San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1883-10-11
THE TRADE IN MELONS.
Scene on the Dock on IN" Arrival or . so,u
ern Steamer. Sou'h'
N. y. Graphic

A Scene on the Dock on the Arrival or . sou,,
N. Y. Graphic.
isn't that sight worth w;tns.,
ing?" asked prominent fruit mss'
chant of Graphic reporter, as h.
stood on board the steamship Citv ~
Augusta yesterday, watching the msn
busily unloading the luscious frn; a
for which Georgia is famed. The oh
ject of the merchants remark was tbo
immense cargo of watermelons, fresh
from the fields, with which the yost
vessel was loaded. The reporter was was
compelled to reply that he had never
before seen such large and attract.
i've display of fruit, and his month
almost watered as he gazed upon the
unusual exhibition.
How many melons are there in
that cargo?" asked the reporter.
WE'LL should judge that there
must be at least 10000 aboard" was
the reply. "That is the largest lot
ever brought into the city of New
York, or, for that matter, into anv
part of the world, and they are of the
most excellent quality, too. You
seldom see so few defective melons in
a cargo so large as this"
Where are your melons for the
most part grown?" asked the news.
paper man.
I'm Georgia the best and most de-
sirable fruit is cultivated. Thousands
upon thousands of farmers make
good living by growing the delicious
melon, but he must sometimes guard
his treasure with the shotgun. How.
ever, this is an Inconvenience that
many others are compelled to suffer
sometimes, so that taking all in all,
I guess the melon farmer is about as
successful in his peculiar kind of ag.
riculture, as other farmers who at.
tempt farming on the variety plan.
Savannah is the great shipping port,
and to that place all the fruit grown
in Georgia is brought. Most Of the
products of this kind are shipped to
this city, and then reshipped, as the
demand is made known, to other
portions of the country"
"How many melons do you sup
pose arrive at this port yearly?" the
speaker was asked.
"Well. that is rather hard ques-
ton to answer, for the reason that
many are brought in sloops and scows
in smaller quantities, of which in
many instances no record is kept.
You can say that millions upon mill
ions of the luscious fruit is brought to
this port yearly. Georgia is not the
only state, though, that furnishes us
with melons, Virginia, the Carroll
mas, and Maryland also send us large
quantities. Their flavor is not so
delicious as that which the Georgia
product possesses, and therefor they
are not in so great % demand. They
come later in the season, however. "
"When does the regular season be-
gimp
"In May we generally begin to re-
ceive the fruit, but this year, owing
to the backward season, we did not
begin to get it until some tine in
June. This comes from Georgia
About the latter part of July or the
first of August, melons begin to ar
rive from other states
sis the business in melons very
proftable?'
"In general it is. This year, how,
ever, owing to the fact that the fruit
from all the melon growing states is
beginning to come in simultaneously,
it is quite probable that break Will
occur in the market. This, OF course
would prove disastrous to those who
have bought heavily. In general as
I said, it is very profitable. We are
paying from $21 to $23 per hundred
to-day. We can sell them for thirty
to thirty-five cents apiece to smaller
dealers, and they can retail them at
good profit" J,
"Do you lose a great deal from de-
cay on the voyage?"
"No. If we find defective melons
in our cargo we charge them up !"
the farmer who ships them, and lie
alone is responsible.
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