CHAPTER VII 

 CULTURAL METHODS 



Transplanting, — If the plants have been properly- 

 cared for in the hotbed so that they have made a 

 good, vigorous growth and have been well hard- 

 ened off, they should be ready to go into the field 

 in about four weeks from the time of planting. The 

 plants will then have reached that stage of develop- 

 ment when it would be unsafe to keep them confined 

 longer in their narrow quarters. The transplanting 

 season is a very busy time with the commercial 

 melon grower. A large force of men is required in 

 order to get the work done as quickly as possible 

 and to insure uniformity in the growth of the 

 plants. 



The field has already been prepared, as indicated 

 in the previous chapter, by furrowing out both ways 

 or by furrowing one way and simply marking the 

 other so that the hills will be the required distance 

 apart, which will vary, according to the notions of 

 the grower, from 4x4 to 5x7 feet apart for musk- 

 melons, and 8x10 to loxio feet for watermelons. 

 Four by four feet, however, is too close for either. 

 This does not give room enough for the plants to 

 develop properly ; and, more than that, it is practi- 

 cally impossible for one to spray and otherwise care 

 for the plants or to harvest the crop without greatly 

 injuring the vines. A common distance, therefore, 

 is about 4x6 or 5x7 feet for muskmelons. The fol- 



