Aprils, 1866. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



251 



MELON AND CUCUMBER CULTURE. 



HE cultivation of the Melon 

 has been so well treated of 

 in a series of papers by Mr. 

 Abbey, that I can have but 

 very little to add, as mine 

 and liis ideas on the sub- 

 ject are so much alike. 

 I am obliged to " A.v Old Subscriber," for the compli- 

 ment he has paid me, although he is wi'ong in assuming 

 that I once lived at Cricket Park. He is correct, never- 

 theless, in stating that Mr. Da\'ies grows Melons and Cu- 

 cumbers well, and, indeed, everything else he takes in 

 hand is well done. I may here state, that I attribute a 

 great portion of my success to the kind encouragement 

 which Mr. Davies gave me when a boy. At a veiy early 

 age the love of flowers had taken strong hold of me ; I 

 thought notliing of walking ten or twenty mDes if I could 

 procure cuttings, or plants, of any good flowers. 



The lessons I learnt when chance gave me an opportunity 

 of visiting tlie beautiful gardens at Cricket Park, m my 

 early boyhood, have been aJwaj-s fruitfiil of good results, 

 and are so deeply engraven on my mind, that tliey have 

 ever since formed prominent landmarks in my memory 

 and models for my guidance : and if I had a son who 

 wished to be a gardener, Mr. Davies is the man. and 

 Cricket Park is the place, above all others, I should like 

 to send him to. 



But to retui-n to the subject wliich forms the heading of 

 my present paper, I will, as it has been requested, give a 

 few plain hints on the cultivation of the Melon in houses 

 heated by hot water, referring " An Old Subscriber " for 

 general details to Mr. Abbey's articles on the cultivation of 

 the Melon. 



Wliere it is necessary to liave a moderately early crop 

 of Melons, no time should be lost in sowing the seeds. I 

 generally sow about five or six seeds in a large 60-sized 

 pot. As soon as the seeds are up tlie plants should be 

 carefully separated, taldng care to preserve theii- roots from 

 injury ; they should then be potted singly into large 60 or 

 48-sized pots in any good soil, and placed in a temperature 

 of 70° or 75°, in a position as near the glass as possible. 

 A bottom heat of 70° will be sufficient to cause the seeds 

 to vegetate. As soon as the plants have well filled the 

 pots with roots, they should be sMfted into Iti or 24-sized 

 pots, and a stick put to every plant to prevent its sullering 

 injury. The bed in which the Melon plants are to be 

 planted out may in the meantime be prepared. 



The house in wliich the Melons are to be grown should 

 have an ample quantity of pipes in it, so that the desired 

 temperature may be obtained without the necessity of ever 

 making them very liot. Where the heating surface is in- 



No. 262.— Vol. X., New Series. 



suflicient, there red spider and thiips will be sm-e to appear 

 and when once these insects obtain a hold, there is very 

 gi-eat difficulty in extirpating them without sacrificing the 

 crop. The pipes should also be distributed as equally as 

 possible over the house. 



The bed in which the Melons are grown should be about 

 4 or 5 feet fi-om the glass, and a wire or wood trellis should 

 be fixed about is inclies from the glass to train the vines 

 on. If the bed in which the Melons are to be grown is 

 .5 feet wide, there should be two four-inch pipes in the 

 bottom for bottom heat ; but if only 2 feet wide, one pipe 

 will be sufficient. There should be about 1 foot of broken 

 bricks placed above the pipes for the pui-pose of distribut- 

 ing the heat regularly all over the bottom of the bed, 

 and on these should be placed a layer of charcoal broken 

 rather small, with the small dust sifted out of it, to keep 

 the soil from passing down amongst the drainage. The 

 soil, which should be about 2 feet deep, may then be put 

 in in layers and made moderately firm. A good stiff 

 loam, without manure of any kind, should be used for 

 Melons. It is a good plan to put in some drain-pipes at 

 intervals along the bed for the purpose of poiu'ing down 

 water amongst the drainage in order to produce a moist 

 bottom heat. 



As .soon as the soU of the bed has become well warmed 

 through, and the plants have nicely filled theii' pots with 

 roots after the second shift, they should be planted out. 

 and to each plant a nice straight stick should be put, reach- 

 ing from the bed to the trellis. The plants should not be 

 stopped, but ought to have aU the encouragement that can 

 be given them in respect to heat and moisture, to cause 

 them to reach the trellis as quickly as possible. They 

 must also have all the air that can be given on all favour- 

 able occasions. The night temperature most suitable for 

 them dmnng their season of rapid gi'owth — that is, before 

 they begin to show fruit, should never be lower than 65°, 

 and the day temperatiu'e should average about 75° or 80°. 



None of the leaves sliould be touched fUl after the plants 

 have readied the trellis and been stopped. As the plant 

 makes fresh leaves above the trellis, those on tlie stem 

 may be gradually taken oft', beginning at the bottom. In 

 dohig this care must be taken not to cut the leaf off close 

 to the stem ; it is better to pinch the leaf off by degrees, 

 and allow the stalk of the leaf to wither-up and fall off of 

 its own accord. I like a clear .stem of about I or 5 feet 

 long, as I find such plants are not so liable to go off at 

 the collar as when the vine is nearer the ground. As 

 the vine grows it should be stopped at every second or 

 third joint : and as soon as the plants are in flower, 

 choose an opportunity when the atmosphere of the house is 

 pretty dry, to fertilise v/ith the pollen of tlie male blossoms. 

 The best time to do this successfully is in the morning 

 after there has been sufficient sim to dry the flowers after 

 syringing, and tlie house should be as free from moisture 

 as possible for an liour or so after the young fi'uit have 

 been set. 



As soon as a sufficient quantity of fruit is set on each 

 plant and they begin to swell-off freely, the plant should 

 be hberaUy supplied with guano water in a clear state 



No. 914.— Vol. XXXV., Old Sekies. 



