CHAPTERS Sok 
MUSKMELON, 
‘“‘THERE is not, I believe, any species of fruit at pres- 
ent cultivated in the gardens of this country,’’ wrote 
Thomas Andrew Knight, in 1811, ‘‘ which so rarely ac- 
quires the greatest degree of perfection, which it is capa- 
ble of acquiring in our climate, as the melon.” The 
melon is particularly prized in England, for, because of 
the coolness of the climate, it is generally grown to per- 
fection only under glass, and is thereby appreciated ; 
and it is in England, too, that one finds the most expert 
methods of growing it. The melon is treated there, 
however, as a spring or early summer, or late fall, crop. 
The forcing of melons for delivery in midwinter, 1s 
practically unknown. The fruit is often grown as an 
early winter crop, ripening in October and early Novem- 
ber, and the seeds are often sown in January and the 
melons matured in May and June. Gardeners now and 
then ripen a few melons in midwinter, but the fruits are 
almost invariably very poor, or even disagreeable, in 
quality. The writer has long been convinced that it is 
possible to secure good melons in December, January 
and February, and to grow them nearly as cheaply as 
the English or frame cucumbers. The attempt was first 
made in the winter of 1889-90, and it has been repeated 
more or less persistently until the present time, and the 
results during the past two years have been satisfac- 
tory. The melon is certainly the refinement of the 
vegetable garden. To get it in midwinter, with the 
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