THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



Then some earth should be mixed 

 with the manure, and the hill leveled 

 with some fine soil so that it will be 

 about two inches above the surface. 

 On a large piece of ground of several 

 acres the hills can be made more easily 

 by plowing a deep furrow one way along 

 the mark made by the marker. This 

 will remove enough soil at the intersec- 

 tions for making the hills, if not, double 

 furrows can be made, and a wagon load 

 of manure following, the amount needed 

 for each hill is placed at each intersec 

 tion of the furrow and the crossmark. 



Planting. — For success, seed must be 



pure. If several varieties are planted, 



each kind should have an alloted strip 



of ground with a driveway separating it 



from the rest. In this way melons will 



be pure and not mixed as when several 



kinds are planted without separation. If 



the soil is very loose and dry it should 



be packed with the foot, This is very 



important in a dry season, but if wet or 



heavy this is not necessary. Round off 



the hills so that it will be about a foot in 



diameter, then shove the spade down 



into the centre of the hill, slanting, so 



that it will be about two inches beneath 



the surface and cover an area of eight 



inches by the width of a spade Now 



lift out the spade with the soil upon it, 



scatter from a dozen to twenty seeds 



over this inclined space and throw in 



the soil, patting it with the back of the 



spade. The seeds will be covered from 



one and a half to two inches deep. 



This is the best method I have ever 



tried for planting melon seeds, for some 



of the seeds are sure to grow, whether 



the season be wet or dry, and if the first 



plants are spoiled by insects, more will 



appear in a few days. Melon seeds 



should never be planted immediately 



after a rain, as the soil will bake and 



form a crust. Where it is desired to 



prolong the ripening season of some 



early melons, successive plantings should 

 be made every two weeks until the mid- 

 dle of June. In some seasons this late 

 planting will be cut off by frosts in the 

 early fall, but, as a general rule, in two 

 seasons out of three, it will produce a 

 good crop. 



Picking and Marketing. — Watermel- 

 ons should not be picked until ripe. 

 Picking green melons is both a net loss 

 to the grower and spoils further sales. 

 It is better to be patient and leave the 

 fruit on the vines until they are ripe. 

 I^et your competitor sell the green 

 melons, and keep your reputation up 

 for growing good, sweet-flavored and 

 large sized melons ; for then your sell- 

 ing is half done. 



To be able to tell when a melon is 

 ripe requires close observation and some 

 experience. I will give some of the in- 

 dications I use in telling this, but it 

 must be borne in mind that not all of 

 them are always present in every melon, 

 and there is also a difference in the ap- 

 pearance of different varieties, and then, 

 also, the indications may vary in dif- 

 ferent seasons. Note carefully the 

 sound, color and stem of the melon. 

 When struck lightly a ripe melon sounds 

 somewhat dull, as your boot does when 

 tapped lightly with the fingers. Another 

 test is to press on the melon with the 

 thumb ; if it is unripe the rind will be 

 soft, if ripe the rind will be hard. Pres- 

 sing lightly with the palm of the hand is 

 another test ; if ripe it will yield slightly 

 to the pressure and a sharp cracking of 

 the flesh is heard. Melons turned yel- 

 low on the under side are usually ripe. 

 When the little curl at the stem of the 

 melon is dry, it sometimes indicates ripe- 

 ness, but not always. The color of the 

 melon should be carefully noted. When 

 the color turns dull and roseated on the 

 top of the melon, it is surely ripe. The 

 color is always glossy on a green melon. 



