326 THE YEAR-BOOK OF AGRICULTURE. 



On the Cultivation and Improvement of the Water-Melon. 



THE following suggestions respecting the cultivation of the water-melon are communicated 

 to the Horticulturist by Edward Decker, of New Brighton, N. Y. : 



Having made selection of a spot for your melon-patch, you will greatly benefit your ground 

 and forward yourself by manuring in the fall instead of stopping till the busy spring-time 

 commences, and you find you have a dozen things want attending to at once.,.. After giving 

 your ground a middling coat of manure, dig it well two spits in depth, throwing it up in 

 ridges to enable it to receive the benefit of a g jod sharp frost, which will mellow and sweeten 

 the soil, besides destroying millions of insects in the embryo state. 



The last week in April or the first in May is the most desirable time to sow your seed. 

 Having levelled and forked over the ground that was manured in the fall, commence by mark- 

 ing off your plot into squares nine feet apart each way ; dig out the soil two feet square, 

 spreading it equally all round ; then fill up the holes with good rotten manure ; the top 

 spit from an old pasture, in equal quantities, well mixed and broken with the spade, is the 

 best, but any good, light, moderately rich soil will do ; fill the holes six inches higher than 

 the surrounding ground ; over these place your melon-boxes, and sow from eight to ten seeds 

 in each. If you have not the convenience of boxes, four bricks laid edgeways so as to form 

 a square, and covered with a sheet of glass, is a good substitute. As soon as you have sown 

 your seeds, place the sashes on the boxes, and let them remain on till the seed is fairly up ; 

 then commence giving air on all favorable opportunities, not forgetting to pull the sashes off 

 in warm showers, and increasing as the plants progress in strength ; thin them out to four 

 plants in each hill so soon as they have made two rough leaves ; keep them free from weeds, 

 and draw the soil about the stems, so as to strengthen them against the winds. When they 

 have made four or six rough leaves, stop the end of each shoot, to make them branch out. 

 As soon as the weather becomes settled, remove the sashes, but let the boxes remain, as they 

 prevent in a great measure the plants from being attacked by a black and yellow-striped bug, 

 and can easily be taken away when they become filled with vines. The best remedy we have 

 found for the destruction of this pest is a slight sprinkle from the rose of a watering-pot of 

 whale-oil soap, diluted in water half a pound of soap to six gallons of water every other 

 day from the time the plants make their appearance until they begin to grow freely. As 

 every foot of ground is valuable in small gardens, it is advisable to sow a row of early bush 

 beans, turnip-rooted beets, etc. between the hills, and they will be off the ground before the 

 melons occupy the whole ; attending to hoeing and keeping clear of weeds is aU the further 

 assistance they require. 



Removal of Bark from Apple-trees. 



THE practice of taking off the old bark from apple-trees has been in use nearly two cen- 

 turies. The old, cracked, and dead bark on the stem and thick branches affords soil and shelter 

 for mosses and lichens, and also forms a fit receptacle for numerous larvae, which in time devour 

 the tender leaves and buds as they shoot forth. Besides, by removing the old bark the 

 living bark is brought in contact with the air, and myriads of insects prejudicial to the trees 

 are destroyed. In performing this operation, great care must be taken not to injure the live 

 bark and lay bare the alburnum. As the dead bark is more easily detached when it is moist, 

 the best time to perform the operation is immediately after a heavy rain, with an instrument 

 having a dull edge, such as a spade or Dutch hoe, lest the live bark should be injured. After 

 this, and especially if the trees have been too closely scraped, a wash of soft mud from the 

 bottom of puddles may be applied with a paint-brush or soft broom. As soon as the trees 

 have been scraped, all the bark, moss, etc. should be collected and burnt ; for unless that is 

 immediately done, the larvae will not be long in taking shelter in the ground or in the grass 

 around the bottom of the tree. Gardener's Chronicle. 



Galadium esculentum, 



A WRITER in the Philadelphia Florist states that this esculent root, which is extensively 

 cultivated in Georgia and South Carolina, has recently been imported into Texas from the 



