26 BULLETIN 1250, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
green fruit. Packers are more interested in the size and shape of 
melons than in their maturity. 
The need for greater care in selecting sufficiently ripe melons for 
shipment is shown by the fact that in an examination of 22 crates of 
melons commerciaily packed and ready for shipment during the 1921 
season, only two contained 80 per cent of satisfactory melons. Of 
these two, one contained 18 per cent of melons too green for ship- 
ment. Four crates contained less than 33 per cent of satisfactory 
melons, and seven contained over 33 per cent of melons unfit for 
shipment. The average percentage of satisfactory melons was 
60, that of doubtful melons 15, and that of green melons 25. These 
crates were in no way specially selected. They were average, every- 
day shipments from all the districts of the State. 
SUMMARY. 
The soluble solids content, the refractive index, and the sucrose 
content of the juice of cantaloupes increase and the percentage of 
starch in the seeds decreases as the melons ripen. 
The juice of melons which are mature when picked has a specific 
gravity of at least 1.040, equivalent to 10 per cent solids, a refractive 
index of at least 55 on the immersion refractometer, and a sucrose 
content not less than 4.5 per cent. The seeds of such melons contain 
less than 0.5 per cent of starch. 
Melons gain in flavor, but not in sweetness, after being picked. On 
storage at low temperatures, such as are found in iced cars, the 
melons changé but little, so that their composition during and imme- 
diately after storage indicates their condition when picked. After 
softening, if kept at ordinary temperatures there is a slight loss in 
sucrose. After picking and storage, there is a loss of starch in the 
seeds. 
