MARKETING AND DISTRIBUTION OF WESTERN MUSKMELONS. 3 
not form an appreciable part of the total. The entire acreage is pro- 
duced under irrigation and, in general, the growing is handled suc- 
cessfully according to the most approved methods. The acreages of 
the individual growers vary from 10 or 15 acres to 100 or more, and 
some firms grow several hundred acres. The expansion of markets, 
however, has not kept pace with the expansion of acreage. 
MARKETING ARRANGEMENTS. 
Contracts Between Growers and Distributors. 
The most striking feature of the marketing arrangements in the 
Imperial Valley is the contract in vogue between the growers and 
certain individuals, firms, or corporations, acting as shippers or dis- 
tributors, who contract to handle and sell muskmelons for the growers 
at a stipulated commission of 15 per cent. 
The shippers or distributors generally consign the melons to their 
main offices or to their connections in the eastern markets. They 
guarantee to make certain advances of money to the growers, which 
consist, first, of an advance at the time the contract is signed, gen- 
erally $10 per acre, and of further per-acre advances during the 
growing season at the discretion of the distributor and according to 
the needs of the grower. When active shipping commences, the 
distributor further makes a per-crate advance at the beginning of 
each week covering all crates shipped by the grower during the pre- 
vious week. In 1915 this per-crate advance varied from 57 to 77 
cents per " standard," " jumbo," or "pony" crate. 1 The distributor 
deducts from this per-crate advance a certain amount to cover the 
cost of crate material, which is furnished by him, and a varying 
amount to repay the per-acre loans made earlier in the year. A 
general season's average net return, equal to the amount advanced 
per crate, is usually guaranteed by the distributor. 
During the season of 1915 there were 14 firms shipping muskmelons 
from the Imperial Valley who controlled acreages by contract as 
described, and several other large shippers who grew their own melons. 
Copies of contracts were secured from 11 of those who advanced 
money on crops. All of these advanced $10 per acre as an initial 
loan, and most of them made additional per-acre loans of $5 or more. 
The per-crate advances of the 1 1 averaged 66 cents on the standard, 
pony, and jumbo crates, and 22.4 cents on u flats." 
REASONS FOR CONTRACT SYSTEM. 
At first glance, a contract system binding the grower to sell through 
a certain distributor at 15 per cent commission may seem undesirable; 
but it is based on the grower's inability to finance the raising of his 
crops. The muskmelon industry is a highly specialized and risky 
i For definitions of crate see Farmers' Bui. 707. 
