Norfolk Landmark, June 30, 1907

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Transportation -- Railroad - FreightTransportation -- Water - Freightfields -- Crops - White potatoes : Pricesfields -- Crops - White potatoes : YieldProfessionals -- Commission merchants

Eastville, Va., June 29. -- The people of this section are more deeply interested in the white potato crop just now than anything else. This is especially true of Northampton county. Everybody is talking potatoes and the great majority are actively at work in them in one way or another. The scene at the Cape Charles City docks is an exceedingly busy one. On Thursday the New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk railroad sent out from that point no less than 12,000 barrels, according to the shipping clerk's figures, and yesterday there were sent out almost as many. Still the cry is for more cars and some complain of the railroad, whether justly or not, for not handling them faster. There were one hundred sail vessels from Old Plantation, Hungars and Occohannock creeks anchored in the harbor awaiting their turn to unload yesterday afternoon.

The greater number of these had to wait over until today. In the meantime a large number of others constantly arrived until night fall.

The farmers usually go down with the vessels and try to make sales on the dock. This in part accounts for the delay in handling the product. For this a potato exchange wharf would be a great convenience and it would enable the farmer to get his crop handled and at the same time relive the congestion on the rail road wharf. Next week will see the biggest rush from this section.

The shipments from Eastville are unusually good and they are going in quantities. Probably nowhere else on the Shore are the potatoes yielding in such quantities as immediately around this point. A number of the truckers are reported digging as high a one hundred barrels to the acre, and one dug 465 barrels on four and a quarter acres. Prices yesterday were somewhat off, especially in New York City, owing to heavy receipts from North Carolina, and the best prices at Cape Charles were from $1.75 to $1.80 a barrel. A number of buyers are at that point.

Mayor Mahool, of Baltimore, was in the county yesterday, the guest of his aunt, Mrs. Willis Thompson, of near Cheriton.