Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-08-28
The Truck Farmers Convention

n
The South Georgia melon growers feel
a good deal Of interest in the meeting OF
the Truck Growers Association which
will assemble at Townsville on Sept. 4.
Ii is expected that large number of rep
resentatiye melon growers will be pres
ent. The question which doubtless will
attract the most attention at the meeting
IS whether it is advisable to continue the
cultivation Of melons. A good many Of
the growers, owing to the disastrous out
come Of their venture for the season just
closed, are disposed to think that it is
useless TO make further experiments.
While feeling this way, however, they are
willing to admit that the melon growing
business has not yet passed the expert
mental period. and that It appears now to
possess almost as great possibilities as II
did when there was a great deal more
enthusiasm with regard to it.
Melon growers who are IN the haolt "i
doing a great deal Of thinking before
reaching a final conclusion are rather IN
cIined 10 the opinion that the obstacles
which make melon growing Improbable
can. 10 a large extent, be removed. or
course. nothing can guard against an en-
tire. or partial, failure in the crop. Ex-
cessive and unreasonable rains cannot be
prevented and drOughts cannot be broken.
The melon crop is just as liable to fail as
any other crop. Melon growers take their
chances Of getting a crop just as cotton
planters do.
But the complaint is not that the crop
fails sometimes, but that really good
crop does not much more than pay ex-
penses. The melon growers are dis
heartened because their seasons work
Yields them nothing.
The first question that presents itself is,
can melons be grown at a profit, suppos-
ing that freight rates are reasonable and
commission charges are fair? If they
cannot then there will soon be an end OF
the melon growing business. 1t is folly
70 give time, money and labor to that
which brings no return.
But if melons can be grown at profit
/ there is a fine future Tor the truck farmers
Of this State. The market for their mel
Ons is practically unlimited. Their mel
ons mature sooner than those Of the North
and West, and on that account, having
no competition, better prices ought to be
obtained. There is not much danger that
the market will be overstocked, because
the demand is certain to increase about
as fast as the production increases.
Two complaints were made during the
season lust closed. They were that the
freight rates were too high and the CON-
mission charges were eXOrbitant. The
| Georgia roads say that while their charges
were reasonable the charges of their
Western connections were unreasonable.
They further say that they helped to de-
/ velOp the melon growing business by pro-
vidfng an immense amount Of rolling
stock not needed except in the melon sea-
son. and BY making freight concessions.
What they say is no doubt true, and 1t is
/ also true. doubtless, that they are ready
now to do all in their power to encourage
! the melon growers. Admitting that their
rates are reasonable, can they not dc
/ something towards securing lower rates
I from their Western and Northern cOnnec-
/ tons,
The fact is the time has come for the
melon growers and the transportation
/ lines TO have full and frank understand.
/ ing. and to bring that about they ought tC
\ have a conference. 1t is plain that the
/ railroads don't want to see an industry
/ which they have helped to build VI
/ stunted in its growth. They would much
rather make sacrifices if, by so doing
/ they could assist it. A conference might
result in an agreement that would be
vastly beneficial to the growers.
There is a suspicion that the growers
do not get proper treatment from the
commission merchants. Stories have
been told that justify the belief that there
are sharp tricks and manipulations of the
market which deprive growers of a good
part Of the actual value Of their melons
The market may not always be dull ant
glutted when it is so reported. Before
the season opens the growers ought to see
that there is in every Northern and
Western city to which they send melon;
reliable and honest men to handle theil
crop.
1t is n question whether the grower;
/ always ship their melons in good condi
ton. In their anxiety to get them Il
market do they not sometimes ship greer
fruit, There is no quicker way to affec
the fruit market unfavOrably than II
stock it with unripe, and, therefore, I'm
desirable fruit. A man who buys an un
ripe melon early in the season, paying
high price for it, is not likely to buy an
other very soon. 1t is therefore greatly
to the interest of growers to send onl!
mature fruit TO market. All these mat
tiers, however, will be discussed, no doubt
at the Townsville meeting. 1t will be {
very general source of satisfaction if thu
sentiment Of the meeting is in favor of fur
Their experiments in melon growing.