496 CULTURE OP THE MELON. 



occasionally raised, to nourish the leaves, for it would be injurious to 

 keep the flowers too moist at this time. Every female blossom must 

 now be carefully impregnated; and, as soon as the fruits are set and 

 beginning to swell, plenty of moisture and a closer atmosphere will be 

 of the greatest service till they are swelled full size, when moisture at 

 the root, and also vapour on the leaves, must be finally dispensed with. 

 As soon as a reasonable number of fruits are swelling favourably, say 

 three to six on a plant, the rest, with every leaf and lateral that can 

 be dispensed with, must be discarded, leaving always one leaf, or per- 

 haps two, beyond every fruit ; and let every fruit be elevated on an 

 inverted earthen saucer. In setting a crop, as it is called, the proper 

 number of fruit should be set on the same day, as if one fruit gets far 

 ahead of the others, the whole of the latter drop off or refuse to swell 

 together. To grow very early melons dry heat is indispensable, as 

 every leaf, in moist weather, ought to be carefully dried once every 

 day ; and, in hot weather, every leaf ought to be as carefully moistened, 

 by means of vapour or syringing. Before the fruit appears, and also 

 when it is ripening off, a well ventilated atmosphere is best; but, 

 whilst the fruits are swelling, closeness and humidity will be found to 

 answer the purpose best. An occasional dusting of powdered charcoal 

 and lime, mixed with sulphur and Scotch snuff, will go far to prevent 

 the ravages of insect enemies. 



The bed must be soiled over to the same depth as the ridge was 

 originally made, at different times, as the progress of the roots shall 

 dictate ; and the roots must be supplied with soft well aerated water, 

 as the firmness or the flaccidity of the leaves must determine. As little 

 shading as possible should be given, as the plants should be inured to 

 the full sun as soon as possible ; the minimum heat may be 70, and 

 the maximum 90, though 100 would do no harm, even with the 

 lights closed, or with the lights not closed, provided the transition 

 were not rapid. 



Melons of delicate texture, such as many of the Persians, are very 

 liable to burst, and care must be taken not to give too much water ; and 

 it is good practice to raise the point of the fruit higher than the stems. 

 Such melons, however, succeed best growing in narrow houses heated 

 with tanks or hot-water pipes, and trained up the roof of the glass 

 within two feet from it. In such houses fewer of them rot off or 

 burst, and the flavour is superior to those grown in common pits or 

 frames. 



Culture of the Melon in the Open Air. In the climate of London a 

 late crop of melons may be raised on beds of dung in the open air, the 

 plants when newly turned out being protected by hand-glasses. The 

 customary mode is to have the beds flat, about four feet wide and two 

 feet and a half high ; and when the heat declines, casings of hot dung 

 are applied, first on one side, and, when that casing has ceased to be 

 effective, on the other. The better mode, however, is to form the bed 

 in the direction of east and west, with the north side supported by 

 boards, so as to be perpendicular, and three feet six inches or four feet 

 high, and the south side sloping at an angle about 40 east an'd west, 



