36 . MELON CULTURE 



by the southern grower, at least, to plow his land 

 very deeply before planting, as this would in a meas- 

 ure disturb the ordinary habit of the plant, causing 

 it to root deeper and to produce a heavier crop of 

 vines at the expense of fruit. He would rather put 

 on the surface the extra labor required in deep plow- 

 ing, thoroughly pulverizing and mixing the surface 

 soil with the harrow ; then, when the seeds are 

 planted, they germinate quickly and the young 

 plants start off quickly and vigorously and produce 

 ripe fruit earlier than they would on a deeper soil. 



The same method is employed quite largely by 

 the more northern growers, especially those in the 

 middle West or Mississippi valley; but as we go 

 farther north, the land is plowed deeper, some of 

 the most successful growers plowing as deep as 

 eight inches. Their object is to secure a warm 

 seed bed to a greater depth than could be had by 

 shallow plowing. As soon as the weather is warm 

 enough, the land is gone over with the harrow and 

 thoroughly stirred so as to destroy any weeds which 

 may have started. It is then marked off in furrows, 

 as indicated in Chapter V, the manure is applied, 

 the hills are made about level with the surface and 

 the seed is covered about an inch deep if the soil 

 is moist ; if not, it is covered a little deeper. If the 

 soil has been made very fine and the subsoil is such 

 as to retain moisture, capillary attraction will bring 

 the proper amount of moisture up to where the 

 seeds can make use of it, even if the surface is quite 

 dry. The old method of mounding up the soil for 

 the hills, so as to secure a greater degree of heat, is 

 now about obsolete. 



Plant Plenty of Seeds. — Growers usually like to 



