THE MELON. 77 



Little Heath is a fine ribbed and netted Melon, with 

 scarlet flesh of good quality, and a fine fruiter. Then 

 there are numerous other sorts pretty generally known. 



The Water Melon is a large and very delicious 

 variety. It is grown abundantly in Texas, one of the 

 States of America, where Melons grow to perfection 

 without any trouble ; the farmers there simply put the 

 seed in the open ground in the cornfields, and they grow 

 up and bear very large fruit, which ripens to perfection, 

 and which the people find of great -value during the 

 hot season. I have no doubt but that any of our 

 Melons would grow to perfection there quite as well as 

 the Water Melon ; but then they are not required, they 

 say, because the Water Melon is by far the best. 



Melon seed is, as a rule, the better for being two 

 or three years old, but for house-work I think one year 

 old is the best ; for the older seed not having so much 

 vitality in it as the newer, the plants grow less vigor- 

 ous than those from new seed, which does well 

 enough for frame-work, where as a rule there is sure to 

 be too much vine. But for covering the roof of a 

 house, vigour in the vines is necessary. 



THE MELON IN PITS AND FRAMES. 



A pit or frame for Melon growing should not be 

 less than five feet six inches or six feet wide, inside 

 measurement. If narrow pits are used there is not 

 room enough for the proper development of the leaders, 

 and these have to be stopped too soon or allowed to 

 take a retrograde or side course, and thus get so thick 

 and confused that no air can come to the blossom to 

 fertilise the fruit ; hence we often find that the fruit 



