SOILS 15 



As soon as the melon crop is harvested, they sim- 

 ply disk the ground with a disk harrow and sow to 

 wheat, sowing clover with the wheat ia the spring. 

 This is either pastured or cut for hay and the land 

 prepared for melons again the third or fourth year. 

 Some add corn to this rotation, which is not a bad 

 idea, as it adds another year to the time allotted 

 between the melon crops. This process seems to 

 fulfill the requirements of the melon plants very 

 nicely, as it gives them a seed bed that is full of 

 nitrogen, which will cause the plants to respond 

 very quickly and grow rapidly, and enables them to 

 overcome the attacks of insects and diseases with 

 which they have to contend. 



The sandy land is also selected because it warms 

 up more quickly and can be worked earlier in the 

 spring. It does not need much artificial drainage, 

 it does not bake after heavy rains, and consequently 

 may be put into condition to receive the plants or 

 seeds with less labor than can the heavier soils. 

 Then, again, the crop will begin to mature earlier 

 on the sand than on clay, which in itself is a very 

 important consideration from the money standpoint. 

 All of these points must be kept in mind by the 

 successful melon grower. 



For Watermelons. — The watermelon, like the 

 muskmelon, is an all-season plant, as well as a 

 strictly warm-weather plant, and this applies to the 

 underground system as well as to that portion 

 which grows above ground. But while the musk- 

 melon will produce good crops on a moderately 

 heavy soil, the watermelon is at its best only on a 

 deep, light, warm, sandy soil. 



It would be folly to attempt to raise watermelons, 



