HARVESTING AND MARKETING MELONS 53 



Style of Package. — The style of package will de- 

 pend very largely upon the requirements of the 

 markets to which they are going and the kind of 

 melon which is being packed. Fig. 13 shows some 

 packages in common use. The half-bushel climax 

 basket is used quite largely by growers in the mid- 

 dle West for the Netted Gem type. This holds 16 

 melons of the Rocky Ford or Netted Gem, packed 

 in two layers and two deep. It requires experience 

 for a man to be able to pack these baskets properly 

 and rapidly, as the bottom layer requires a slightly 

 smaller melon than does the upper, and yet they 

 must all fit in closely when the basket is filled so 

 there will be no moving and consequent bruising as 

 the baskets are handled. These baskets are very 

 easily packed into the car, so that very little room 

 is wasted. The smaller varieties, such as the Emer- 

 ald Gem, are often packed in smaller baskets. This 

 is especially true of the early shipments. 



It sometimes happens that, during a peculiarly 

 favorable season for growth, the Rocky Ford type 

 will become too large for the Climax basket, and so 

 what is known as the Pony crate has come 

 into use in some parts of the country. This will 

 hold 12 melons of the larger size, and so takes care 

 of those which could not be packed to advantage 

 in the Climax baskets. In portions of the middle 

 West, this crate has come into quite general use, 

 as it is easily handled and packs well in the car. 

 Other sections of the country demand a larger- 

 sized crate, and some growers pack in barrels. This 

 is especially true where the larger varieties like 

 Tip Top, Montreal and Hackensack are grown. Many 

 think, however, that these varieties are too large 



