38 
BULLETIN 917, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
Four men are used to fork the cucumbers into the thrasher, which is 
pulled about the field by two horses and is operated by a small gaso- 
line engine. One man, two horses, and a wagon are employed in 
taking the seed to the pits. In 10 days to 2 weeks the seed is washed 
free from the remaining pulp, spread on screens to dry, and then 
sacked. The washing is done in a sluice box with water from an irri- 
gation ditch. Three men do this work usually, washing 300 to 600 
pounds of seed in a day. Some growers use chemical washers. (Figs. 
37 and 38.) 
The harvesting of cantaloupe seed is done in the same manner as 
cucumber seed. Cantaloupe harvesting for market is usually done 
on contract by Mexicans, who are paid a given rate per crate. The 
work of packing the melons in crates after being sorted and graded 
is also usually done by contract. Melons must be picked regularly. 
P 
wBm 
Tig. 32.— Hauling alfalfa hay from the field with a wagon. This method is too slow where a large acreage 
is to be harvested. 
The entire field is gone over each day and the marketable ones 
gathered. Where possible, all ripe melons are packed and shipped 
the day they are picked. To get the melons from the fields, roads 
are made at regular intervals a few rods apart, where the vines have 
been laid to one side. 
The melons are hauled to sheds to be packed in crates, which are 
bought and set up at a contract price. (Figs. 39 and 40.) 
The potato harvest begins the latter part of September and is 
usually completed by the middle of October. In some seasons the 
potatoes are harvested later, but there is danger of the frosting of 
those near the surface of the ground. Potatoes are harvested by the 
use of diggers that dig one row at a time and drop the tubers in the 
furrow behind the implement. Usually the potatoes are clean and 
free from dirt. A potato digger requires a crew of one man and four 
