362 Agricultural Experiment Station, Ithaca, N, Y. 



ripening with Masterpiece. Less desirable than Blenheim or 

 Masterpiece. 



Monarch (Fig. 61, front row, left). A good sized melon, with 

 sparse markings, except about the blossom end, dnll yellow in color, 

 not ribbed; ilesh thick and solid, red, of excellent iiavor. Ripens 

 with Masterpiece. Our stock of this melon appears to have been 

 mixed, and we have also grown a cross with Lockinge. Because of 

 its variable character and somewhat unattractive appearance, we 

 prize it less than some other varieties ; but it is probable that a pure 

 stock would have given more satisfactory results. 



The varieties, then, which we chiefly recommend for forcing, are 

 Blenheim Oi'ange, Hero of Lockinge, and Masterpiece, with, per- 

 haps, Emerald Gem for early. A good crop of melons in the 

 winter months is an average of three fruits to the plant. This 

 means that some plants must bear four or five melons, for there 

 will almost certainly be some plants upon which no fruit can be 

 made to set. The larger the fruits, the fewer each plant can 

 mature. Four to five pounds of fruit to the vine is all that can 

 reasonably be expected after November. The fruits will continue 

 to ripen for a week after they are picked. Ordinarily, if seeds of 

 Emerald Gem, Blenheim Orange, Hero of Lockinge, or other early 

 varieties are sown August first, fruits may be expected early in 

 November. If the fruits are desired in January, there should 

 be two to three weeks' delay in sowing. All plants grow slowly 

 in the short, dark days of midwinter. The novice should not at- 

 tempt to secure fruits later than Christmas time, for the growing 

 of melons should be undertaken cautiously at first. 



Insects and diseases. — There have been three serious insect en- 

 emies to our winter melons — black aphis, mites {Tetranychus 

 himaculaUiS) and mealy-bug. The best method of dealing with 

 these pests is to keep them off. It is a poor gardener who is 

 always looking for some easy means of killing insects. If the 

 plants are carefully watched and every difiiculty met at its begin- 

 ning, there will be no occasion for worrying about bugs. A fumi- 

 gation with tobacco smoke twice a week will keep away the aphis ; 

 but if the fumigation is delayed until after the lice have curled up 

 the leaves, the gardener will likely have a serious task in over- 

 coming the pests, and the plants may be irreparably injured in the 

 meantime. 



