152 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



only be warm but it should be moist. If the plants can be set just be- 

 fore a gentle shower, it is ideal. If water is used when transplanting, 

 dry soil should be drawn over the wet soil or more harm than good 

 may result from the use of the water. In fact, the use of water when 

 transplanting should not be encouraged. 



PtANTING THE SEEDS. 



Melon seeds may be placed in the ground a few days before it is safe 

 to set plants. Considerable care should be exercised to get the seeds 

 in finely pulverized moist soil. If the soil is firmed over the seeds, it 

 is a good plan to draw a little loose earth over the hill after the firm- 

 ing is done. This will prevent a too rapid escape of moisture and the 

 formation of a crust in case of rain soon after the planting. It is quite 

 a common practice to plant a large number of seeds, a dozen or more, 

 in each hill to overcome the work of cutworms and striped beetles. The 

 seeds should be scattered rather than bunched as there is less chance 

 of the cutworms finding all of the plants when scattered. It is also 

 a good plan to make several plantings a few days apart and not wait un- 

 til the first planting is up and taken by the cutworms before making a 

 second planting. This will insure a much better stand and the cost 

 of the extra amount of seed and labor of planting them is not large. 



CULTIVATION. 



The day the transplanted plants are set, cultivation should begin. It 

 is well also to start the cultivator as sqon as possible in the field where 

 the seeds are planted. The melons delight in a good seedbed and will 

 grow best when the soil is kept in the best possible mechanical condi- 

 tion by frequent cultivation and hoeing. It is very injurious to allow 

 the formation of even a slight crust about the plants unless it is broken 

 up very soon after forming. The cultivation should continue as long 

 as possible without injuring the vines and without interruption. If for 

 any reason the cultivation is dispensed with for a week or two and then 

 started again, many roots are sure to be broken and possibly more harm 

 than good will result. After the vines have begun to form, the cultivator 

 should be kept a safe distance from the plants. The later cultivations 

 should not be deep. If the cultivator is not so arranged that the depth 

 can be controlled a two by four fastened to two of the back teeth will 

 keep it from going too deep and at the same time leave the ground level. 

 A very satisfactory tool to use, at the last cultivations, is a one horse 

 float or plank drag. This can be made of two by six or eight inch strips 

 bolted together and provided with handles for guiding. Such a tool 

 if weighted, can be made to take the place of the cultivator whenever 

 the chief purpose is to break or prevent the formation of a crust and 

 thus to conserve moisture. 



In some sections of the country, melon growers are making a practice 

 of ''windrowing" the vines. This not only permits the running of the 

 cultivator much later in the season than where the vines are allowed to 

 spread over the ground but it makes spraying and picking easier and 

 less liable to damage the vines by tramping. 



