Rocky Ford enterprise., 1916-09-29
INTERNATIONAL
farm CONGRESS
Will Probably Land Otero
County Exhibit
WON SWEEPSTAKES
AT STATE FAIR
Where the Agricultural Display At
tracted Favorable Attention and
Admirin9 Comments

President J. A. Sprengle of the
Otero County Agricultural Asso-
citation returned on Saturday from
Pueblo, where he had been in at
tendance upon the associations
exhibit at the State Fair and he
brot the good news that not only
did the exhibit capture the only
contest for which it was entered
the sweepstakes-but it attracted
such favorable comment from
everyone that plans were set on
foot to take the exhibit to the In
ternational Farm Congress at Ell
Paso next month.
So effective has been the argu-
ments advanced in favor of IN ak
ing this display that upon the re-
turn of Secretary Miller from his
trip to Kansas City the matter
will be taken up by the executive
committee Of the association and
the prospects are very bright that
they will authorize the placing of
the exhibit in competition with
the world at the international
Farm Congress.
Of this exhibit at the State
Fair the Pueblo Chieftain had
this to say:
Exhibit Attracts Attention
The agricultural exhibit of Otero county
is attracting probably the most attention of
any other exhibit at the fair. 1t oecu-
pies a greater space and contains more
varieties Of products. The exhibit is in
charge of J. L. Miller. secretary Of the
Otero county agricultural club and is not
being entered in any contest. except the
sweepstakes. The directors Of the club
think their products are SO fine that it
wouldn't be fair to other exhibitors to en-
ter in any other class than the sweep
stakes.
One of the features of the exhibit is
the new Honey Dew cantaloupe or melon
whichever is best to call it. for 1t is
neither cantaloupe or a watermelon or
anything else and there is nothing else
like it in the world. This year is the
first time these melons have been raised
for commercial purposes and it is esti-
mated that there will be l30 car loads
of them shipped out of Rocky Ford this
year.
The melon was propogated by ]. A.
Gauger/ield superintendent of the Holly
Sugar company. A few years ago he
conceived the idea of crossing the ordi-
nary oasabs melon with a cantalonpe and
producing melon that would be better
than the casaba and have the texture
and characteristics of the cantaloupe.
BY crossing the oasaba with the Rocky
Ford oantaloupe he has now produced
the Honey Dew which "has them all
skinned" according to many who have
had the pleasure of sampling one.
Another interesting feature Of the dis
play is collection of some so varieties
of eantaloupes and melons from foreign
countries. W. W. Tracy. an expert in
beet seed culture and employed by the
UnitedStates government with headquar-
tiers at RockyFord was interested enough
in. the melon industry to obtain thru the
government seed of every variety of
melon grown. The seed was planted
this year in the experimental garden of
the agricultural association at Rocky
Ford and has thus provided probably the
only such collection Of melons ever ex-
hibited at any state fair held in the Unit
ed States.
Just to prove that corn can be raised
in Colorado. Mr.. Miller pointed to So
varieties of corn in the Otero county ex-
hibit. They can talk about several Of
the eastern states being champion corn
raisers, but think we can show them a
few things in that business too" he de-
clared.
Foster Mother of Human Race
OF another exhibitor at the
State Fair the same paper had
this to say:
1.-The COW is the foster mother Of the
human race. From the day Of the an
cient Hebrew to this time, have the
thoughts of men turned to this kindly
and beneficent creature as one Of the
chief sustaining forces of the human
race"
The above thought is printed on large