HARVESTING AND MARKETING MELONS 51 



when they will show the best quality, even at the 

 sacrifice of a few days in time. 



What the great majority of our people want is a 

 good melon, and if the first shipments to reach them 

 have that good quality, that very fact will go a 

 long ways towards selling future shipments at good 

 prices. How often do we hear the northern house- 

 wife say, after the first few attempts at having 

 melons on the breakfast table, " Why is it that the 

 shipped-in melons are so much poorer in quality 

 than are those that are home grown ? " The an- 

 swer is easy. In the first case they were picked 

 while green ; and in the second they were allowed 

 to ripen up on the vines. Then, too, if our growers 

 would give more attention to the care of the melons 

 after they are picked and until they are loaded into 

 the car, there would not be so much danger of de- 

 cay before they reach the consumer. For example, 

 if one is so situated as to be able to have a cool 

 building in which to store the melons until they are 

 thoroughly cooled off, instead of simply a shed open 

 on three sides which may furnish a partial shade 

 but very little protection from the heat, he would 

 be able to allow the melons to remain on the vines 

 for a longer time and still get them into the market 

 in a better condition than it is possible for him to 

 do under the present system. 



But it may not be possible for every grower to 

 have a cool storage building, but it is possible for 

 him to improve on present methods. The up-to-date 

 apple grower wishes to get his apples into a cool 

 place, at least in the shade, just as quickly as possi- 

 ble after they are picked in order that they may 

 hold up longer. Melons need shade for the same 



