The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-08-27
GIANT CROPS OF GIANT FRUIT.
SOME FASCINATING ROMANCES OF
MELON GROWING.


TINS has iro'''' " i''-''o'" u d u - !" =
ear Tor "''e' an "uSN '-eio"S
''i" @-'~'" 1" Stun ~
the acre ne" INC ~
vested -"F'S IN me se"Son--.-"o Or
HiouS troH'S - ON pare" TN use
Realized rom Nhe"' OF Ai"ios'
any other 'rop-so'ne Fri%e "ei-
OBS " "ts hing over i"o Fouh"s
Dave Crept Into shipments.
NV York Aug. 25-Tnis is the reign
~ ,-.r. 1,r tro 5,s,,r AItbougb the sea
-,z,,.. ~,
500 - 9'L'- S0"i'7' '"o'
Nt melons nave reached the Nof'Nein
markets than ever before in the history
,f ,l... -..,,,,issior, men In the last week
H.,
G. JulS 'aiI"'us 81 me 'o'7 "e'0 -
had for the asking IN Jersey city. Otner
carloads at Washington stood open to the
,.+,--- 80 +.... ,.-s...,e, ,4srl,e,, box, Tho
- -
i"tiou "'l' VIM o'-l
county In Colorado IN broad bahd sag
einy somewhat southwark and finally
t,,,,.btrs tho southern Atlantic coast.
<.....,,.. .,..-...,.,,. a.. ..,+:-
mas DORM ''u'''"-S '''' rs '''''
length.
This wear the acreage. for two reasons.
.,.. !,.,-...-t t,,,-i,,, ,,o
winter OF l>5a an" 1858 ron w 70 90 per
cent of the peach trees of Georgia, Ala
I,,,7a and indeed Of the entire Gulf re-
t'o"' WI" we ,'o' ~
killed by the frost ITO loflda consul
cradle proportion of the orange trees
.i.;.l 4.7 ot .,,e-,,.a ~, ,,re,,i7,,s win
- -. .,,-a,,.,,,,- -, i,r,a
teIS' were i'S'' '''''7'S ''' "" '"9
number OF lrult growers Out OF tneiI req
ular INES OF painting As result 'iouS-
ands OF acres formerly oeNotea 70 peach
and orange growing we're pahted 10 can
teloupes ana WatFIiueiois. IN mos. aeN-
tons OF the SCUM the season was LdNoI
able Tor melon grown ana the result was
a great oVerstocklnS OF the market ana
yet. the experienced grower WIN the We
dom Whlch comes OF many paintings mas
not beeh so seriously injured by oNei-
production as many OF the newer meloil
growers. lie UNDERSTOOD the science OF
securing an early crop ana OF iushlhs II
through wei-estabhshed chahhels INTO the
markets OF the North.
As result, the first carloads OF canta-
loupes TO reach New York brought from
$ to $3.50 "A crate. Ihat meant Sl,lV ana
Sl,SO Tor single chrIoad OF from 1VV
70 l5,0D melons. 1t rs not at all unusual
TO raise in parts OF Georgia and Alabama
from two to three carloads TO the acre.
rms would mean money yleid or from
$2.2O TO S4,5VO TO the acre, provided the
melons could all be harvested early IN
the season. when this IS compared to the
yield TO the acre Of wheat or almost any
other known crop tne pioilts "oulo aP-
her If The most advanced growers have
been astonishinglv successful with their
ventures in the South. Watermelons have
been only a stem behind the cantaloupes
in the size and marketing success of the
crop About ] 900 melons are considered
a carload. During the last two or three
wears these melons have averaged a mn
thirty mounds weight and some Of them
have gone bevond stxtv mounds wbiie a
few prize melons weighing 100 pounds and
over nave crept into the shiDments The
earliest watermelons bring all manner of
fancy prices. Bv the list of August the
price has usually dropped from s90O to sac
Ter carload. That would mean q cost
of from . TO 35 cents for 3O-pound melon
about as CHEAP a dessert even after
the middleman's charges have been added
as the average American family could dc.
sire. As the season advances inc nrica
decreases still further until # fraoDentiv
happens that the shipper is willing TO give
his product to any one who win be Kind
enough to paw the freight. The earlier
melons nearly all come bv express ana
spend from two to three davs on tbe road.
from Colorado the earliest nrod,ct re-,
quires nearly three davs or from, forr
to five days by freight; New York can
comfortably consume from tvyent,, 10 for
~ carloads every dav.
Grox.,ers wei, M,
=" rust
one curious development of the melon
crop, chleHy during the present season
mas been the growing sale OF cante.oupes
an the market by name. A few years
ago muskmelon was muskmelon. The
o,liy ulheiehce OF designation were the
elementary designations, good" and
DAD asked w. A. Taylor, assistant
potnoioglst OF the United States depart
i ,llent Oh agriculture how the muskmelon
happened 10 become the canteloupe.
IN tne North he said, the muskmel-
on Is sun the muskmelon; cauteloupe is a
southern name and from the fact that the
Sahteloupe supply comes largely below the
Asson-Dlxon line the name has gradl1-
any invaded Northern markets until at
present the ordinary city man would not