SrarSKETIXG AXD DISTEIBUTIOX OF WESTEEX MUSKMELOXS. 35 



All of which is mutually agreed by and between tlie parties hereto. 



In witness whereof the said party of the first part has caused this agreement to be 

 signed on its behalf by its manager and said second party has caused the same to 

 be signed in its name by its president and secretary the day and year first above 

 written. 



Ordway Contracts. 



In Ordway all contracts were made on the advance-per-crate 

 basis ill 1915, the crate material being furnished to the growers fo}'- 

 the distributors either at cost or at a small margin above cost. All 

 advances were lik&wise a guaranty of the season's average net return, 

 but could be discontinued by the distributor at any time upon 24 

 homes' written notice. The average advance on standard flat or 

 jumbo flat crates of Burrell Gems was 21 cents and the average 

 advance on pony flats was 9 cents. The distributors uniformly 

 received a compensation of 17^ per cent commission, the handling 

 of Burrell Gem melons being said to be somewhat more expensive 

 than the handling of the green-meated varieties. 



COOPERATION. 



Cooperation in the Colorado muskmelon districts is generally in' 

 a more advanced stage than in many of the other melon-producing 

 sections. The growers are organized at practically all of the ship- 

 ping stations, and contracts are made between associations and 

 distributors rather than between individual growers and distributors. 

 Some progress has been made in the direct purchasing of supplies by 

 associations, and in most cases association officials make a fairly 

 accurate audit and check of distributors' books. The work of the 

 associations might be extended considerably to good advantage. 



QUALITY. 



Causes of Poor Quality in 1915. 



The marketing of the 1915 muskmelon crop from Colorado was un- 

 fortunate and unsuccessful. This condition maybe attributed almost 

 entirely to the generally very poor quality of the melons shipped. 

 This was due to several causes, including a late spring, which caused 

 replanting and a late crop, and the harvesting of green melons. 

 Other reasons were unseasonably cold and wet weather during the 

 summer, causing slow growth, the presence of some rust, and the 

 scarring of many of the melons by grasshoppers. Altliougli tliese lutt(a* 

 causes contributed to unsatisfactory quality, they were almost 



