Imperial Valley press., 1909-06-26

carloads on Wednesday. The ship ping for Coachella Valley this year is concentrated at Thermal.
 and figures that were not fully ex- plained by the person who furnished them caused the Press to convey the impression last week that returns to one Fl Centro melon grower were not reconcilable with market reports. The grower thought he had been mistreat ed and he showed figures which seemed to justify his complaint.
 When the matter was explained in detail by the local agent of H. Woods & Co.,, it was made clear to the dis satisfied grower that his returns were right and that one particular griev- ance was a clerical error which had been corrected already with check for the amount. The cause of mis- understanding was confusion of ra~
  ports on sales of standards.
 All the cantaloupes shipped from Fl Centro during the first ten days of the season were grown on the Edgewild ranch on vines started under glass Express shipments of specials, which are crates holding but sixteen small melons, brought net returns to the grower varying from 58 cents to $1.SS. These specials are early mel ons, of good flavor but small, that are not sent to market after stand ards begin to move. As there are but one third as many melons in a special as in a standard crate the net return is better than it looks on paper
 For standards in carload lots, ship ped by the Edgewild ranch from June 6 to June II, the net returns to the grower ran from S3.0S to $414 a crate Fancy ponies returned from $1.96 to SPOT and one crate of fancy ponies on June brought S6 Two carloads picked from a seventeen acre patch i'll two days brought to the grower $2069 Up to last night the owner of the patch had shipped 4600 crates, three fourths of them standards, and ex- turns from late shipments are not in, but up to the 14th no return had been as low as S2 for standards. At an average Of S2 the Edgewild patch will yield 10 Mr Reed about $10,O00 net. That is the best piece of can taloupe land in the valley and it has the record on profits to the grower. But that is not an average melon patch. The vines were started under glass and were cultivat- ed with more than ordinary care, and the picking was under supervision of experts.
 The practice of shipping a few crates by express at the opening of the season and quoting the prices as the market price of cantaloupes is not good business. inasmuch as the quotations tend to mislead growers and to put fictitious values on the crop. The advertisement may serve to direct attention to the beginning of movement of the crop, but it is of doubtful value and the expense ab- sorbs the returns. The effect is to create the impression that the fancy price obtained for two or three crates is the market price of melons, and when the grower gets much lower rnturns from full shipments he is disappointed and inclined to conclude that he has been deceived.
 Marketing of the melon crop is still crude, disorderIy. business in this region and cannot be satisfactory to growers until 1t shall be placed upon a different basis. Tine various asso- citations and distributors have different ideas and methods. and instead of op- erating harmoniously they conflict in the markets and distrust one another.