HARVESTING AND MARKETING MELONS 47 



decade will witness still greater progress along this 

 line. (See Fig. 10.) 



The large commercial grower of to-day, who 

 must ship his melons long distances, has but one 

 thing in mind— that is, to get his melons into the 

 market in good condition at the earliest possible 

 moment. As a result, the early shipments are 

 usually picked before they are ripe. Now, we all 

 know that the melon, like most of our tree fruits, 



Fig. 10. A thoroughbred Rocky Ford. 



will develop a better flavor if left on the plant until 

 ripe, but every melon shipper knows that he can- 

 not do that if he expects to ship any great distance. 

 They would be certain to decay before reaching their 

 destination, consequently they must be picked be^. 

 fore they are ripe. But how long before — that is 

 the question. The rule which holds good in picking 

 winter apples will apply very well here; viz., the 



