Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-05-30
MOVING THE MELON CROP.
The Railroads Preparing for Heavy
Shipments - The Prospects in the
Mellon Growing Districts.

The Railroads Preparing for Heavy
Shipments The Prospects in the
Melon Growing Districts.
A few days ago a number Of leading
/ railroad men met in Atlanta for the pur-
/ pose of arranging for the moving of the
watermelon crop Of Florida and Georgia.
| Among the gentlemen who were present
were Capt. r. G. Fleming, General Super
| inteDdent Of the Savannah, Florida and
Western Railway; B. Durham, General
! Manager. and j. I. HARRISON, General
| Superir tendent ofthe Louisville and Nash
| vile; Geo. W. Haines, Assistant Superin-
I tendent OF the Savannah, Florida and
/ Western: Major W. +. Shellman. General
! Traffic Manager OF the Central Railroad /;
/ r. A Anderson. General superintendent
! Of the Western and Atlantic Railroad; j..
/ W. Fry. Superintendent OF the East Ten
/ nessee. Virginia and GeOrgia-Atlanta
/ division, and J. f. Mallory. Superinten-
/ dent OF the Brunswick division; Theodore
/ Welch. General Freight Agent OF the Lou
/ isville and Nashville; J. NJ. Brown, Gen.
| eral Freight Agent Of the Western and
4 Atlantic: A. j. Orme. General Freight
/ Agent of the Atlanta and West Point;
! W. W. Starr. Master of Trans
/ pOrtation Central Railroad, and J. j..
| Griffin, General Freight Agent OF the
/ East Tennessee. Virginia and Georgia.
/ Inasmuch as the lines of the Savannah,
/ Florida and Western Railway would carry
/ the bulk ofthe crop from Florida and South
/ Georgia. the leading feature in the con-
/ sultatiOn was an understanding between
/ the officials Of that road and connecting
/ lines in the matter of furnishing ade-
quate transportation promptly over ali
4 the roads leading to Cincinnati, Whining
{ oil in a
I East and West. Assistant Superlntend-
! ent Haines, OF the Savannah, Florida and
/ Western, has given the subject of the
/ TRANSFORMATION Of vegetable and melon
/ crops considerable study, and is perhaps
I as well versed upon the subject as any
gentleman who attended the meeting. y
/ reporter of the MORNING News called
upon Mr.. Haines yesterday, and in reply
/ To an inquiry that gentleman said:
/ AT the meeting in Atlanta / did not
l say that the melon crop would approx
mate .00o carloads, as has been reported.
/ | said that there was likelihood that the
crop would amount 10 1900 or >, 700 car
/ loads. However, if it should be greater
than | think it will be. we will move it
promptly"
what is the present condition Of the
crOp?"
Experienced melon growers have got
the matter down pretty fine, and are
planting to better advantage from year to
year. This year the acreage is not as
large as last year, but the season has been
favorable, the grower has taken greater
pains, and the result is that the fruit is
more advanced and in better condition
than last year, and the yield will be great
er. In one or two localities shedding of
the fruit was reported some two weeks
ago, but now the prospect of big yield is
flattering.'
Nv here will the greater portion OF the
crop be distributed, in the Northwest or
at the East:'
The roads leading out OF Albany. and
10y by way of Montgomery, Ala, Jesup,
Atlanta and Chattanooga are alive to the
Importance of moving the crop speedily,
and will take a large proportion of the
shipments. In the East the Pennsylvania
roads are anxious to learn when the first
shipments viii be ready so that they may
be prepared TO furnish their quota Of
ventilated cars. Here are two letters on
NV desk. one from wilmington. North
Carolina, making inquiries to the
same effect. The lines north Of
Wilmington will change trucks at that
point so that there may be no extra han
ding or loss of time in transporting the
fruit as heretofore. We are prepared to
supply daily one hundred ventilated fruit
cars, each with a carrying capacity OF ~
900 pounds. \ great proportion Of the
crop will be sent by the vessels Of the
Ocean Steamship Company to Philadel-
phia and New York. The Boston and
Baltimore ships will also take large ship
ments. Hence with all these routes anx-
iOus to give the required transportation,
it is difficult to say whether the North
west or the East will receive the
greater proportion of the crop.
The condition of a market, whether glut-
ted or not. influences at certain times the
direction of shipments"
''How many melons can be shipped in
car of $4,000 pounds capacityY
4 am not prepared to answer that ques-
ton. The melon grower, when he wishes
to gain an advantage, as he supposes, over
the railroad company, crowds his melons
into car, and frequently the lower tier,
when the fruit reaches its destination, is
found broken and often crushed by the
weight of those above. The grower has
also learned from experience that it is
better to ship melons weighing about
twenty pounds or less. Hence the man,
moth melon is not the kind he attempts
to grow for the market, as the number Of
persons who can afford to purchase giant
melons is comparatively small. The
gOOse-neck melon seems to be a favOrite
among growers. They make a good aV-
erage number in car of the capacity
referred TO. and when not too often ham
died on the way to market give an as
suTance Of better returns to the grower.
In other words, fair sized melon is
preferable to the giant in the estimation
of those who are experienced in growing
for Northern markets.
The great melon fields of South Georgia
are in Lowndes, Brooks and Thomas
counties. yet there are many
large fields along the line Of our
Is 81
to year and cultivated. They have the
business down to a science almost at Val
dOsta. Quitman and through that neigh
hOrhOOd. The work that is done there
would astOnish any one who has not wit
messed il. Years ago the months of June.
July and August were dull months. The
cotton crop had been shipped and the
money spent so long that 1t was for
gotten. Nearly every person in that
county took a holiday and went
fishing There was no ready money
in circulation and the stores were
doing a credit business until the returns
on a new crop Of cotton were received. 1t
is different now, since the vegetable and
melon growers have begun work. Last
year one house alone IN South Georgia did
a banking business of $4,000 in single
month. The Savannah, Florida and West
ern Railway wishes to encourage this
Of transportation suited to their inter-
ests.n
.sWhen viii the melon shipments COM
menceY'
About the 10Th of June; but the move
ment will begin in earnest about the 10Th,
and will continue for about twenty-siX
days at the rate of about 100 carloads per
day"
The reporter then called on Mr.. Walter
5. King, Freight Agent Of the road, and
was informed that the bulk Of vegetables
sent by steamship from Savannah passed
over the Savannah, Florida and Western
Railway.
The average thus far has been about
six car loads daily. Some days it is
seven.
4 Growl About the Rise in the Price
of Ice.
SAVANNAH, May 2S.-EditOr Morning
NelCS: see in your valuable paper that
the ice companies have raised the price
of ice to l cent per pound. see also that !
somebody wants to start an ice machine. |
Some time ago the same thing was tried |
in New York-a combination to raise the |
price Of ice. " hat did some enterprising
men do? They sent to- Norway for ice. |
The vessels were glad to bring it for bal !
last. 1t soon broke up the rise in ice. |
W IL, l,o