Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1895-04-23
MILLIONS OF MELONS.
Georgia Finds More Profit I'm Them
Nowadays Than In Cotton.

CThomasville Letter 10 Chicago RecorG)
This il the center Of the watermelon
district which covers an area Of about 80
miles square. including the southwestern
portion OF this State and the northwest
crn portion Of Florida. and when the sea-
son opens the freight departments OF the
railroads In this section move their head
quarters 20 ThOmasville, and the tele-
graph company sends down five extra op-
era tors % handle the increased business
OcCasoned by the purchase and shipment
OF the crop. The season lasts about two
months. beginning with July and ending
with August, and last wear between 100
and 500 carloads were shipped outside
the State. carrying an average or iz"
melons 60 "A ear. which makes a total 81
about 100000 melons contributed to the
northern and western appetite.
That the .rOp Of the approaching sea
son viii be even greater than that OF
last year is Indicated BY tho amazing
fact that 5Z,e0o pounds OF seeds nave al
ready been sold at the single town of
Monticello, anu. as my informant re-
That's right smart lot OF them. when
yon come 10 consider that watermelon
seed don't weigh nothing.
I can obtain no complete report or
the sales Of seeds from any other town.
bat thu dealers here tell me the demand
Is greater than eyer before, and one
grocer claims to have sold 1880 worth
this month.
The watermelon business has become
systematzed during The last three or
four years. and the profits are SO great
and 20 certain that one would think
everybody would go into II. But there
Is a curious conservatism among the older
planters. and a prejudice against all IN
novations I'm agriculture and everything
else. so that the Olf-fashioned people
stick 10 cotton, even NJ ; cents pound.
and look upon Watermelon-raislng as
degraded Yankee trick. While IL Is true
mat q few enterprising Yankees taught
these Deopl@ the profits in watermelons'
n great many OF tn younger native farm
ers have gone into the business, and
done equally well.
The first ripe melons that come In bring
prices that are comparatively enormous.
often 500 n car or from 10 TO 20 cents
each: but a. they get more plentiful the
rates come down. and about August lst'
at the height Of the season, farmers are
lucky 10 get i25 a car although there
il a fair profit. even at that rate. The
average for the year X about 80 car,
and as an acre of good ground VIII pro-
duce several carloads. il VIII be easily
seen that there are few more pront3ble
crops No agent will buy melons weigh
ing less than eighteen pounds The smaller
ones called "rutls. " ara sold IN tho local
market and fed 10 hogs and cattle. and
hundreds OF thousands Of them are left
to rot upon the ground.
The greatest item OF expense In raising
melons Is 10 carry them 10 marhet AZ
the cultivation necessary is 10 piousn ,he
ground and plant the seeds and keep the
weeds down By going over the soil two
or three times during the season with
small plough or n harrow, and then
null" the melons when they are ripe
Fifteen or twenty dollars an acre IL ample
TO cover all possible expense, except the
hauling. but they are 70 bulky and hsht
that ID takes several wagon-loads TO MI
a car. and most of the farms are coz
siderable distance from a railway-station.
IL IS "A curious fact that the soil abso-
Iutely refuses TO furnish two crops or
melons In succe ssion and II never PAYS
to plant the same field oftener than once
| I'm three or four years. The wisest farm
| ers alternate between corn, cotton, ana
watermelons. making the latter crop
! every three years.