COMMON GARDEN PLANTS 107 



show that this suggestion must be intended as a 

 joke. The melons are annuals, and must be 

 grown year by year from the seed. To eliminate 

 the seed would be to exterminate the melon in a 

 single season. The case is obviously very differ- 

 ent from that of fruit trees, which may be prop- 

 agated by grafting, or of such plants as the 

 horse-radish and potato, the roots or tubers of 

 which carry the species over from one season to 

 another. 



In raising melons, especially in colder climates 

 where the seasons are short, it is desirable to use 

 ammoniacal fertilizers to force the plants along 

 rapidly. A liberal use of one of the nitric fertil- 

 izers will often double the crop or insure a crop 

 where otherwise the melons would not ripen. 



The gardener who wishes to grow melons 

 extensively will not overlook the pomegranates 

 and so-called orange and pocket melons. These 

 have interest because of their unusual appear- 

 ance, even though they are yet somewhat lack- 

 ing in quality. There are also large Persian 

 and Syrian melons that are favorites not only 

 for their delicious quality but also because they 

 keep until late in the winter, even until the first 

 of January with common storage. Probably in 

 cold storage these melons would keep through- 

 out the winter. 



