MELON 



MELON 



2031 



The handling of muskmelons or "cantaloupes" in car- 

 load lots is an important branch of the produce busi- 

 ness, and certain firms known as "general distributors" 

 make a specialty of this product. 



Montreal muskmelons; frames. 



In addition to the small-fruited "crate" or "basket" 

 melons that are shipped by the carload across the con- 

 tinent, and the ordinary varieties of large-fruited melons 

 that are very generally grown by market-gardeners in 

 outdoor culture, there is a large-fruited variety known 

 as the Montreal Market, which is grown principally 

 near Montreal, Canada, by special methods, and com- 

 mands very high prices in some of the eastern markets. 

 The seed is sown in greenhouses or hotbeds, usually in 

 pots, early in March, and the plants are later set in 

 sash-covered frames, which afford protection until the 

 crop is nearly grown. Before the frames are placed, 

 the soil is thrown up in ridges about 12 feet wide, and 

 a trench 2 feet wide and 15 to 18 inches deep is dug 

 along the center of the ridge. This trench is filled nearly 

 level with fermenting manure, and then covered with 

 fine moist soil. When the soil over the manure has 

 attained the right temperature, the plants are set. 

 Usually one hill (two plants) of melons are grown under 

 each sash; so that a 6 by 12 frame will accommodate 

 four hills if 3- by 6-foot sash are employed. Great 

 attention is given to watering, syringing, and ventila- 

 tion. As the fruits develop, they are kept from contact 

 with the soil by means of shingles, pieces of board, 

 flat stones, or slate. Each fruit is turned every few 

 days to insure uniformity in ripening and in develop- 

 ment of netting. When the area within the frames 

 becomes fully occupied by vines, the frame is raised a 

 few inches above the ground so that the growing tips 

 of the vines may push out. More ventilation is given 

 as the season advances, and finally the sash and even 

 the frames are removed entirely. The melons thus 

 finish their ripening under outdoor conditions. 



Montreal melons are shipped in large wicker baskets, 

 holding one dozen melons each. The melons are 

 packed in fine hay, and the baskets are shipped with- 

 out covers. 



Cassaba melons. 



The melons commonly grown in the United States 

 are perishable after reaching maturity, and their 

 market season ends in October. Certain types of musk- 

 melons known as winter melons will keep for several 

 weeks after being picked, if they are properly handled. 

 Melons of this type were formerly little known in 

 America, but are now grown commercially in the San 

 Fernando Valley in southern California, and are 

 shipped by the carload to the larger eastern markets, 

 principally during November and December. The 

 seed was brought from the Mediterranean countries 

 over thirty years ago, and tried in California. The 

 first attempts at growing these melons were not com- 

 mercially successful, but a few districts were found to 

 be especially adapted to their culture. In the valley 

 above mentioned, hundreds of acres are planted every 

 year. These melons are large, firm, smooth-skinned, 

 and very thick-fleshed. On the market, they are 

 known as Cassaba melons. They are packed in excelsior 

 in half-cases holding six melons, or in full cases holding 

 twelve melons. 



Literature. 



Books: "How to Grow Melons for Market," W. 

 Atlee Burpee; "Melon Culture," James Troop; "Canta- 

 loupe Culture," P. K. Blinn. Experiment Station bul- 

 letins: Arkansas, No. 69; Colorado, Nos. 62, 85, 95, 104, 

 108, 121, 126; Georgia, No. 57; Illinois, Nos. 124, 155, 

 174; Indiana, Nos. 123, 135; New Hampshire, Nos. 52, 

 70, 172; also N. H. Technical Bull. No. 2 (classification, 

 by F. Wm. Rane); New Mexico, No. 63; New York 



(Cornell), Nos. 96, 200, 231; Rhode Island, No. 68; 

 Vermont, No. 169. J OHN w. LLOYD. 



Watermelon. 



The watermelon, Citrullus vulgaris (Figs. 2355, 2356), 

 is a native of Africa, and is normally a dry-country 

 plant. David Livingstone, writing in 1857, describes 

 it as being very abundant in favorable years in the 

 Kalahari Desert. He says that the species is very vari- 

 able, some fruits being bitter and some sweet. All the 

 animals of the region from elephants to mice, including 

 the carnivora, seem to enjoy the fruits. 



The watermelon was early taken to India, since it 

 has a Sanskrit name. It reached China about the 

 tenth century A. D. It has no name in the ancient 

 Greek and Latin languages, and was probably not 

 known to these people much before the Christian Era. 



There are three fairly well-marked types of the culti- 

 vated watermelon : the round preserving "citron" (Fig. 

 2355), the stock (live-stock) melon, and the ordinary 



2355. The preserving watermelon, commonly known as "citron." 



watermelon. The two former groups are usually more 

 hardy, more disease-resistant, stronger growers, and 

 more productive. It seems probable that the forms of 

 melon found on our southwestern prairies, and in the 

 cotton fields of the South have returned to approxi- 

 mately their original wild condition. There is appar- 

 ently little data on the original introduction of the 

 watermelon into the United States. Judging from the 

 varieties at present extant, it does not seem likely that 

 it reached us from Mediterranean lands. 



Commercial importance. 



The watermelon is the most valuable vine crop grown 

 in the United States. As a garden plant it has a wide 

 distribution, but as a commercial product its culture 

 is confined chiefly to the region to which the long-leaf 

 pine is indigenous. This region includes the states 

 bordering the Atlantic from Virginia southward as 

 well as those bordering the gulf. The only states out- 

 side this territory which grow watermelons on a com- 

 mercial scale are New Jersey, Indiana, Illinois, Okla- 

 homa, Kansas, and California. The six states produ- 

 cing the bulk of the commercial crop in the order of 

 their importance are Texas, Georgia, Florida, Indiana, 

 Mississippi, and California. 



The value of the commercial crop of watermelons in 

 the United States, as stated by the census of 1910, 

 was nearly $4,500,000, grown on 137,000 acres. 



In comparison with other vegetable crops, the water- 

 melon stands seventh. The crops having a greater value 

 are Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage, 

 onions, and sweet corn, in the order named. 



Cultivation. 



The watermelon thrives best on light, warm, sandy 

 soils well supplied with organic matter. The plants 



