Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1907-07-02
new YORK-FRUIT SUPPLY.
STRAWBERRIES ON SALE FOR
EIGHT MONTHS IN THE YEAR.

EIGHT MONTHS IN THE YEAR.
In the Height of the Season Million
Quarts Are Sometimes Received in
a Day-cantaIoupe From Colorado
-Watsrmelons Shipped by the Car
loads.
Strawberries come to New York in
January, February and March from
Florida: from South Carolina between
March Is and April 1G; from North
Carolina from the middle of April to
May 10; from the region Of the vicin-
ity of Norfolk from the first to the
middle of May; from Maryland and
Delaware between May 10 and jane
/: from New Jersey, up to the Hud-
son River and then from the Oswego
district until September. The berries
in TIE Southern fields are picked by
darkies who receive from l cent to
2 cents a quart and are carried to
the packing house by man who
is paid rs cents a day. In the pack
ing house white girls face up the
the berries and put them in the crate,
which is taken to the railroad station.
The transportation charge on berries
from North Carolina in carload lots
is 70 cents a crate, in less than car
load lots 80 cents a crate. There are
thirty-two quarts in a crate. From
Florida the charge is $1.30 per crate
in 200 crate lots.
During the season of greatest pro-
duction it is not unusual for New
York to receive 10000 to $4,000 crates
of strawberries in one day. They
quickly perish and must be disposed
of at once at the market price.
Cantaloupes come from Florida and
California in carload lots from April
25 to July Is; from Georgia from June
Is to July 16; from South and North
Carolina from July to July 90; from
Texas from June / to August L; from
from Colorado from August 10 ITO
frost; from Idaho, Utah and northern
California from July 15 to October 10.
Cantaloupes decay if left on the
vine within three days after ripening.
They must be picked during the first
thirty-six hours to be in condition for
shipment. They are shipped in re-
frigerator cars and must be marketed
and eaten at once. In Florida they
bring the consumer IS cents to S1.25
a crate of forty-five and the freight
rate is so cents to New York. The
price is about the same in Georgia
and the freight rate is SIS cents. the
freight rate from South Carolina is
40 cents and from North Carolina 80
cents. In Colorado the grower gets
81 cents a crate and the freight rate
is "a cents; in California the price
is s1.64 and the freight rate $1.10.
AS there are forty-five cantaloupes
To the crate it will be seen that the
freight rate runs from less than
cent for the Carolinian melon to
about two and a half cents for that
from California The standard re-
tail price for the ordinary cantaloupe
is Is cents for one or two for 25 cents
the retail price not being affected By
the freight rates. The first Rocky
ford melons were brought to New
York in 1897. The receipts of canta-
loupes from all places average about
thirty-fve per day from June 10 TO
September Is.
The expensive Montreal melons get
lo1;a;o,,o favor bv hand DrO-
cess of milk feeding, milk during the
growing period being injected into
a melon through an incision in the
stem.
Watermelons come from Florida
from the latter part of May to the
middle of June, from south Georgia,
June 10 to July 10; from South Car
DINA, July to August 4; from North
Carolina, July 10 to August 10; from
Norfolk, Va, throughout September.
The first watermelons usually pay the
Floridian grower 5000 to $500 for
car averaging 1,100 melons; the
freight from Florida is $3.50 car.
These melons will bring $500 a car
in the New York market and retail
from so to rs cents apiece. After
the novelty has worn off, sometimes
in a week or two, the price drops
abruptly $500 or even 5000 car. The
prices during the season range from
$50 to 500 per car from south
Georgia, whence tho freight is S11O
per car, to from $40 to $50 from Nor
folk, whence the freight is 500 per
car.
In August and September the mel
ons from Norfolk and New Jersey
bring from 500 to $3.50 per car and
retail at about 25 cents. Although
because of their bulk and COMPARE
lively low value the freight rate on
melons often exceeds the price at
the farm, the dealers admit that the
transportation charge does not enter
into making the price, which is fixed
entirely by supply and demand. The
fact that the growers are constantly
increasing the supply shows that they
do not suffer. During June about 40
900 melons a day are received in New
York and during July and August
about 10000. They are loaded four
deep in the cars, the long melons be-
ing preferred, as they do not so easily