CANTALOUPE CULTURED AND PEDIGREED CANTALOUPE SEED. 



Cantaloupe Culture 



By PHILO K. BL1NN, B. S. 



INTRODUCTION 



. The Cantaloupe has long been a favorite in the home garden, when 

 conditions are favorable to its growth, and in recent years the growing 

 of this fruit for market has assumed the proportions of a great industry 

 in certain favored localities of the country; in districts like Rocky Ford, 

 for instance, which annually ships from ten to twelve hundred cars of 

 the fruit, and seed sufficient to plant a hundred thousand acres, are 

 grown and marketed every year, and in the aggregate a very large area 

 is being devoted to this crop throughout the United States. 



The cantaloupe seems to thrive in rather a wide range of soil and 

 climatic conditions, being grown to some extent in almost all of the 

 states, although from the standpoint of money returns, the area of 

 very successful cantaloupe culture is somewhat limited, yet it appears 

 that it is more the question of cultural care, disease and insect pests, 

 or favorable marketing facilities which determine the success of the 

 industry in a given locality, rather than the specific soil or climatic 

 conditions. 



Many people who attempt to grow cantaloupes secure indifferent 

 results, because they do not realize the needs of the crop, nor seem to 

 appreciate the fact that judgment and skill are required to meet the 

 conditions. The questions of seed, soil, planting, cultivating, moisture, 

 combating pests, picking and harvesting are all pertinent factors in suc- 

 cessful cantaloupe growing. 



One of the most important points connected with the industry is 

 in maturing the crop early, for here as elsewhere, "the early bird 

 catches the worm," the high prices received for the first cantaloupes in 

 a district, offers a great reward to the grower who is able to mature his 

 crop a few days in advance of his neighbors. It is not uncommon in the 

 vicinity of Rocky Ford for an extra early field to net a return of from 

 two to three hundred dollars per acre, and it is in anticipation of such 

 results that the grower plants his seed; but as the season advances it 

 soon becomes evident that the many vicissitudes which constantly beset 

 the crop, has caused many to fall behind in the race, and it is only a few 

 who by chance or good judgment are able to secure the early crates. 



Many factors that influence the development of the crop are beyond 

 the control of the grower, but there are many elements that are within 

 his power, and of these we wish to speak, not with a view to giving 

 specific rules which would insure a crop of cantaloupes, for the varying 

 conditions on different farms and different seasons would preclude that, 

 but we hope to present the information that has grown out of observa- 

 tion and experience, which will reveal the facts and principles that can 

 be applied where conditions will fit, and which may lead some growers 

 to greater success in growing cantaloupes. 



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