146 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



June, 1913 



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A Line of Frames Showing Method of Cultivation 



set is ridged up in beds of from twelve 

 to sixteen feet in width, having a centre 

 elevation of possibly one foot. Along 

 the centres of these ridges, where the 

 sectional frames are to be placed, a 

 trench is dug about two feet in width 

 and from fifteen to eighteen inches or 

 more in depth, depending on the earli- 

 ness of the season. This trench is filled 

 almost level with the surface with well- 

 fermenting manure, and a portion of the 

 surface excavated soil thrown back over 

 the manure, slightly more being drawn 

 in where the plants are to be set. The 

 frames are then set in place and covered 

 with sash, which in turn are further 

 reinforced with mats and wooden shut- 

 ters, or hay or straw with or without 

 the shutters. A space of from four to 

 six feet is allowed between the ends of 

 each sectional frame. 



When the soil over the manure is well 

 warmed up everything is in readiness 

 to plant. The warmest portion of some 

 favorable day is selected for the purpose 

 and great care is exercised in trans- 

 ferring the plants from the hotbeds to 

 their permanent quarters in order, to 

 guard against the possibility of their 

 receiving a setback by sudden changes 

 of temperature or soil conditions. Un- 

 like the transferring of most plants to 

 their permanent place of growth, the 

 coddling process does not cease with this 

 type of melon. In fact it is simply 

 spread over a greater area and in a 

 measure the plants require even greater 

 attention than before, for as the sun 

 gets stronger, greater attention must be 

 paid to watering, syringing and venti- 



lation. Success at this stage in keeping 

 the plant in a healthy, actively growing 

 condition and free from insects is very 

 largely dependent upon proper syringing 

 and airing. On bright sunshiny days 

 frequent syringing of the soil under 

 the sash enables the grower to maintain 

 a somewhat higher temperature without 

 incurring the risk of an invasion of red 

 spider or thrips. 



As the fruit attains some size, and 

 especially as it begins to reach full de- 

 velopment, it is usually kept from con- 

 tact with the soil by placing it on a 

 shingle, piece of board, or flat stone. 

 Uniform shape, color, netting, and ripen- 

 ing is secured by turning the fruit every 

 few days. Much loss from cracking, 

 rot, etc., is thus avoided. Pinching out 

 the central shoot of the plant, while not 

 absolutely essential to success, is usu- 

 ally practised. When the runners or 

 shoots are fairly occupying the enclosed 

 area, the sectional frames are raised a 

 few inches above the bed, thus allowing 

 the shoots access to the surrounding 

 unoccupied land. As the weather grows 

 warmer and the summer advances, more 

 and more air is admitted to the frames 

 until, finally, the sash and then the 

 frames themselves are entirely removed. 

 This does not usually occur until the 

 melons are almost fully grown. 



As each fruit sets, the shoot on which 

 it is borne is pinched off one or two 

 joints beyond it. A crop of from fifteen 

 to twenty melons is considered sufficient 

 from each six by twelve feet sectional 

 frame. In this area from three to four 

 hills are planted, depending on whether 



a three by six feet or four by six feel 

 sash is u.sed. Usually two plants are 

 set per hill. 



SIZE OF ITELONB 



As in most crops of like nature the 

 melons vary greatly in size. The writer 

 was informed by one commission house 

 that it had purchased a melon weighing 

 forty-four pounds ; and he personally 

 saw one weighing twenty-two pounds 

 which had been selected by the grower 

 for seed purposes. The average weight 

 of number one melons ranges from eight 

 to fifteen pounds, with a mean weight 

 of about ten pounds ; that is to say, a 

 dozen melons, packed for shipment, will 

 weigh on an average from one hundred 

 and twenty to one hundred and thirty 

 pounds. In exceptional cases some have 

 been shipped weighing two hundred and 

 forty pounds per dozen package.. As a 

 rule the larger melons, those weighing 

 twenty pounds and upwards, do not 

 possess the quality of a jjerfect speci- 

 men weighing from eight to fifteen 

 pounds. 



Picking Strawberries 



Grut S. Peart, Buriiagten, Oot 

 Strawberries keep much longer if 

 picked with their stems left on. The old- 

 fashioned method was to pull the berries, 

 but it has been found that one can pick 

 them as quickly by pinching the stems 

 with the thumb nail. There has been 

 considerable talk about precooking ber- 

 ries before sending them to market. We 

 cannot see that this would pay in the 

 case of our local markets, but doubtless 

 it would be of immense value were we 

 shipping to any great distance. 



At what stage of ripening should we 

 pick strawberries? is the next question. 

 We cannot set any hard and fast rule. 

 We believe in allowing the fruit to ma- 

 ture as much as possible. However, we 

 cater more or less to market require- 

 ments. Some demand fully matured ber- 

 ries. Toronto will not accept straw- 

 berries unless red all over. In the case 

 of Montreal we are required to pick a 

 little on the green side on account of ex- 

 tra distance, and Montrealers are not so 

 particular as to draw the line at partially 

 green berries. At all events the patch 

 should be picked over so often that no 

 fruit becomes soft. 



Enemies of the Strawberry 



W. A. Dier, Ottawa 



One of the enemies to which the 

 strawberry is subject is the white grub. 

 It is the larva of the May beetle. Jhe 

 grub when fully grown is about an inch 

 and a half long and three-eighths of an 

 inch thick, nearly white, with a brown 

 head. They are usually more numerous 

 in old pastures and meadows than else- 

 where, because their principal food is 

 the roots of different kinds of grass. 



