Imperial Valley press., 1935-03-06

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been planted and the crop is matur-
ing under the hot valley sun and the
cool, crisp nights.
In the forepart of December the
first shipments of lettuce are made
gradually increasing in size until the
peak" comes shortlp after the first
of the year. During the shipping
season solid trainloads of "reefers"
leave the valley destined to all Sec
tions of the country. The ''reefers"
as needed, are taken from the sid
ings where they are spotted" and
after being loaded from the packing
sheds are Iced" and made up into
trains.
Coincident with this phase of the
lettuce industry is the activity in the
fields and packing sheds. Crews OF
experienced men go into the lettuce
field, picking out the choice heads,
which are placed in field crates and
transported to the packing sheds.
Here the lettuce is sorted over, pack
ed according to grades and placed
in the "reefers."
Thousands Employed
, The planting, harvesting, packing
and shipping provide work for
thousands of men and women,
much of the lettuce "dollar" be-
ing spent for labor and equipment.
In addition there are the thousands
of crates used in shipping which
provide work for the lumber in
dustry and for more hundreds who
assemble the shook required in
making the crates,
The lettuce industry Is splendid
example of organization and eff
cheney, from the time the first
ground is placed In condition for
the plants Until the last crate has
| left and the season is definitely
over. Though not requiring the
"top speedo activity which Imper-
| ial Valleys cantaloupe crop re-
quires because of its highly perish
able nature, the lettuce crop gives
no room for loafing. Coordination
to high degree, between workers,
growers, shippers, the ice company
and the railroads is absolutely es-
sential to the successful harvesting
of the crop.
There is an element Of gambling
connected with the industry which
requires the same sort of knowledge
and foresight one must use in any
game of chance, be it boys mar
BILE game or the highly scientific
| bridge. Ordinarily the grower S
biggest gamble is the weather. Ex-
cept for this present season, when
drought prevailed, he is sure of his
water supply, he knows his land,
| and only wet weather confronts
him as a hazard. A lengthy wet
spell prevents harvesting and may
come at time when picking is at
its peak.
The shipper has many phases Of
gambling to consider, After he
has bought or raised his lettuce,
as the case may be, he has market
| ing conditions to consider. A city
| that appears as good market to-
day may not be so tomorrow, due
to any number of causes-local
weather, or surplus in stock for
examples-making it necessary to
divert cars to some other point
where conditions are more favor
able. The layman might think the
| shipper works on a "hunch,' but
more often it Is on the expert
knowledge he has of conditions in
all parts of the country derived
from information received from
| brokerage and commission houses,
government and private produce
reports and careful perusal of data
which comes to his firm from var
ious contacts, not the least of which
is crop and shipping conditions in
competitive lettuce areas.
The lettuce industry has grown
to be giant and demands the care
an industrial giant must have.
There was a time when the "shoe-
| string grower and shipper prevail
| ed in considerable numbers. Econ
omic conditions of the past five
years have pretty we'll weeded them
out. Today the lettuce grower or
shipper must have sufficient capi-
| tai to make success of the bus
iness and to be prepared to meet
any of a horde of emergencies
which may confront him.
Represents Millions
The amount of money the indus
| try represents to Imperial Valley
when all of its various angles are
considered can only be given in gen.
eral terms. 1t is in the millions.
| Aside from the heavy investments
in land. seed. buildings, equipment
labor and administrative costs there
are the salaries and personal expen-
ditures of the workers, of field rep
resentatives, brokers, commission
agents and all who have anything
whatsoever to do with the lettuce
deal" There are thousands OF men
and women who come to Imperial
Valley from the "outside" during
! the season. Some maintain homes
here but whether they do or not, all
spend their money for subsistence
and other necessities while they are
here.
| Although it is a seasonal crop, the
lettuce industry may rightly be con-
sidered the leader in Imperial VAL
ley's activities. When it prospers all
phases of business in Imperial VAL
ley feel the benefits thereof, and
when it feels the downward pull
there is a corresponding reaction In
valley business.