10 
Rem. p. 300. Knight, finding that the leaves of melons sus- 
tained great injury from the weight of the water falling from 
the watering-pot, pours the water on the tiles which cover the 
surface of the bed. See Training. 
Earthing.—Perform this operation as directed for the cu- 
cumber, after the heat of the dung has become moderate, earth- 
ing up by degrees the intervals between the hills, till the depth 
of the earth becomes equal. Eight or ten inches’ depth of earth 
M‘Phail states to be enough for the roots of the plants to run 
in, provided the bed or fermenting mass beneath be made of 
leaves of trees, or of dung well prepared; for if the bed under 
the earth be in a good state, the roots will grow into it, 
and draw from thence considerable nourishment to the plants. 
The roots of the melon do not naturally run deep, they extend 
horizontally not far from the surface, especially in forcing frames, 
where the moist warm air is more confined than in the open 
atmosphere.—Gard. Rem. p. 63. In early forcing, leave un- 
filled up with earth a space of about 7 or 8 inches wide, against 
the inside of the frames, immediately adjoining the hot linings. 
“ By this method the heat of the linings do more powerfully 
warm the air in the frames, than if the earth was made level 
home to the sides of the boards of the frames to which the 
linings adjoin. But if melons be not planted earlier than the 
month of May, this precaution need not be attended to, unless 
the weather prove uncommonly cold, and but little sunshine.” 
Training.—As the plants advance into the first runners, 3 or 
four joints in length, if no fruit be shown, stop them at the 
third joint, in order that they may produce fruitful laterals ; 
and as the runners extend, train them over the surface of the 
bed with neat pegs. Many of these runners, as the plant pro- 
ceeds, will show embryo fruit at the joints; but a great many 
barren ones are occasionally produced, and hence it becomes 
necessary to regulate them. Abercrombie says, “ cut out the 
superabundant, unfruitful, or evidently useless shoots, especially 
the very weak and most luxuriant, for the middle-sized are the 
most fertile.” Nicol says, “ melons should be kept moderately 
thin of vines, though not so thin as cucumbers (the foliage 
being smaller), which should never be much lopped at one time, 
as they are also apt to bleed. All bruised, damped, or decayed 
leaves should be carefully picked off as they appear, and the 
plants should be kept clear from weeds, or any rubbish that 
may be conveyed into the frames by wind or otherwise. 
M‘Phail directs to “ cut out from the melon-frames all super- 
fiuous or decaying shoots. Stop shoots a joint or two before 
the fruit, and also cut off the ends of the long running shoots 
immediately before showing fruit, if there is a leading shoot 
coming out by the side of it; for you ought to remember always 
in pruning melons, that a fruit will not swell well except there 
be a growing shoot before it; and this shoot, which is called a 
leader, because it leads or draws the sap from the roots to and 
past the fruit, should be stopped before a joint, that will, if 
the plant is in good health, sprout out again. Do not let your 
plants get too fullof leaves, and cut off the oldest and worst 
leaves first. This ought to be done at least once or twice a 
week, by which method they will be nearly always in a medium 
state of thinness, and the plants and fruit will derive advantages 
which they would be deprived of were they suffered to become 
over-crowded with leaves and shoots, and then a great many 
cut out at one time. If melons are of a large kind, no more 
than one or two should be left on a plant to swell off at one 
time ; if smaller three or four fruit may be left.” —Gard. Rem. 
p- 278. Knight, in an ingenious and philosophical paper on 
the culture of the melon, states “ that his crops of melons 
failed, because watering over the foliage, pruning, weeding, &c. 
had removed the leaves, on the extended branches, from their 
proper position, and these leaves, being heavy, broad, slender 
CUCURBITACEZ. 
IV. Cucumis. 
and feeble, on long footstalks, were never able to regain it. 
In consequence, a large portion of that foliage which pre- 
ceded or was formed at the same period with the blossoms, and 
which nature intended to generate sap to feed the fruit, became 
diseased and sickly, and consequently out of office, before the 
fruit acquired maturity.” To remedy this defect, the plants 
were placed at greater distances from each other, viz. one plant 
of the Salonica variety, to each light of 6 feet long by 4 feet 
wide. The earth was covered with tiles, and the branches 
trained in all directions, and hooked down over them with pegs. 
They were thus secured from being disturbed from their first 
position, the leaves were held erect, and at an equal distance 
from the glass, and enabled, if slightly moved from their proper 
position, to regain it. “ I, however, still found that the leaves 
sustained great injury from the weight of the water falling from 
the watering-pot; and I therefore ordered the water to be 
poured from a vessel of a proper construction, upon the brick 
tiles, between the leaves without at all touching them, and thus 
managed, I had the pleasure to see that the foliage remained 
erect and healthy. The fruit also grew with very extraordinary 
rapidity, ripened in an unusually short time, and acquired a 
degree of perfection which I had never previously seen. As 
soon as a sufficient quantity of fruit, between 20 and 30 pounds 
on each plant, is set, I would recommend the further produc- 
tion of foliage to be prevented, by pinching off the lateral shoots 
as soon as produced, wherever more foliage cannot be exposed 
to the light. No part of the full grown leaves should ever be 
destroyed ; however distant from the fruit and growing on a 
distinct branch of the plant, they still contribute to its support ; 
and hence it arises, that when a plant has as great a number of 
growing fruit upon part of its branches, as it is capable of 
feeding, the blossoms upon other branches, which extend in an 
opposite direction, prove abortive.” —Loud. encycl. gard. p. 648. 
Setting.—* As the fruit bearers come into blossom, you may 
assist the setting of the fruit, by impregnating some of the female 
blossoms with the male flowers, as described for the cucumber. 
The melon, however, will also set naturally, and produce fertile 
seeds, if the time of fructification fall at a season when the 
glasses can be left almost constantly open.”—Abercrombie. 
Nicol says, “ he has proved experimentally, that melons not 
impregnated will not swell off so fair and handsome as im- 
pregnated ones, and, therefore, considers it more necessary to. 
attend to this operation in melons than in cucumbers. There- 
fore let nature be assisted in this work, considering that she is 
more under restraint here than if the plants grew in the open 
air, where the wind, insects, and other casualties, might be 
helped.”—Kalend. p. 384. 
Care of fruit.—* As the fruit increases to the size of a walnut, 
place a flat tile or slate under each to protect it from the damp 
of the earth; the slab thus interposed will also assist the fruit 
to ripen, by reflecting the rays of the sun.”—Abercrombie- 
M‘Phail says, “ The fruit should lie upon dry tiles. When 
the fruit is young, it is better to have a gentle shade of leaves; 
but when it is full swelled, it should be entirely exposed to the 
sun.” Nicol advises placing the fruit on bits of slate or glass 
some time before it begins to ripen, as the flavour might else 
be tainted, but by no means slate or moss the whole surface of 
the bed, lest you encourage the red spider. Think on the re- 
flection of the sun upon the slates or tiles, in hot weather par- 
ticularly, and of his additional force in shining through glass. 
It is more consonant to the nature of the plants that they be 
trained on the earth. By mossing the surface, the indolent may 
find a pretext, as it no doubt, in some measure, lessens the 
labour of watering. But it is wrong to do so, in so far as it har- 
bours and encourages the breeding of various insects, and as the 
fruit approaches to maturity, taints it with an unpleasant effluvia.” 
