14 BULLETIN 401^ U. S. DEPAETMENT OF AGEICULTUKE. 



ideal conditions they should be in the car and under ice within a few 

 hours after they are picked. In at least one case where this was 

 attempted a decided improvement in quality on arrival at market 

 was obtained. 



Under ordinary conditions picking and packing are often done by 

 the same individuals, who go into the fields and pick for several 

 hours, and then go into the packing shed and pack. Meanwhile, the 

 melons have been exposed to the heat. After they are packed they 

 are again allowed to stand in the packing shed exposed to the warm 

 winds until a full load is accumulated; often they are held until 

 several loads are ready. Teamsters have been seen to deliver melons 

 at the sorting sheds after midnight. The distance of melon fields 

 from the railroad station is a factor which must not be overlooked 

 when providing for efficient handling of the crop. 



After muskmelons reach the loading shed the crates must be sorted 

 into piles, according to grade and size, and usually a further delay 

 occurs before they are loaded. Melons have been observed standing 

 on loading sheds from a few hours to more than 10, and in one case 

 for over 24 hours, part of the time in the direct rays of the sun. 

 These delays must be eliminated or reduced if satisfactory cjuahty 

 is to be secured. 



Effect of Contract Labor on Quality. 



Most of the work of harvesting muskmelons in the Imperial Valley 

 is contracted for by the firms or individuals who employ large gangs 

 of men, brought to the valley for the harvesting season. Picking and 

 packing is very seldom done by the grower himself, but is contracted 

 for at an average rate of 20 cents per crate. Hauling from the pack- 

 ing to the loading sheds is let to teaming contractors at an average 

 price of about 4§ cents per crate. Finally, the loading of the crates 

 from the shed into the cars is not often done by the distributor him- 

 self, but is also done by contract. The contractor is interested 

 chiefly in securing a good profit and is inclined to contract for more 

 work than he can handle efficiently, and to try to economize on labor. 

 The grower virtually loses control of the handling of his own goods, 

 and is unable to expedite the work, even if he mshes to do so. The 

 result has been delay at every step. It is not apparent that the 

 grower or distributor is unable to handle his own business as economi- 

 cally as the contractor and certainly he can do so more efficiently. 



A further bad feature of the contract system is that it encourages 

 the picking of immature melons and a bad pack. The contractor 

 bemg paid according to the number of packed crates, is interested 

 primarily in packing as large a number as possible. Wlien melons 

 are not ripening rapidly enough to keep his entire crew busy, the 

 contractor is losing money, and the result is a tendency to encourage 



