The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-09-18
ROCK FORD, THE HOME OF
 DELICIOUS CANTALOEPES
BY j. E. STANLEY.

The genuine "Netted Gem" cantaloupe, or Rocky Ford" as 1t Is more commonly called. now enjoys a national and in many respects an international reputa- ton.
 It is noted all over the United States for It's flavor, and after one has eaten the genuine article It is almost impossible to deceive him thereafter with an inferior one.
 This cantaloupe is what may be called perfect production, the result of a long serles of experiments and is raised only in It's perfection in and around the place from which 1t gets It's common name Rocky Ford, Colorado. The Melted Gem" (to use its right name) is medium sized, with deep fluctuations and very heavy net of what looks to be green strings covering the whole melon.. The meat on the inside is unlike that of other first class melons in that it looks green instead of yellow. There Is very thin coat of yellow m, : on the inside but the greater part of it looks as though 1t had not been given time to ripen but
 
 as you can cut 1t as does the first bite that is taken off
 The experiments incident to the perfec- ton of this melon have been carried on for a number of years, and to Dr. D. V. Bur rell, the proprietor of tho Rocky Ford Seed House, more than to any other man, should the credit be given. His experi- ments have been carried along on strict ly scientific lines and he has been re- warded by the praises of the entire mel or eating public. Wherever the Rocky Ford cantaloupe is eaten, there are its praises sure to be sounded.
 Good Climatic Conditions.
 To climatic conditions and the fact that 1t is watered at regular intervals and to the adaptibility of the soil to its growth may its peculiar and very palatable flavor be attributed. It Is grown for about hun dred miles up and down the Arkansas valley. or from Peublo to the Kansas state line. Particular attention must be given to its propagation from the time the ground is prepared for planting to the time the last melons are picked.
 With his few acres of sugar beets and a small patch or two of cantaloupes the average Colorado farmer has his hands full for at least three months. The seed
 
 and after that is done the water from the irrigation system Is turned in and all lowed to run down little trenches that are made between the rows. After the plant has grown enough to "peep" out of the ground it Is watered in this way at regular intervals until shortly before the melons begin to ripen.
 Extreme care must be taken that they do not get too much water, in order to prevent what is called rust That Is about the only thing farmers have to con- tend with in raising cantaloupes. If rust once gets into a patch the whole thing is ruined. It spreads rapidly, and there seems to be no remedy for 1t.
 Gathering the Melons.
 When the melons begin to ripen the farmer has a corps of men-the number ol which depends upon the size of his melon patch-to go through the patch twice a day. morning and evening-and gather the ripe ones. A man soon learns to tell a ripe melon from green one as soon as he sees 1t. Each patch has its little shed-very often being made of sticks being put in the ground and limbs of trees put over the top-where the cull- ing and crating is done. After the mel ons are gathered they are taken to this shed and put In pile. By reason of the fact that these melons are shipped as far as New York, and even put in the ocean steamships, it is necessary that