The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1908-07-23
CANTALOUPE GROWING PAYS
Farmers of the Rocky Ford Dis
trict Find II a Profit.
able Crop.

"Cantsloupe growing is one OF the
most independent branches OF farm
Ing" said the owner OF a small ranch
In the celebrated Rocky Ford district
OF Colorado. st is one OF the easi.
est, too, for quite considerable part
Of the year.
"Seed for the melon crop is planted
from first to the fifteenth Of May, and
after that with the exception Of a
couple Of weddings and two spplics-
tions Of water your work Is done IN
til the time for picking begins, about
the latter part OF July or the first OF
August,
when the melons begin to be
ready for shipment the planter has
only to inspect bis patches from day
to day and select those which are In
condition Thecsntaloupes are quick
ripeners, and one might 20 through
a patch one day and not find q single
melon sufficiently advanced to be
picked and yes the very next morn
Ing the same patch might show
enough ripe melons to fill thirty to
forty crates.
THE principal harvesting time for
Rocky Fords is from the latter part
OF August until the first Of October,
all depending upon the frost. Ex-
posure to frost puts an abrupt end
to the existence Of cantaloupes. The
melons are picked In the morning,
Grated and then removed to the
refrigerator cars or place oishipment
In the cool OF the evening, When
picked for the Eastern market the
melons are removed from she vines
before they are fully ripe.
"While the Rocky Ford melons
derive their name from the town OF
that name, yet az a matter OF fact
the melons are grown In many other
sections OF Otero county irrigated by
the waters OF the upper Arkansas
river. The principal point of ship
ment, however, is at Rocky Ford,
and at the height OF the season-the
latter part OF August-irom forty to
fifty CARLOADS daily are sent away.
"But everybody who owns a patch
OF land In that vicinity devotes a Ger.
tain part Of it to the raising OF the
cantaloupe, and through the raising
OF this one kind OF fruit the land
along the Arkansas valley, which
fifteen years ago was worth butiro
IS to $40 an acre, has now advsnc.
ed In value to $500 In certain cases.
"The soil is wonderfully produc-
tive, and in a good season the aver
age production OF cantaloupes an
acre will be from 100 to 1875 stand
ard crates, each OF which will con.
tain about iorty.five melons. For
these the producer will receive from
so cents to 81 a crate, and always
reckons upon his acreage yielding an
average Of $75.
"Some years q cantaloupe grower
will raise what he terms q seed crop,
although the wise grower will always
reserve his fines. melons for seed.
The growers while all OF them must
buy seed for the first year, ever after
ward make 1t a point to save enough
from each years crop to answer the
needs of the next year.
"a seed crop is by no means an
improbable one. In one crate OF
melons there is at least one pound Of
seed, and so an average yield would
represent from iorty.fve to fifty
pounds Of seed to the acre, which is
worth at times as much as 81. so q
pound. One grower In 1906 planted
five acres in cantsloupes for a seed
crop and sold the product Of bis
patch at is stood to a seed house at
Rocky Ford for $500. There are
three seed houses at Rocky Ford
whose sole business consists OF han.
ding cantaloupe seed.
Recently some Of the cantaloupe
growers started to raise q new varie.
ty OF cantaloupe, which is a cross be-
tween muskmelon and a canta,
loupe and bears the name OF musk
sloupe, or salmon melon, the inside
OF which is Of q red yellowish color
One grower last year near Rocky
Ford planted q patch Of about sew
en- acres in the new melon for q seed
lcrop. This WAS done on the order O
q California houses. Eight hundred
pounds Of the seed Of the new melor
we're produced for each pound o
which the Rocky Ford grower received
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