The Ordway new era., 1907-08-09
ORDWAY PINK MEAT
CATALOGUES.

ing from W 10 100 miles east OF Pueblo |
Colo. on the Missouri Pacific Rail- |
road, conditions are ideal for the pro-
duct,on Of cantaloupcs. Although
this country mas been under irrigation /,
only six or seven years, and although
farmers haYc not AS yet gone into this
cantaloupe Industry extensively, i
enough of them have been successful
to indicate that 1t is splendidly situa-
ted and possesses all the conditions
necessary 10 profitable cantaloupe
culture.
recently visited this region and
looked into the cantaloupe Industry
very carefully. ! found that the soil
is rich loan, some portions Of 1t be
ing lighter than others. This ranges
in depth from 3 to or 10 feet and is
underlaid with clay subsoil. l col
lccted data concerning the cantalOupc
industry and found that either fall or
spring pIowng is practiccd. The
farmers do not seem to care very much
when the plOwing is Gone, provided
the ground is turned to depth Of 6
or s inches. The winters there are
so mild that pIuw!ng can often be con
tinued UP to J,,pUary, so that the can
taloupe farmer has an abundance OF
time to do the work.
In the spring the plowed fields arc
narrowed and disked until the clods
are all pulyerizcd and the seed bed is
perfectly smooth and fine. This is
an easy operation, us the soil works
easily and is seldom in anything but
the finest condition.
The rows are six feet apart. A fur
row is run where thc row is to be
planted and the seeds are planted OF
the side OF the furruw. This makes
IL possible to apply the irrigation wa
ter without wetting the plants, thus
producing vines perfectly free from
rust. The atmosphere Of this region
is naturally dry and II no moisture
touches the vines they come through
in a lrSt-Class condition. l found
also on inquiry that up TO date canta.
loupc vines have not been attacked by
insects.
The plants are usually given ABOUT
two waterings or sometimes three.
The water Is turned into 4 furrow and
IL is allowed TO run full, when IL is
shut oil at the upper side of the tcld.
This saturates the ground ana fur.
} nishcs the plant with all the water II
-eeds.
The crop is usually given about two
hoeings and one cultivating. This, OF
course, depends somewhat upon the
| season, although nearly all the sea-
sons are alike in this region. Grow
, crs plant cantaloupes on either new
or old ground, but alfalfa land give,
, best results.
. As rule the cantaloupe grower !:
, ready to start shipping about Septem
ber 10th. Daily pickings are made
| from that time until probably Octo
Der 18th, when the last shipment Il
started to market. A cantaloupc II
ready to pick when the stem separate
, from the melon easily by pressing /
, with small fcrked stick.
Each cantaloupc is wrapped In pa
per and packed in one. two, or thrc
dozen boxes. At Ordway this yea
the crop sold from IS cents To Sl.50 Pc
!, dozen. Up to date, because OF tn
small number of growers, each maj
/, bundled his own crop. Next year th
crop will be handled by local asso
. citation, 500 to 500 acres being planted
. Mr.. Hoslcr had eight acres last year
When this was in bloom he was OF
:, fered sl2C0 for the prospective crol
:, This he refused and sold melons an
seed amounting to 81, 200 gross. Thi
, means around Sloo per acre.
The seed was secured by callectin
1t from the melons that were over-rip
1t sells for 1850 per pound. 1t re
louires about one pound of seed t
: plant an acre. The seed is plante
i directly in the pen field after tn
danger of frost is past. The seed
:. usually dropped by hand, as wa
> corn years ago.
: This location is quite free fror
! frost. 1t is $50 feet above the rive
= SO that currents Of cold water rui
G down to the river and do not inJur
4 the crop on the higher land.
Q The cantaloupe industry is NOR
fully developed in the Rocky Ford re
!, gion. but conditions around Ordwa.
G are even better than in this famou
(, territory. The shipments from th'
/, Rocky Ford region amount to from
! l2nO to 1900 cars q season. The outpu