STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 47 



weighing three hundred and fifty pounds. Largest Iron Clad in that 

 collection weighed thirty -seven pounds; but one stolen from same 

 vine that would have gone to fifty pounds A new variety appeared 

 among my vines which had the shape of the Mountain Sweet, color a 

 mixture between that of the Excelsior and Stokes; size, a medium, 

 between Mountain Sweet and Stokes, and quality, texture and color 

 of flesh a combination of all three at their ^ery best, with smallish 

 seeds, like the Stokes, but larger. If I can fix the type by replanting 

 it will be a lovely melon for home use. 



I planted the same muskmelons as reported on last year — Miller's 

 Cream Nutmeg and Bird Cantaloupe. The Miller is perfection for 

 home use, but cracks at the stem as soon as fit to use, and will not 

 answer for market. The Bird cantaloupe shows this year a cross with 

 the Miller, bringing up its quality to a high grade, retaining its firm- 

 ness and soundness for handling, and losing about one-third in size. 

 This type I hope to fix by replanting. 



The market for melons was always ready at Madison at about a cent 

 a pound by the wagon load for well-grown lots. I sent in several 

 loads, all I could get in without neglecting the farm harvest; but the 

 best pay I got for the labor in raising my melons was by calling in 

 the neighbors for six miles around one pleasant day in September and 

 having a melon pic-nic. Half a ton of melons disappeared in the 

 afternoon, and just before sundown our guests opened their lunch 

 baskets and spread an excellent pic-nic suppe. for us on tables laid on 

 the blue grass lawn in front of the house. I reckon some missionary 

 work was done in the melon cause by the distribution of the pic-nic 

 seeds; and I presume some of my guests will beat me out of ray pre- 

 miums at the county fair next year. 



In tomatoes this year I had the Beauty in addition to Livingston's 

 older sorts, the Perfection and the Favorite — all first class every way, 

 but the Beauty averaged larger than the others, and I prefer its color 

 — that of the Acme. The whole crop was late in ripening, and after 

 marketing about twenty bushels of ripe tomatoes, I tried the experi- 

 ment of using the green ones for cow feed. I found the cows would 

 eat them with good relish, taking half a bushel at a ration; and offer- 

 ing them to my horses, they, too, pronounced them good and whole- 

 some. I fed them for a month from the garden, the frost holding off 

 till the latter part of October, and then putting about fifty bushels in 

 the basement of my barn, used them up before decay set in. To 

 gather them cheaply I pulled up the vines by the roots, let them wilt 

 two days, and then shook the tomatoes off and picked them up as we 

 would potatoes. 



