Rocky Ford enterprise., 1900-02-01

ed In, for whenu = melon IL forced into
place. 1t is almost invariably bruised
on the inside. and when II reaches the
market II IL absolutely worthless.
| In short, we can not exercise too
great care In handling fruit which is
so perislable. II should bc handled
like eggs. II will liz said by some thai
such great care IL too expensive and
not more than half the crop can be
shipped In that manner. hut would 1t
not be much better to ship half the
crop, get double the price. maintain
our good reputation nnd Increase the
deniandY
Another serious problem now con
| fronts us. How are We to handle our
fruit during the heated season In order
to Insure Its safe carriage: .Aftcr i
careful study Of the situation, am
persuaded that our hot melons should
bc thoroughly cooled before loadln. In
the ear. Can We not devise some plan
by which we cnn do this, so we can
successfully handle our afternoon pick
Ing? My reason for this Is the condi-
tion In which goods reached the mar
ket the past season.
All goods accepted M our platform
nr. supposed To h. the same. II this
be true. they should reach their d,s'
tinntion In the same condition. but
such was not always the ease. While
some ears carried In line condition
throughout and found ready sale NJ
good prices. ns WIS always the cn-e
when the fruit was iirrt.clnss. others
arrived In bad condition and very
large per cent. Of the freight ship
mcpis. with all the top crates nri
those next the door over ripe and very
soft, those next the Ice iox und on the
bottom wcrr generally all right. he
iIcve this Is caused by leading the hot
cnntniorI~.. The cold nlr coming
from the bottom of the ear. ~ II 'los.s,
drives the hot mir io the top AMI lit,s'
ally cocks the fruit. II would also H.
of great advantage To us To have better
ears nnL through train service.
\ wor,l about our eastern markets.
I feel ! am safe In saying that no man
tan forri.ii the amount af hr~i.cins-
ltccky Ford cnntnloupc~ tlnt cnn H.
sold In the ciiic- of the East at hrst-
class prices. Hut they must bs. of uni
form quality. not good to-day nnd hal
| tomorrow. ! stood on the dock nj
| New York city AMI saw u ear of i.Ood
melons -aid In tifi,-a minutes nj gsoi
prirr-. while other cnr~ of Inferior
quality could hardly b- disposed Of ut
any pricy.. Our melons have is.suuie n
Necessity. ani the bc>i hotels and res
tnnrnnis might rs well remove sirloin
steak from their hill of fap, as io lake
fr.m Il Rocky Ford cnniniouIs-- in
their season. wish to inpr-~. ihr.
fact: II I. quality they demand. They
will pay the pris~. u may n. Interest.
ins To know how they ar. served. The
melon I. cut In halves and fiilssi with
crushed ir. nnd on- who Inns never
eaten them .-rv-i thu. In. M idea
how tu.-iots- the fruit l.. ! have se--n
guest. on u~civins q Isoar melon ssnd
II hack with the rctnnfk: - Wunt
Rocky fori-. n"i the homegrown
.;ufY.''
Now -op-. nn.iii-r .-riut- QUESTION:
How shall w- market our .ropf Shall
II tsr cash. commission. err shall W. 60
int" the markets nnd handle them our
-riec.g How can We. n- growers. r,..
cviv- the i---t I-s-.ibi- rrturp. for our
iai,orr tf We could sell onr good. for
q, cvni. or 81 pcr crut- nj our plat
forni.. II would ns jorbt H. highly sat.
i-fnc,"ry To almost every rrowrr In the
valley. for when o,ir eo-L. wrrr
passed. upon by the inspector II would
mcan - many dollars 10 Us. AMI we
could my to ourselves: ''wc s7ar- nnih.
irr about how Il carries. how u,
rrachc. III" market. nor the pricr ~.
/ ~rivvl for tive have our money
Now. To my mind. th-r.. ar ,li.aiyani.
ar-- In ihi. plan which arr these: In
or,icT 4. secure such cash offer. We
p~rinp. csuld not contract for mnrr
than lnD ear. for the -ntirr valley.
Can we control the acreage =, thcrr
will II, to NOR, thnn 80 ears sTuwni
! will quote what n grower in la Iuu-
IN said TO m-. oii- who had hcvn grow.
ing frSm M To- i.Op crates: ''tf !
could rr! a. CENTS prr crate for my
cnninipupc- Mt the platform next fall
I would grow 5.vp, crates Now. II
q large p-r cent ~ our growers should
Il. the same. AMI We should grow .
tilor.and ears iustrrd of 40. what
would br the r,-~tiitt Another thing
when We have - ca-i prirc we too Of
ten pack for the inspector: AMI how
long can We maintain our rvp,, Trpu.
tation with this Kind 81 i,a-kinvi
IL n commission proposition we must
consider several things. Are the com.
mission men to whom We -niru.i our
goods CantalouIc pcopic: Arc the
familiar with handling I.'riShablr
fruiti Ar- they rpiiablrf Jan We
trust ili-m: Have they sufficient zap.
iinl 10 handle the b,t-inc-Sg If they
lack these qualifications. Il gor~ with
cut saying that they will 'ra; us every
time. If they possess these let ,is 49,
What we might expect: First. com.
mission will reduce the acreage. S.r-
oni. ihr grower viii pack for the raS,.
crn markets. ls,iii~r hr will have u
inunryrl iutrp'<; iu each crate until II
Is sold. Thirl. thr grower will receive
all the suriii< a,-.ruinv frum careful
picking. Iacking and putting IirS,-cln,s<
r,-n'lS un tile market. Nor H. II uuT,a.
>unnhlr &" suppose that W. tan get
such mCn WHEN We consider the profit
=" those handling our guwls. when they
arr fir~t-clas~. rur Instance. wlipu -
crai" ~ uur iurl"u~ eocS into tile mar
kvt aud sells for S2rn til" commission
innn makes - -'niS nfT % package ihni
costs him II" murc tI handle than u
basket uf iumnturS that sells Tor ~
cents III the nug instance, h,, makes