The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-08-30
GREAT YEAR FOR MELONS
oroRatA SENT NEW YORK AS
LAW AS 80 CARLOADS A DAY.

1ra1o,s Have Come and Prices Have
Dronned-The Profit in Raising tho
vruit-Its Cost to Producers and TO
Oousume pS.
From the NetC York Times.
When you go into a restaurant and order
uo-r,rda onions you know whether you get
4nen, or NOT, because you can tell the differ
49, between Bermuda onions and other
-rions. But when you order watermelon
81, amply watermelon. You know no diff
s.-o,ca between a Mountain Sweet and
Prbv Gold II you were to order slice of
IE1oriss Fayorite, Green and Gold, Hunga-
-i.n Honey, Jordan's Gray Monarch, Sem
taoIs or Kolb's Gem, the waiter would turn
male. the head waiter would smile and look
wise and nobody about the place could help
4bam out of their difficulty but the market
,r.n who would tell them TO slice the FIRST
r,aIon that came handy and serve it uader
Nv name YOU preferred. He would know,
however, that you were eating the variety
called Kolb's Gem, because that is almost
Che only kind in the market.
Ratween June and the middle Of August
+bere were no other kinds TO be had; and
evan now. that Long Island and New Jersey
T,slons have come, Kolb's Gem is so largely
On excess OF all others that there is little
chance Of happening upon any other vari-
stv Mr. Kolo has derived no benefit from
his celebrated streaked melon except the
honor Of giving 1t his name, Wnlon does not
nav for horse feed.
Il ia Mr.. Kolb aud the railroad and steam
shin companies who are responsible for
paiutinR all our watermelons with light
green streaks. In old times, and even
few years ago, they were not streaked, but
were rich dark green, with light spot
where the melon rested upon the ground.
In those times all our watermelons came
from Long Island and New Jersey, and the
truckmen raised any kinds that would sell.
When the railroads tapped Southern Georgia
and brought her products to the seaboard,
and fast steamships brought them to Now
York, the Georgia farmers found that they
could raise watermelons and ship them to
New York at a profit, and have them here
so early in the season that the cream OF the
business was all Tapped up before Long
Island and New Jersey melons were ripe
enough TO pick.
But at first the losses In transit were too
heavy. They sent their best melons to US
and more than half were ruined on the way.
Then Mr.. Kolb stepped In with his Gem,
which is up to the average in quality, and
has thick. strong rind that will bear
great deal of rough handling without break
iug. That was what the Geargians needed,
and since the introduction of that seed
streaked watermelons have been familiar In
New York. Even the Long Island and New
Jersey truckmen make q principal crop of
them because of their good shipping and
keeping qualities,
How was the streaked watermelon
evolved9 some inquisitive person may de-
sire to know. The watermelon is a danger
Gus fellow among plants. and no other
II. g.. s.. -
where he sets his roots II you plant one
variety on one side of q small garden and
another variety on the other side, the two
will manage somehow to establish intimate
relations, and the fruit OF each vine will
have some of the qualities OF the other.
Plant two distinct varieties side by side and
the result is mongrel fruit. Mr.. Kolb did
this, and planted two varieties together
perhaps he does not know himself what they
were) that produced the strong-shelled and
streaked Kolb's Gera. That ia why nearly
all COR wstermelons for the last ten years
or more have had Finds marked with light
green streaks. '" tr ~
With melon that was IA good shipper
aud keeper" as the dealers say, Georgia
soon had mortgage upon the New York
watermelon market. The Savannah,
Florida and Western railway extended It's
tracks from Savannah down; through
Cliuch, Lowndss, Brooks, Thomas and
DcChbuE COuubl6S, LuS sOuJnoTu btet III SoU-
tral and Western Georgia. eli the way TO
cambridge, on the Flint river, aud thence
TO the banks Of the Chattahooohee. This
important line opened the New York mar
kets to almost the entire south, but 1t is
from the counties OF Southwestern Georgia
that our early watermelons come. The
farmers found that their soil and climate
are precisely suited to the raising OF melons,
and that they could send 50-pound water
melon to New York for half what il costs
to send a Geographic dispatch from New
York to Hoboken. Not only this, but they
could send them 50 early in the season that
they would have the market almost to
themselves for two months With this rail-
road to carry their melons to Savannah,
and the Ocean Steamship vessels to bring
them 10 New York in a few hours, they
threw their cotton to the winds aud began
TO shout that the watermelon is king.
FIRST Corners take biggest profits, is the
rule IN New York markets. Our Long
Island melons are not usually ripe before
the last week in August; but this year they
were unusually early, and the first ship
melts came in on Aug. II But we are
ready for watermelons as soon as hot
weather comes, and hot weather comes in
June. Some raiser In Florida experimental
with early melons last year, and he shipped
TWO barrels OF small but ripe watermelons,
that reached New York on Dec "a We
are not tanning ourselves and sighing for
cool melons at that time of year, and these
unreasonable melons sold for 25 cents each.
by June we begin TO think of melons,
anu that was the date at which the first
salpment from Georgia came this year.
between that time and Aug. IL they had
.ne market all to themselves, except for
q NOSE that came in July from the Carolinas
virginia and Maryland. Florida does not
Il enter into the watermelon question at all.
q made particular inquiries about the Eden
IKE Lake Worth region, thinking that
surely we must have some melons from
s Sapt Dey's fertile sand bills or Mr.. Sam
cartons picturesque plantations; but
! Nund that if they raised any there they
WOULD have TO sell them to the Crackers OF
.le Florida keys, as there would be no way
" get them to New York.
= Inc southern and south western part of
ee1 Fgla, from which the melons came,
Tieu TO give some description of in the
81 1WleS last winter, but not with any refer
euce TO the watermelon business. 1t Is a
alue forest region. and therefore it is, OF
SSourse, sandy. Georgia pine is a wood
& lave great respect for since dealer
e.tsrged me SIS per ! 900 feet for some the
n S U.uer day; and II all the pine in Georgia is
"orVh $15 per 1000, that state might wipe
wv tue national debt in a month.
some OF the melon farms are of consider
90 extent, more than 500 acres, aud from
us f6is tney taper gradually down to the