14 
BULLETIN 401, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
ideal conditions they should be in the car and under ice within a few 
hours after they are picked. In at least one case where this was 
attempted a decided improvement in quality on arrival at market 
was obtained. 
Under ordinary conditions picking and packing are often done by 
the same individuals, who go into the fields and pick for several 
hours, and then go into the packing shed and pack. Meanwhile, the 
melons have been exposed to the heat. After they are packed they 
are again allowed to stand in the packing shed exposed to the warm 
winds until a full load is accumulated: often they are held until 
several loads are ready. Teamsters have been seen to deliver melons 
at the sorting sheds after midnight. The distance of melon fields 
from the railroad station is a factor which must not be overlooked 
when providing for efficient handling of the crop. 
After muskmelons reach the loading shed the crates must be sorted 
into piles, according to grade and size, and usually a further delay 
occurs before they are loaded. Melons have been observed standing 
on loading sheds from a few hours to more than 10, and in one case 
for over 24 hours, part of the time in the direct rays of the sun. 
These delays must be eliminated or reduced if satisfactory quality 
is to be secured. 
Effect of Contract Labor on Quality. 
Most of the work of harvesting muskmelons in the Imperial Valley 
is contracted for by the firms or individuals who employ large gangs 
of men, brought to the valley for the harvesting season. Picking and 
packing is very seldom done by the grower himself, but is contracted 
for at an average rate of 20 cents per crate. Hauling from the pack- 
ing to the loading sheds is let to teaming contractors at an average 
price of about 4| cents per crate. Finally, the loading of the crates 
from the shed into the cars is not often done by the distributor him- 
self, but is also done by contract. The contractor is interested 
chiefly in securing a good profit and is inclined to contract for more 
work than he can handle efficiently, and to try to economize on labor. 
The grower virtually loses control of the handling of his own goods, 
and is unable to expedite the work, even if he wishes to do so. The 
result has been delay at every step. It is not apparent that the 
grower or distributor is unable to handle his own business as economi- 
cally as the contractor and certainly he can do so more efficiently. 
A further bad feature of the contract system is that it encourages 
the picking of immature melons and a bad pack. The contractor 
being paid according to the number of packed crates, is interested 
primarily in packing as large a number as possible. When melons 
are not ripening rapidly enough to keep his entire crew busy, the 
contractor is losing money, and the result is a tendency to encourage 
