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KOKTlCULTURi: 



July 13, 1907 



MELONS UNDER GLASS. 



Ke.Td hetore the .Men is I'ounty Ganieneis' 



aiid Florists' Stu-k'ty. Juuo 12, 1907, 



by Robt. Tyson. 



Starting the Seedlings. 



Good, well-finished melons are con- 

 sidered by many as one of the best 

 fruits grown, especialy in the summer 

 time. The houses in which they are 

 to be. grown should be thoroughly 

 washed and painted, if possible, to in- 

 sure getting rid of insects. The time 

 for sowing the seeds depends on when 

 the fruit is wanted, (he crop taking 

 from start to finish about three 

 months. 



Start by sowing good plump seeds 

 singly in 3 in. pots in good fibrous 

 loam, 'put in a tempeiature of from 70 

 to 75 degrees, and in about a week ger- 

 mination will have taken place. Keep 

 the growing plants as near the glass 

 as possible, in the same temperature, 

 to insure sturdiness. When they are 

 well rooted in 3's they may be planted 

 or potted on to a larger size, as cir- 

 cumstances require. 



Planting, Staking, etc. 



A bed 6 in. deep and 10 in. wide, 

 formed between two boards and made 

 up of good loam with a little wood 

 ashes or chaicoal mixed through it, will 

 be sufficient to start with. Make it 

 firm, but not too hard for the v/ater 

 to get through it readily, and set plaa-.s 

 about 28 or 30 inches apart. Keep the 

 house at a temperature of 70 degrees 

 nights, with a rise of 10 degreees by 

 sun heat, ventilating on all favorable 

 occasions, but avoiding cold draughts, 

 A syringe overhead twice a day and 

 careful watering is very essential un- 

 til the young plants have started iu 

 the berl, vi^en they will need a stake to 

 carry them to the trellis. In placing 

 the stake, be careful to keep well away 

 from the ball of roots, otherwise many 

 may be cut off. Tying now must be 

 attended to, and all lateral shoots 

 pinched out until the trellis is reached, 

 after which they are to be trained to 

 the wires. When the plant reaches 

 the top of the wires, the point should 



be pinched ' out to entourage the side 

 shoots to grow freely. 



Pinching and Setting. 



Most varieties snow the female or 

 fruiting flowers at the first leaf ou the 

 lateral. These ought to be pinched at 

 the second leaf, or one beyond the 

 flower; others which do not show- 

 flowers ought to be pinched at the first 

 leaf anl nllowed to break again, when 

 they will flower on the sub-lateral. 

 As the flowers open, a dryer atmos- 

 phere will be beneficial, and about 

 noon each day, if the pollen is dry, 

 artificial fertilization must be resorted 

 to either by means of a camel's hair 

 brush or otherwise, all of which is 

 easily understood. 



After a set has been obtained, thin 

 to the required number, two, or at 

 most three, fruits to a plant, taking 

 care that they are all of one size, 

 otherwise some will swell at the ex- 

 pense of others. 



Fertilizing. 



.4t this stage, examination of the 

 bed may disclose a mass of roots. In 

 this case, open out the boards three 

 or four inches and fill with soil, the 

 same as used when planting, with the 

 addition of a 6 in, pot of Clay's fertili- 

 zer to about a wheel-barrow load, cov- 

 ering also any roots that appear on 

 top of the bed. In a few days, or when 

 the fruits are about the size of a cro- 

 quet ball, some support will be neces- 

 sary, either by pieces of net or boards 

 (net preferable). If boards are used, 

 holes in the bottom are necessary to 

 let away any moisture. When the 

 fruit is swelling, do not allow the 

 plants to suffer for water; also avoid 

 letting the bed get too dry before wa- 

 tering, or cracking of the fruit will 

 follow. .'Xfter they are rooted through 

 all the soil, some weak manure water 

 will be helpful, increasing :he strength 

 and changing it occasionally if the 

 fruit is wanted large, but discontinue 

 feeding and diruinish the water supply 

 when the fruits have finished swelling 

 and show signs of ripening. Syringe 

 and ventilate freely at all times and 

 during ripening a little air left in all 

 night when the temperature is above 

 fi.'i degrees will improve the flavor. 

 Insect Enemies. 



The worst enemy of melons in the 



way of insects Is red spider, but if 

 syringing the plants and dampening 

 the house are properly attended to, 

 there will be little red spider. If it 

 should get a start, "X L All" insecti- 

 cide, one part to forty water, will 

 clean it out and do no harm- to the 

 plants. The same dose is applicable 

 for green or black fly. Canker is 

 sometimes troublesome. Should it 

 put in an appearance, a little dry lime 

 or powdered charcoal rubbed over the 

 afected parts will arrest it. Preven- 

 tion is better than cure, so don't 

 syringe too late in the afternoon but 

 what the leaves can fully dry out be- 

 fore night; and, again, don't water too 

 near the stem of the plant. 



The fruit will show signs of ripen- 

 ing by cracking around the stem. 

 When it is cracked all around, cut 

 from the plant and keep in the fruit 

 room twenty-four hours before vsing,. 

 which will greatly help the flavor. 



The Best Varieties. 



The best varieties in our opinion are 

 — green f'cshed, Royal Jubilee and 

 Sutton's Ringleader; scarlet fleshed, 

 Sutton's Superlative; white fleshed. 

 Hero of Lockings and Sutton's Perfec- 

 tion. All the varieties mentioned are 

 English, which we find are better 

 adapted to indoor culture than the 

 Ameiican varieties, not so much in 

 point of flavor, but for thickness and 

 firmnes.s of flesh. Of all the varieties 

 we are growing and have grown. 

 Royal Jubilee is the best, being a free 

 grower, good setter and fine flavored, 

 fruit on plants carryin.g two or three 

 averaging from five to eight lbs. 



Crops in eastern Massachusetts are 

 backward, but with prospects for an 

 average yield in most of the staples. 

 There will be a big apple crop, consid- 

 ering that this is the "off year." espe- 

 cially in the hill towns. Corn is look- 

 ln.g well on the average; backward, 

 but about the usual acreage. There is 

 fully the usual acreage of potato ?s, 

 and since warm weather set in they 

 are starting along in good shape. As- 

 paragus has yielded a light crop and ] 

 of only medium quality, but other mar- 

 ket garden products have been about I 

 as usual in yield and price. Berries i 

 will be late and crop light. ', 



ASSUAl. PiCNK OF THE NEW YllKK Fl.< iKI.s 1 .-.' I HI!. 



