The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-07-04
IN AND ABOUT THE CITY
MELONS BY THOUSANDS.
The Handling of the Fruit from the
Field to the Big Markets.

The Handling of the Fruit from the
Field TO the Big Markets.
Few people have any idea Of the hundreds
Of thousands Of watermelons that go TO the
northern markets from Savannah, or Of the
labor 1t takes to tranfer the lucious globes
from the fields to the consumers tables.
The Georgia and South Carolina Melon
Exchange is handling the larger portion Of
the crop this year, and is doing it systemat-
ically. Under its direction the melons are
so distributed as not TO glut any Of the
markets and yet keep all constantly sup
piled. 1t has also stopped to a great extent
the shipment OF inferior melons. By these
means better price is obtained for the
fruit and profits in proportion for the
grower.
The KansasCity carried s., 600 melons TO
New York Tuesday. The City of Savan-
nah carried As, 600 Wednesday. The Gate
City left for Boston yesterday with 10000,
and the Nacoochee will 20 out this morning
with as many more.
It is well worth a walk in the hot sun
down on the wharves to see the melons
loaded into the holds Of the vessels. There
is rush Of melons just now. as will be seen
from the foregoing figures, and the steve
dores are kept busy handling them
as they come in by the train
load. Melons are perishable fruit, sand
must be moved quickly, and when big
consignment comes in they are loaded rap
idly. To miss the first steamer leaving port
might cause the loss of the whole
cargo. The melon cars are run
under the sheds on the steamship
When the melons are being transferred
from the cars to the wharf and re-trans-
ferred TO the hold Of the ship, and there
stacked up in the benches the wharf pre-
sents busy scene. The locker on wonders
how the men keep from running over each
other, and if any Of the melons are likely to
reach their destination without being
broken. There is system about the whole
business, though, aud it is really wonderful
how few melons are damaged.
There may be forty cars waiting to be
unloaded. and it is sight to see the wharf
bands 60 at il. Three or four men are APP
portioned to each car. One has a big,
oblong box on pair of trucks, and the
other two load in the melons, counting
as they load. Twenty melons of
the medium size ill the box, or
fifteen of the big ones. Each carload of
melons is deposited in separate pile on the
wharf. The truckman pushes his truck to
the pile and rolls the melons out one at a
time, so as not to bruise them. Though
handled quickly, and, apparently care
lessly, only few are broken out of a car
load. The men do not believe in muzzling
the OK that treads out tho corn. and it is
needless to say they do not suffer for melons
to eat.
When the car is unloaded stick is stuck
in the topmost melon Of that pile, bearing
card, stating the number OF melons, the
road which they came in on, the consignee
and the shipper.
From these piles the melons are trans
ferred to the hold, or rather lower deck of
the vessel. At high tide the port holes come
up exactly even with the wharf, and it is
comparatively easy work for the truckmen
to shove their loads across the gang plank
to the lower deck. 1t isn't high water all
day, though, and then the work Is more diff
ficult. 1t is hard work getting a load of
twenty big melons down a steep incline.
Fifteen or twenty men are stationed along
the gangway aud down into the hold, aud as
the truck comes along each one
gives lift as the truck goes down and
push as it comes back up Sometimes it is
too steep for the trucks to be used, and a
MORNING News reporter saw an ingenious
scheme yesterday to take its place. The
gang plank was thickly lined with pine
straw, which had been packed in the cars
with the melons, and ten or twelve
men we're arranged on each side
of the plank and down in
the hold The trucks were emptied at the
OOP VI uuc )ldlh hul Lu0 IOAlcd uOW IL
into the vessel, each man giving them
push as they passed him. The melons rolled
to their destination like big green marbles.
At the risk of getting his legs knocked
from under him by big melon
a reporter tumbled down into the hold,
determined to see the loading finished.
Each carload is kept separate in the vessel.
Stanchions are nailed upright between the
decks and planks nailed to them, dividing
the hold into compartments called
"benches,' each holding a carload. The
melons are closely packed into these and the
"bench" is nailed up on all sides. When
the carload has been transferred to the
vessel the card bearing the invoice
is stuck on top of the pile. In this
way each carload is kept separated, whether
it contains 400 or / 200 melons. The melons
are stored away in the parts of the hold
farthest from the engines, and where they
are most likely to keep cool. In fair weather
the port holes are left open and the cool air
keeps the melons in good condition. In
from three to four days from shipment the
melons are on sale in the northern cities.
From As 900 to 5000 melons is common
shipment. The largest number ever car
ried by a single ship was $4,000, by the
NacOochee several wears ago.