Winter Muskmblons. 363 



For mites, keep the house and plants as moist as possible. At 

 all events, do not allow the plants to become so dry that they wilt, 

 for this neglect will sap the vitality out of any plant, and it falls an 

 easy prey to insects. When the mites first appear upon the foliage, — 

 if the gardener should be so unfortunate as to have them, — knock 

 the pests off with a hard stream of water from the hose, or pick the 

 affected leaves and burn them. If the plants become seriously 

 involved, so that all the leaves are speckled-grey from the work of 

 the minute pests on the under side, then, destroy the plants. 

 Melon plants which have become seriously checked from the attacks 

 of insects or fungi are of no further use, and they may as well be 

 destroyed first as last. 



Mealy-bugs are easily kept off by directing a fine hard stream 

 against them, when watering the honse. When these bugs first 

 appear, they usually congregate in the axils of the leaves, and a 

 strong stream of water greatly upsets their domestic arrangements. 

 In one of our melon experiments, when the mealy-bug got a foot- 

 hold, we picked them off with pincers. We went over the vines 

 three times, at intervals, and eradicated the pests ; and the labor 

 of it — the vines were small — was much less than one would 

 suppose. 



There are two troublesome fungous disorders of frame melons. 

 One is the mildew {Erysiphe Cichoracearum)^ which appears as 

 whitish mold-like patches on the upper surface of the leaves. It 

 also attacks cucumbers. It may be kept in check by evaporating 

 sulphur in the house, as described in Bulletin 96. It is imperative 

 that the sulphur do not take fire, for burning sulphur is fatal to 

 plants. 



The second fungus is canker or damping-off.* This usually 

 attacks the plants after they have attained some size in the benches, 

 sometimes even when they are in fruit. The vine stops growing, 

 turns yellow, and finally begins to wilt. If the plant is examined 

 at the surface of the ground and just beneath the soil, the stem 

 will be found to be brown and perhaps somewhat decayed, the 

 bark sloughs off, and sometimes deep ulcers are eaten into the tissue. 

 In this stage of the disease nothing can be done to save the plant. 

 The treatment must be a preventive one. Keep the soil dry about 

 the stem. Do not apply water directly at the root. In order to 



*For a discussion of this fungus by the botanist, see Bull. 94, p. 303. 



