The Dawson journal., 1884-05-08
Our Trip Into the Melon Region

grown to be, already, one of the
eventful episodes in the history of
the melon business Of South Ga.
We lad desired to attend one of
these meeting for year or two,
not only to become informed moro
thoroughly respecting the melon and
truck business, but as we'll 10 meet
tho people OF that section and sec
tue country. This we have done,
and therefore, car speak advisedly
upou all Of the foregoing branches
OF the subject. We left Dawson on
Tuesday afternoon of last week,
and at 10 O'Clock, of the same even
ing, the train pulled up at the turn
o1t of Maj Geo. r. McCrac, six
miles this side OF valdosta, where::we
FOUND him, Mntern in hand, await
ing our arrival. The Major extend.
ed US genuine, old-fashoined, Vir-
gina welcome, and We had not.
been his guest five minutes before
we felt perfectly at home in his
hospltable mansion. Major McCrae
Is a thorough type OF the an,e-
be!lum southerner. Surrounded by
every comfort and luxury that
money can bestow, and possessed
OF a noble generous nature, his
hospitality to friends is simply un-
bounded. As is well known, Major
McCrae is the pioneer truck far
mer of South Ga. His success is
too we'll known to require repeti-
ton at our hands, but there are
thousand incidents connected with
the Majors life as melon grower
and trucker that the public have
never heard, and ii is the narration
OF these by the Major which so
much interests the visitor. Major
McCrae possesses the material for
getting out one of the most reada-
bic and popular books that could
possibly be published, and when we
think of his capacity to give to
the reading world such book, it
is matter of no little surprise to
us that he has not done so before
now. We spent Wednesday with
Major McCrae looking over his
valuable plantation, his melon crop,
etc. While we had heard the lands
OF that section extolled by others.
we were not, in the least, prepared
to see such evidences of fertility
and progress as met our gaze in
Lowndcs. Major McCrae has 5000
ares IN one body, as fine as we
ever looked at; and what is more,
he thoroughly appreciates the ad.
Vantages to be derived from the
use OF improved machinery and
the taking up of the old stumps.
We were tod that the lands in that
section were not for sale and could
hardly be bought at any price.
The acreage in melons is con-
slderably short OF last year, some
thing like 5000 acres, but it is be-
heved that the superior prepare
ton and cultivation will largely
compensate this decline in acreage.
The melon vines are vigorous and
line, many of them, already, loaded
with the young fruit. 1t is thought
that the shipping will begin this
year about the 10th of june. A
noticeable feature this season is the
almost entire absence of vegetables
No cabbage, no potatoes. nor any,
thing else, if we except a limited
area of cucumbers. This is rare for
that section, but, still, it exists.
On Thursday, we rode into Val
dosta to be present and attend the
truck farmers convention. The
beautiful little hall in which the
truckers met was soon full, and,
the meeting once open, the dis
cnSslons began in straight forward
style The men who compose this
BODY are business like in their
methods and intelligent in their
speech, hence there was no occasion
for chickering's and dissensions. The
meeting was a pleasant one and
everything passed off quietly. In
addition to the large number OF
truckers, there was present a score
or more of railroad officials and
railroad drummers, most prominent
OF whom were Messrs TAYLOR
Whitehead and Brown. Of BTr.
Taylor we desire especially to be
heard. He is the general freight
and passenger agent of tho S. f.
d ". Ry. To our mind, he is one
Of the rising young men of Geor.
cria Ia 10 Ion4;ul A.