer must have in view in selecting a location, are cheap, safe, and expeditious transportation of produce to market, convenience for procuring manure, a soil adapted to the crops he wishes to grow, and sanitary surroundings. Other conditions being the same, water carriage is preferable to that by wagon. If in the selection of the land, one is confined to a single soil, he should select one consisting of a mixture of organic and inorganic matter; a light, deep, sandy loam, with plenty of humus, or vegetable matter. Experience has shown that, without this, crops will not yield as well in proportion to the quantity of manure applied. Locations in the immediate vicinity of the larger coast cities, offering the best facilities in the way of transportation and manure, are in the possession of market gardeners, and such lands are generally highly fertile. The truck-farmer requiring a larger area is compelled to locate several miles beyond the corporate limits, on the line of a railroad, or on the banks of a navigable stream. The farm will often be one, the fertility of which has been shipped off to Europe, or the North, in the shape of cotton, by some planter, whose measure of success was gauged by the rapidity with which he could exhaust his soil. The renovation of the land will be the first desideratum. To that end, and the consequent production of remunerative crops, the plowing under of green manures, the application of fertilizers, proper preparation, careful tillage, and deep plowing, will be necessary. With every additional inch of depth in plowing in the first eighteen inches of the surface, the farmer gains six million two hundred and seventy