350 



THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 



Melon continued. 



closing to 90deg., when the plants are growing, and 

 there is plenty of moisture about, no harm will be 

 likely to result. During the flowering period, more air 

 must be admitted, and a drier atmosphere maintained. 

 In summer, but little fire heat need be given, and none 

 will be necessary, as a rule, during the latter part of 

 June and in July. Plenty of air should be given early 

 in the day when a great heat is expected. 



Watering. Melons require abundance of water and 

 frequent syringing when they are growing freely. Both 

 must be regulated according to the time of year, and 

 the amount of light and sun heat available. All the 

 water used for both purposes should either be heated, 

 or allowed to stand and become warmed to the tem- 

 perature of the house. In frames, where there is a 

 depth of manure into which the roots penetrate, 

 watering need not be so frequently practised as in 

 houses, where a comparatively small mound of soil is 

 placed above hot-water pipes. When the plants are 

 growing, and also after the fruits are set, water should 

 be frequently thrown about the passages and round 

 the walls of the house, unless the weather be dull and 

 wet ; but when flowering, and so soon as ripening com- 

 mences, the air and soil must be kept drier, and the 

 fruits in the later stages allowed exposure to the sun, 

 which materially contributes to their good flavour. 



Insects, Sfc. The most injurious insect commonly 

 found on Melons is Bed Spider, very few batches of 

 plants escaping its attack altogether. It is important to 

 start with a clean house or pit, and also to have plants 

 free from such a troublesome pest. In the early stages 

 of growth, the leaves may be examined separately, at 

 frequent intervals, and if any insects are detected, they 

 may be carefully sponged off. The leaves are, however, 

 so brittle that this cannot readily be performed without 

 injury. The best plan of removing the insect is to 

 syringe with as much force as the leaves allow, using 

 soft rain water, which has been standing in the house 

 to become warmed. Melon leaves will not withstand the 

 use of insecticides that are applied to many other plants. 

 Green or Black Ply, if allowed a footing, increase 

 rapidly ; consequently, their appearance should be watched 

 for, and the usual remedy of fumigating with tobacco 

 smoke applied. Some caution in this performance is 

 necessary, as the leaves may be easily injured thereby. 



Melons not unfrequently damp off, just at the neck of 

 the plant. It is considered that one great cause of 

 this disease if it really is one is a close and over- 

 moistened atmosphere. The remedy of constant ventila- 

 tion, if only very slight, will naturally be suggested, 

 and a little powdered lime and charcoal, applied when 

 the first symptoms are seen, will often dry up the 

 affected tissues, and prevent further injury. The stem 

 and roots are also sometimes attacked by canker, which 

 is not generally observable until the leaves give indica- 

 tions by flagging, and the plants die in a short time. 

 A small nematoid worm, also, now and then, attacks 

 the roots, living inside the tissues, and causing them 

 to decay. The injured parts, or, better still, the whole 

 plant and roots, should be burned, and the use of any 

 part of the soil avoided for a future crop. Unhealthy 

 plants, or those subjected to checks from improper 

 airing, watering, or other causes, are most liable to 

 canker; sturdy, free-growing ones are far less frequently 

 attacked. 



Sorts. There are few kinds of fruit amongst which 

 natural or artificial cross - fertilisation is practised with 

 greater ease for the production of new varieties, than 

 amongst Melons; hence the appearance of such a nume- 

 rous quantity of so-called new or improved sorts each 

 year. A few of the old ones are only with difficulty 

 surpassed; and a selection from those of recent years 



Melon continued. 



presents a standard of excellence, on every point, which 

 it is most desirable to maintain. Deterioration soon 

 takes place, and good varieties may readily be lost by 

 allowing their fruits to be cross-fertilised ; consequently, 

 it is well to keep raising some new ones, with a view 

 of, at least, preserving a high standard, and, possibly, 

 further improving it. A thin skin, quality, size, and 

 productiveness, are the most important properties. If 

 one or two sorts are found to suit in these particulars, 

 they should be grown ; others should only be admitted 



FIG. 541. CANTALOUP MELON. 



for experiment, unless proved to be superior. The 

 Cantaloup Melon (see Fig. 541) is supposed to have been 

 one of the first ever cultivated in Europe. It has a 



FIG. 642. COULOMMIER'S MELON. 



remarkably irregular surface, and both the skin and flesh 

 are variable in colour. Coulommier's Melon (see Fig. 542) 

 is only remarkable for its hardiness and the size of its 



FIG. ;>43. EMBROIDERED MARKET MELON 



