The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1897-11-27
WATERMELON TnRASHING.
The Molons Raised for tho eeod
In Kan0aA


State aAA II 0fowin0 Nero
PreAtable Than Any
other Ores.
The watermelon harvest n on IN
county, and for . month there
win be such scenes in this prairie re-
zion rs would make colored folks groan
in mental anguish to witness. Possibly
they might groan in bodily anguish
were they there, for II they chose to Ill
to the groaning point there
would be none to say them nay-pro-
vided they saved the seeds. For the
seeds are the crop and al else 10 waste,
to dispose Of which il the trial Of the
seed farmers life.
Melons are grown In Kearney county
~ corn IN grown in corn couuties-by
the hundred acres. The settlers ut first
tried to grow corn and failed because
it wouldn't rain when rain was needed.
Frost and chinchbugs killed the wheat
and grasshoppers ate up the gardens
and alfalfa. HALF the people became
and went back east to
''wifs's folks" in "Illenoy," "Mizzoura"
or "Ioway." Before all had gone it oc-
CURED to . big eastern seed firm that
western Kansas was just the place to
grow melon seed. A Representative was
sent to Kearney county to make con-
tracts with farmers. Only few were
80 nearly submerged in the depths OF
despair that they could be induced to
grasp at so frail o straw, but those who
did have not regretted It.
Paradoxical - 1t may seem, 1t was
that country which il 80
dry that It won't raise an average half
. ton of corn to the acre, even in the
best years, will produce from 20 to so
tons Of melons, which scientists tell US
are more than 90 per cent. water, and
do 1t with = certainty that makes the
best agricultural sections of the east
blush for their shortcomings.
From small beginnings the industry
has grown until now good portion OF
the farmers in Kearney county, and
some in the neighboring counties. are
engaged in it, and nearly all the melon
seed used in the United States comes
from this semi-arid region. One farm
er last year had $50 acres in melons, and
numbers had moro or less than 100
acres.
The cost OF growing an acre OF mel
ons Is little more than that OF growing
an acre of corn, and the cost OF harvest
ing is greater chiefly because there is
usually little corn to harvest in the
county, while the melon yield is always
bountiful. The profits are from two to
five times greater than could be realized
from any other crop that the treacher-
Gus climate of western Kansas will per-
NIT to grow.
Separating the seeds from the melons
il an interesting process. 1t is done by
"threshing," but not with the ordinary
threshing machine. A special machine
Is built having a huge hopper, 1T the
bottom Of which is q cylinder armed
with stout sharp spikes. The cylinder
is run at high speed by means OF an or
binary sweep horse power with tum-
bling rod connection. The melons are
thrown heavily into the hopper, 80 that
they break as they fall, and in a twink
ling the cylinder teeth have torn them
to pieces, releasing the seed-bearing
pulp. The hopper discharges into a
great cylindrical screen, set at slight
incline, in which long arms revolve on
an axis, stirring up the mass of rinds
and pulps and seeds, and continually
pushing the seeds and pulp through the
screen into a vat as the mass moves
from the hopper down the incline. BY
the time the mass reaches the lower end
Of the incline it has lost all the pulp and
seeds and consists only OF rinds, which
are thrown with scoop onto the waste
pile. When the pile Of rinds becomes &c
large as to be troublesome 1t 10 not
moved, simply because it il much easier
to move the threshing machine. When
threshing machine runs steadily 1t Il
necessary to move it ut least every third
day.
The seeds and pulp which come
through the threshing machine toeeth'
er are stored in great vats or tanks
wafer 10 &QQGQ AAO l0C WAOAC - A~AS 49,
two or three days to ferment. In the
process of fermentation the pulp sep
arates from the seeds, which sink &c
the bottom Of the tank. The pulp u
then ladled out, while the seeds are
washed several times with water and
spread out on sheets in the sun to dry
After that all that remains 10 to sacl
the seeds, ship them to the New York
Philadelphia or Detroit seed house fo1
which they were grown, and study NJ
ways Of spending the money which thsJ
win bring.-Topeka Capital
- -~a.M~e
POPULAR HERO OF ROMANCE
He Can Do Almoet A1yehsa8 ven
But Keeps II - HiAeelf.
If one may Judge from the novels tina
ucur~ vomen seem to read with mos
avidity they Do not hhs lover TO b
..ntimentai. rhetorical or brutal The.