Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1908-09-03
TO GATHER PRUNE:S
CALIFORNIA; RANcHER HOPES TO
USE MONKEYS.
Orders Consignment Of 500 Chat
terers from Panama and Will
Train Them to Work in
the Orchards.

s2E,-$StE T0tH u6tU " WIN ~ JaAs,s!
the Orchards.
San Jose, Cal-Central American
monkeys, trained to hop over orchard
elods and pick up the succulent prunes
that are now ripening in Santa Clara
valley, are believed by Martin V. Seely
Of this city to be the solution of the
California labor problem. To this enc
Mr.. Seely has ordered a consignment
of 500 simians from Panama and IL
now training some eight or ten on his
ranch in the coast range foothills.
For years California fruit growers
yearly have been confronted with the
question of harvesting their cropa
Santa Clara valley is the heaviest pro
Queer of prunes in the United Statea
if not in the world. The work of gath
ering the fruit into boxes for shipping
after 1t has ripened and fallen to the
ground formerly was done by men sent
by labor agencies from San Francisco.
augmented by school children from
foothill towns .'@
But with the influx of aggressive
Japanese white labor rebelled against
working by the side of that from the
orient, and as result the little brown
men overwhelmed the fruit ranches.
OF late seasons, however, there has
been shortage of prune pickers, both
American and Japanese, and in many
instances shippings we're delayed and
several crops lost through the lack OF
harvest hands. --+ -. ~
The usual floating labor population
of San Francisco did not respond
readily to the calls Of the ranchers,
and consequently the marketing Of the
crops was hindered.
But now comes Seely with pana'
cea for the prune mems harvesting
ills. Seely proposes to raise the monkey
to the level of the fruit grower, and
he Is confident of ultimate success.
1T always has been difficult for us
to obtain adequate help when most
needed" he said. when hands are
available we are imposed upon IN
wages. Last year sold the crop Of q
2O-acre lot of prunes, expecting tc
have them gathered. But when the
time for the first picking arrived not
one man or boy appeared. Finally
with the help of Japs and Chinese
fulfilled my end Of the contract, but
at loss. !
Then an old friend from Iowa Wis
tied me- Prunes, orientals and climate
were all strange to him. When hi
first saw the Japs sQuatting or hop
ping around beneath the trees hi
laughed and said:
Where did you get all those
monkeys? ~.
after he had returned east
thought over his remark, and the ides
occurred to me, why not get genuine
monkeys to pick prunes? @a a
Before coming to California
worked in Central America, and while
there became acquainted with A. B
James Of Acapulco, Panama. james
owned a coffee plantation. The fores
about his ranch clearings aboundet
with monkeys. The natives caugh
many young ones and trained them t
pick. fruit.
$50 I have written to James and h
is gathering monkeys and will shil
them to me at once. Meantime 1 hav,
obtained a number from San Francisco
dealers. They now are in the hand
Of trainers, but as the animals are still
strange can't say how the ventur
will result. II get the right kind o
monkeys, I'm sure will be successful
"A well-bred, well-behaved monke.
ought to be able to do the work of tel
Japs. Then there would be no wage
and the feed and salary Of the train
er would be my only expense. TIL
animals ordered are young and ough
to prove satisfactory If properl
trained. will muzzle them to proven
them from eating the fruit, and expec
to divide the 500 into so bands, ten t
a trainer #Ef r 3@.@