Rocky Ford enterprise., 1898-08-18
THE MELON CROP.
Its Movement to Market and
Incidental Items.

Incidental Items.
The first car of cantaloupes was
shipped east Monday night. They
were consigned to the Western
Poultry & Game Co., st. Louis,
and both sides of the car were Or
namented with broad, bright
banner telling of the destination
of tho car and that it contained
i the famous netted gem cantaloupe.
The weather of the past few days
having been more favorable for
the ripeaing of cantaloupes ship
ments will 60 forward very rapid
ly for the next three or four weeks.
The fear that the craze for rais-
ing cantaloupes would cut the
watermelon output distresslngly
short was not well founded.
There is a good acreage and they
are turning out we'll. Five cars
were shipped Tuesday.
X. L. Mumford will leave to-
morrow for Omaha where he will
represent the Melongrowers' as
sociation ut the exposition. The
cantaloupes and information which
he will distribute will do much to
advertise this portion of the Ar
kansas valley.
w. B. Ebbert's ranch was
among those which suffered from
hail. June &. He replanted canta-
loupes June IL and ripe one
was brought to the Enterprise Of
flee August Is. Rapid growth
and maturity, that
The Santa Fe's new melon
shed has been completed and is
the centre of business these Aug
ust afternoons. The Chicago jam
there is going to be sight worth
seeing when the rush of shipping
begins.
The st. Louis and Denver
commission men are making fran
tic efforts to break up the Melon
growers associations. They have
several representatives at Rocky
Ford and La Junta who are Offer
ing the growers prices above those
at which the crop has been con-
tracted. These higher prices are
, not offered for the benefit of the
farmer, but quite the contrary.
Level-headed growers who have
the future interest of themselves
and fellow-growers at heart will
promptly refuse all such offers.
Let the present combination once
be broken and the growers are at
the mercy of the commission men
and would be lucky to get enough
to pay for crates and express. All
these temptations to 60 back on
the association mean mischief.
Some of the commission houses
fniling to get first-class melons
from the growers buy those rejec-
ted by the inspectors. The ship
ment of such goods is much to be
regretted. City purchasers will
find it to their advantage to buy
cantaloupes only of those dealers
who deal directly with the associa-
tion-Wetzel in the east and
| Woods in Denver, or their author
lied agents.
| A train Of refrigerator cars was
received by the Santa Fe Wednes-
day to be used in shipping the
melon crop of the Arkansas valley.
! Seyeraii such trains will be needed
The following is a sample o, sae'
decorative streamers which are
nlaced nm the cars of cantaloupes
going east, the osnner occupying
the entire length of the car
LOADED with the the Worlds
finest melons from Rocky Ford,
Colo, for Lyons Bros. Co. New
York City. From Western Poul-
try e. Game Co., st. Louis, Mo.
U. s. A."
Yesterday one car of cantaloupes
was shipped to New York and one
to Pittsburg for Wetzel. The as
sociation sent one car to Minneap-
oils, also two mixed cars from
Rocky Ford and one from Fowler.
This morning the first car of
cantaloupes was shipped to Kan
sas City.
A. G. Conner reports very sue
cessful trip tn Trinidad and New
Mexico, Rocky Ford watermelons