CANTALOUPE MARKETING IN" THE LARGER CITIES. 15 



poor quality and condition of many of the perishable products 

 which they are forced to buy seem to be the greatest of these handi- 

 caps. 



In the marketing of cantaloupes there is a good opportunity for 

 retailers to increase their sales and reduce their losses by encouraging 

 consumers to buy flat crates containing from 9 to 15 melons. A 

 family of average size can easily use this number before they spoil 

 by selecting the ripest each day and allowing the greener cantaloupes 

 to mature. The consumer profits by getting fresh goods that have 

 not been injured by repeated handling and at a considerable saving 

 in cost, since the retailer can afford to work on a small margin when 

 he sells in the original package. The retail agencies, in turn, gain 

 by increased sales and quick turnovers, fewer poor melons returned, 

 and reduced loss through deterioration. Instances were noticed 

 where progressive stores employed tins method and in a short time 

 built up their trade from 2 or 3 to from 15 to 25 flat crates per day. 



CANTALOUPE SHIPMENTS IN 1914. 



Early in the spring of 1915 inquiries were addressed to railroad 

 station agents at points where cantaloupes were believed to originate 

 in carloads, asking for a complate record of the shipments during 

 1914. As the result of these inquiries the department has secured 

 a fairly complete list of the points shipping cantaloupes in 1914, 

 together with the number of carloads shipped from each- These 

 figures have been checked to a large extent by general railroad 

 officials of the lines on which most of the cantaloupes originate. 



The map, charts, and tabulations which arc the result of this 

 inquiry should be of interest and value to the grower, the shipper, 

 the distributor, and to all of those engaged in the handling of the 

 cantaloupe crop. 



POSSIBLE SOURCES OF ERROR. 



It is very difficult to secure a complete tabulation of shipments of 

 any perishable, fruit or vegetable. This is especially true of any 

 commodity produced in large quantities in the immediate vicinity 

 of consuming centers. The transportation in such cases may be 

 largely by wagon, truck, or trolley, and consequently the informa- 

 tion if obtainable ;it .-ill must be gathered from a large number of 

 sources. In those Localities where (here are many shipments by 

 boal tin- compilation of statistics on a carload basis is exceedingly 

 difficult. In some cases it, is probable that the tabulation here 

 given i-. incomplete as to such shipments, and (lie figures presented 

 were obtained by reducing crates and other packages to equivalent 

 carloads. 



