Imperial Valley press., 1908-07-04
CANTALOUPE PRICES DEPRESSED
 BY BAD DISTRIBUTION OF CROP
Painful Experience May Teach Growers That Cooperation and Systematic Marketing are Essential to Success. Suspension of Shipments May Result in Improvement of Prospects for Late Market

The cantaloupe situation has not inn proved materially since the last issue of The Press. The flood of melons pouring into the eastern markets reached it's height the middle of the present week With constant stream of from sixty to eighty cars per day, the expected happened; melon prices tumbled and the net results have proved that there is something radi- cally wrong in the present method of distribution to the same markets by a half dozen or more individual firms. The lesson of cooperation is one to be learned sometimes only by bitter experience of it's lack. In the Impe rial Valley melon industry this lesson is being learned this season by melon growers.
 While there is almost a standstill at present in the melon movement, there is some hope that the markets may yet right themselves at the latter end of the local season, and that those melon-growers who continue to keep their fields in condition may be able to realize advantageous prices the lat ter part of this month.
 Shipments ere Checked.
 Thursday morning all receiving of melons at the Lyon and Thurston pack ing sheds at Brawley was stopped A similar suspension took place at the Lyon shed at Holtville. It was under stood that this stoppage of operations was for a five-day period, with the prospect of lengthening the time to ten days if the situation does not bet {. ter itself by that time.
 From Meloland there was a small movement of melons the past few days; but from Heber and Calexico the shipment was cut down to very small scale.
 At the sheds of the El Centro Canta- loupe Growers Association early this week there was a curtailment of oper- ations. Only the choicest standards were shipped, and from a billing of seven cars per day the shipments fell down first to four cars per day, and then to three cars, which rate was maintained Thursday and yesterday. Three carloads will be sent out by this association today.
 The El -Centro Fancy Melon Grow. CTS Association has also cut vigOr- ously into the shipment records. Only the choicest melons have been taken on. The disposition is to curtail the shipments in all reasonable ways
 The Weeks Market Prices.
 New York is considered the main point for cantaloupe distribution and the prices quoted below are for canta- loupes on that market. As a matter of fact, it is said, the markets of Chicago and Boston have given the melons better prices than those of New York.
 On Monday there was a liberal sup ply on the New York market and prices ranged from $l to $2 for stand ards, and Sl to $l.50 for ponies. On Tuesday the supply continued heavy, and the price of standards went down twenty-five cents the crate, the quota tion being from $1 to $175 for stand ards, and $1 to $1,25 for ponies. The Wednesday New York market showed Imperial Valley standard melons work ing out slowly at from $l to $1.75, and ponies at $1 to $1.25.
 New York market for Thursday showed a slight improvement, in that the quotations were from $1.25 to $175 for standards. The ponies were quoted at the same rate as the previ- ous day-$l to $1.25 per crate,
 On Tuesday, while the Imperial Valley standards sold on the New York market at from $1 to $1.25, at Cleveland the same grade of melons were bringing $2.25; the jumbos brought $3 and the ponies, $1,75. The