MARKETING AND DISTRIBUTION OF WESTERN MUSKMELONS. 25 
Table 9. — Average weight tests of different varieties of mushmelons from the Salt River 
Valley, Arizona, on one day. 
Brand. 
Green meals. 
Pink meats. 
Standard. 
Pony. 
Two- 
thirds 
jumbo. 
Jumbo 
flat. 
Jumbo 
flat. 
Standard 
fiat. 
Pony flat. 
A 
Pounds. 
68 
69.3 
Pounds. 
Pounds. 
Pounds. 
28. 1 
Pounds. 
26.9 
Pounds. 
Pounds. 
B 
C 
53. 5 

D. . : 
69.5 
70.3 
58.3 
27.2 
54.1 
56. 1 
27.4 
27.2 
31.1 
26.2 
25.1 
F 
Effects of Contract Labor. 
Some of the work of harvesting is done by contract, as in the Impe- 
rial Valley, the charges for picking and packing being & to 10 cents 
for flats and as high as 22 cents for standards. Where work was done 
by contract there were often complaints and there were some rejec- 
tions on account of poor quality. An example of losses incurred on 
account of contract work was observed at the end of the shipping 
season when a contractor, who was anxious to complete his job and 
discharge his crew, entirely stripped a field of muskmelons, picking 
them so green that 600 crates were rejected by the shipper on account 
of immaturity and were practically a total loss to the grower. In- 
stances of this kind did not occur where the grower did his own work. 
Quick Handling. 
The hauling of the muskmelons is done almost entirely by the 
growers themselves. Because of warm weather there exists the same 
necessity for quick handling as in the Imperial Valley. In a field of 
melons under observation the inspector was seen to criticize the 
picking early in the morning, on account of the slightly green condi- 
tion of the melons. The packing was delayed and the melons were 
allowed to remain exposed to the heat the entire day, not being hauled 
to the loading shed until late in the evening, when a number of melons 
were overripe from undue exposure to heat. Hauling must be done 
promptly if good quality is to be obtained. 
Inspection. 
Growers are unable to depend upon inspectors to any great extent 
to guide them in securing proper quality, for as a result of small and 
scattered acreages a constant field inspection can not be maintained 
by the distributors. Platform inspectors generally visit various fields 
