CHAPTEE XXXIII. 

 MELONS. 



MUSKMELOtfS. 



What has heretofore been said in regard to the mamirial requirements 

 of the cucumber will apply equally well to the muskmelon crop. This crop 

 prefers a soil of much heavier texture than the watermelon, and delights more 

 in moist conditions in the soil. We plant muskmelons in hills six feet apart, 

 and make wide holes where each hill is to be, using to fill these holes a com- 

 post made of black earth from the woods and stable manure in equal parts, 

 piled some months before in a flat heap and frequently turned until com- 

 pletely well mixed and homogeneous. Just before planting we scatter a small 

 handful of any good complete fertilizer having a high percentage of nitrogen 

 in it over this, and cover with soil before planting the seed. We use an 

 abundance of seed, as it is an important matter to get a complete stand at 

 once. As soon as the plants can be seen breaking through the soil we dust 

 them over with fine raw bone dust, to keep off the striped beetles that prey 

 upon them; the bone dust is also a good fertilizer. When the rough leaves 

 develop and danger from the bugs is past, we thin to two good plants in a 

 hill, and cultivate flat and shallow with a cultivator till the vines get in the 

 way, after which weeds are pulled from among them by hand. Some large 

 market gardeners adopt a different plan and use commercial fertilizers entire- 

 ly. They plant the melons between the rows of the early peas, running a fur- 

 row down the middles, and applying a good dressing of high grade nitroge- 

 nous fertilizer all along the furrow. Two furrows are lapped on the first one, 

 making a slight ridge, which is flattened down and a shallow furrow, in 

 which the seeds are scattered, is made on the flattened ridge. As they de- 

 velop they are thinned to stand about two feet apart in the rows, and when the 

 peas are off the vines are turned under and the melons cultivated. They 

 are also planted between the rows of early snap beans and treated in a similar 

 way. The variety mainly grown by the Southern truck growers is the small 

 early sort known as Jenny Lind. This is early and of a size easily packed in 

 crates for shipment, and is more largely grown here than any other. Of 



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