150 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



place. The manure may be mixed Avith the soil or covered with it. If 

 the manure is thoroughly rotted, there will be little gained by mixing 

 it with the soil. Care must be taken, however, to have the soil packed 

 suflficiently to close up any air spaces between the manure and the soil. 

 When the work is finished, the tops of the hills should be nearly on a 

 level with the surface of the adjacent soil. 



VARIETIES. 



In commercial melon growing, the demands of the market should be 

 given first consideration in selecting varieties. If the market is a local 

 one, the large fruiting sorts such as Osage also called Miller's Cream and 

 Tip-Top may prove satisfactory but they do not ship well long distances. 



The small fruiting sorts of the Rocky Ford or Netted Gem type are 

 the ones grown principally for shipping. 



The Bocky Ford is a popular melon in some sections. It is oval in 

 shape, light green fleshed and of good quality when well grown. 



Jenny Lind is a small round early melon. The vine does not grow 

 very large but is productive. 



Emerald Gem is a small, globular shaped variety, ribbed, lightly netted, 

 dark green skin Avith green flesh and of good quality. 



Paul Rose is a cross between Osage and Netted Gem. Fruits small, 

 spherical, ribbed; flesh yellow and sweet. 



Burrell Gem is a comparatively new sort with orange colored flesh and 

 of high quality. 



The Hoodoo is a salmon fleshed variety of medium size. It is a very 

 popular sort in some parts of Michigan. An excellent ship])er and 

 claimed to be resistant to blight. It is finely netted, has thick firm 

 flesh and of high quality. 



Early Hackensaclx is a green fleshed variety of good quality. It is a 

 good companion to some of the later sorts. 



There are several other good varieties grown but those named include 

 the most commonly grown sorts in this state. When testing out new 

 varieties, it is always advisable to try them in a small way at first. 



SEED SELECTION. 



It is not always advisable to change to a new variety if the old one is 

 not entirely satisfactory. It may be better to make an effort to overcome 

 the defects in the old variety Iby correct seed selection. When saving 

 seed, it is not enough to select the best and most nearly ideal specimens 

 of melons. The plants should also be taken into consideration. When a 

 fine fruit is taken froin a basket or crate, there is nothing to indicate 

 whether it grew on a vine which was prolific or on one with very few 

 fruits. For profitable melon growing, there must be quantity as well 

 as quality. To get the most desirable seeds they should be saved from 

 good specimens taken from vines which produced a large number of 

 fine fruits. The character of the adjacent hills should also be taken into 

 consideration because of the likeliliood of crosses having taken place. 

 An ideal hill which is close to several poor hills will not be as desirable 

 for seed purposes as a somewhat less superior hill surrounded by good 

 hills. The ability of the plant to resist certain diseases should also be 



