Imperial Valley press and the Imperial press., 1906-06-30
Imperial Valley Farmers Reaping Phenomenal
 Profits From Cantaloupe Growing
Operations of the Packing and Shipping Associations Different Parts of the Valley and the Experience of the Individual Farmers Show Great Profits. A Splendid h.
 dusty Well Established

State. The HoltVllle people nave about five hundred acres planted to cantaloupes and are shipping out about two or three carloads a day at the present time and expect to double this output in two weeks time. They have built and fully equipped packing shed and are running their business on the most up to date principles. Their output both as to quality and handling is fully up to the high standard of ex- cellence established by Brawley for Imperial Valley cantal upes. And right here at Fl Centro there is quite a lot doing in the cantaloupe line, too. Our association is shipping two cars of cantaloupes per day and the output is increasing right along. With us, as with Holtville, our vines got started later than those at Brawley or rather BraWley planted practically all her crop at the same time our earliest growers planted. Consequently while their out put has probably reached its maximum ours will more than double within the next two weeks. There are. however, some of the best cantaloupe fields in the Valley right here in the Fl Centro association and the demonstration has been made that our soil is just as good for this crop. as any in the Valley.
 There are about 400 acres of canta- loupes in the Ell Centro association but of these probably not to exceed 50 acres were planted as early as they should have been. There are several fields though that show forth pretty ef- fectively what can be done on our lands when they are planted at proper season and treated right. One of these is the eight acre field of Messrs. Hart and Griswold. This was planted about the middle of February on land on which alfalfa had been grown. the planters blowing up the alfalfa and putting the land in cantaloupes. Their experience goes to prove that this is a profitable thing to do for they got the earliest cantaloupes in the Fl Centro associa- ton and sold several hundred crates for more than five dollars crate net. They have already shipped about one thousand crates from the eight acres and will no doubt have five hundred crates more. It is altogether likely that they will receive five thousand dollars net for their crop on this eight acre field. And there is every likei- hood that quite number of other growers in the Valley will do as we'll
 E. E. Forester has six acres of canta- loupes which, while not quite so early as Hart and Griswolds will no doubt produce as many melons. He has a small patch of about one fourth of an acre planted in his old COW corral that we believe will turn out the largest output for its size of any land in the Valley. All the vines in the Valley everywhere are free from insect pests and disease and while the water short age caused by the washing out of the main canal damaged the vines of the Fl Centro and Brawley associations and probably reduced the output at least one hundred car loads the vines have recovered from it and everywhere they are spreading and blooming and