Imperial Valley press., 1908-07-25
LAST CARLOAD OF THE SEASON SHIPPED FROM FL cENTRo
 ON THURSDAY.
LIMITED ACREAGE URGED
Railroad Man Says Crude Distribution, Not Overprodueton Caused Failure of Market, and Advises Imitation of of Citrus Fruit System of Marketing Imperial Valley Crop,

The last car of cantaloupes for the season was shipped Thursday by the El Centro Cantaloupe Growers Asso- citation. This makes a record of 163 cars sent out by this association and handled by the H. Woods Company. The Woods Company sent out 125 car loads from the Livesley Siding, near Brawley, and 100 carloads from the Brawley sheds. This company also sent out forty cars from Thermal and Coachella
 The commission men and the as sociations have finished their season. but melons are still being shipped The Arekelian Bros, who have so acres in cantaloupes and do their own distributing to markets west of Den yer, are sending out carload every other day and getting $3 a crate at Portland Seattle, San Francisco and other coast points. They are ship ping also to Salt Lake and Denver, and say those markets are clamoring for California cantaloupes. If they had the melons they could ship a car every day. The Arekelians have not lost any money on cantalOupeS this year. Last Wednesday the price of Californias in New York was from $2 to $2.75.
 Before the shipping season opened, the distributors estimated that not more than half the acreage planted would produce melons and that 1500 cars would be the maximum product ion. Almost the entire 10000 acres planted made good, and if all the melons grown had been shipped it would have taken 5000 cars to carry them to market. The season is ended, and thousands of crates of melons lie ripening and rotting in the fields. The fruit is not worth picking because the market is closed. Many fields were abandoned early in the season because the growers saw no prospect of get ting out of them the cost of picking.
 Must Limit Acreage.
 Cantaloupe growing must be limited to $500 acres in Imperial Valley, if the crop is to be marketed successfully at high prices, is the judgement of l. D. Hale, general field man for the H. Woods Company Mr. Hale says a ClOoS OIuuy Ol IIllS uSlu COllN HlIIl that cantaloupe raising for the masses to purchase is not practicable in I'm perial Valley and that the crop must be limited, with the purpose of cater ing to the high-priced hotels, clubs and wealthy customers.
 He believes that a limit of $500 acres of cantalOupes reaching the mar ketable stage can be handled from the TTooI iol Vol hn district can stand an acreage of 2500 and it is his observation that when ever the Rock Ford crop exceeds 2500 acres it means a elut on the market and an inevitable tumbling of prices.
 MT. Hale believes that next season will see extensive melon planting El Centro, but that probably never acreage be planted as came to matur- ity this season.
 Blames Distributors Methods.
 Edward Chambers, general freight traffic manager of the Santa Fe sys- tenn, disagrees with the commission agents. He planes the method of dis tribution for demoralizatiOn of the market.
 "The citrus and deciduOus grow CTS of Southern California; said MT, Chambers, have the best system of distribution of their crops of any pro- ducers in the world. And it is because that assembly and distribution are di- rected by intelligence that is an exam pie to all other producers.
 When I came to the coast in 1887 it seemed to be a big thing to ship l50 cars a year. When the 10000 mark was reached it seemed quite stupen- dous. Last year the shipments were 30,000 cars, and the growers, organ ized as they are aud guided by such intelligent distribution, could just as easily ship 50,000. Their system and success ought to be studied by others.
 "The melon growers could we'll lml- tate them, for the cry of overproduct- tion is false alarm. There is no over production if the products are mark eted intelligently,'
 Secretary Lawerence of the old as sociatiOn, advocates limiting only the acreage handled by individual grow CTS. One man can take care of five