The BuLLETiif. 17 



• as it increases liandling. The less the fruit is handled, the better it will 

 ship. A good rale for picking is to pick only those fruits that are in 

 the right stage of maturity for market, handling them with care and 

 keeping them as cool as possible. 



GRADING. 



Many growers are successful in producing good melons, but fail when 

 they begin to market them. The chief cause of this failure is the lack 

 of proper grading. Good prices have a definite relation to certain fac- 

 tors, without careful consideration of which prices are not likely to be 

 satisfactory, especially when the markets are heavily loaded. One of the 

 chief factors is grading. Generally speaking, grading is not a common 

 practice. The indiscriminate packing of all fruits picked, with the ex- 

 ception of a few culls, totally unfit for shipping, is far too common. 

 The result of such packing is that the top market prices are not received. 

 Grading is absolutely essential. This is demonstrated on every market. 

 Fraits that have the same size and form have a pleasing appearance 

 Avhich always sells them more rapidly than fruits that lack uniformity. 

 With certain growers who have used a proper grading system the result 

 has been greater financial returns and a continual demand for their 

 product. They have found that their best grades invariably bring more 

 on the open market than ungraded fruit, and the lowest grades sell for 

 practically the same as the ungraded frait. This means that the extra 

 price received for the best grade is practically all clear gain merely as 

 a result of the slight extra labor involved in grading. 



Quality is the first essential in the determination of a grade, although 

 size and appearance must be considered. 



A fancy grade must be very high in quality ; the size must be normal, 

 the shape uniform, the condition perfect, and the pack good. 



The N'o. 1 grade must be nearly as high in quality, of good condition, 

 but sizes a little more uneven, although the different specimens in the 

 pack should be nearly uniform. This grade should contain melons too 

 large or too small for the fancy grade. 



The ]SJ"o. 2 should consist of the salable melons unfit for fancy or 

 ]S[o. 1, but should be of fair quality and should contain no culls whatso- 

 ever. 



After a little experience it is possible to grade cantaloupes on the basis 

 of the appearance of the netting, since there is a close connection be- 

 tween quality and netting. A well netted, properly colored frait is 

 almost sure to be of high quality. The more fully developed the netting, 

 the better the quality. The netting for fancy grade should be heavy, 

 deep, grayish-brown in color, and completely covering the blossom end 

 and filling out the ridges. The color should blend well with the ground 



