302 FIELD AND GARDEN PRODUCTS 



vigor and the melons ripening slowly, the fruits may safely be left 

 upon the vines until more mature than would be safe later in the 

 geason when the plants have become somewhat weakened, or, by rea- 

 son of excessive heat, the melons are ripening very rapidly. Melons 

 should not be picked at the same degree of maturity under different 

 conditions of ripening, methods of transportation, and distances from 

 market. 



While it is true that no rule can be given for picking melons 

 that will apply under all conditions, and that the grower must exer- 

 cise judgment in reference to each day's picking, the ideal will be 

 attained when the conditions are such that the melons will reach the 

 market in the best condition if picked as soon as the fruit will part 

 readily from the stem when the latter is pressed with the thumb or 

 finger. There is a tendency among some growers to pick consider- 

 ably before this point has been reached, in order to run no risk of the 

 melons becoming soft in transit. In fact, some growers make a prac- 

 tice of picking the melons before a crack appears about the stem or 

 any change of color takes place, even on the under side of the fruit. 



Market Demands. While various types of muskmelon may be 

 disposed of upon a local market, there are certain types which are 

 recognized as standards in the large city markets; and it is seldom 

 wise to attempt to force upon a general market a variety not recog- 

 nized as a standard in that particular market. In the Chicago mar- 

 ket the sorts most in demand are the Netted Gem, or Rocky Ford 

 type, and the Osage. (111. E. S. 124, 139; F. B. 255; S. Dak. E. S. 

 67; N. Hamp. E. S. 70, 96; N. Y. E. S. 200; N. Mex. E. S. 63.) 



M ELOX WATERMELON. 



The cultivation of the watermelon is practically the same as for 

 the muskmelon, except that the plants grow larger and require more 

 room for development than those of the muskmelon. Watermelons 

 require that the soil should contain a larger percentage of sand than 

 muskmelons, and that the land should be quite rich. Watermelons 

 should be planted 10 feet each way between the hills, or in drills 10 

 feet apart and thinned to 3 feet apart in the drills. The watermelon 

 seedlings must be protected from the cucumber beetle until the foli- 

 age becomes toughtened. Watermelons readily group themselves 

 into six classes based upon the color or characteristics of the skin or 

 external appearance. It does not necessarily follow that in the pro- 

 posed classification the fruit of each variety will all be of the same 

 form to which it is referred ; for, as every melon grower knows, the 

 fruits in each hill vary more or less ; but if everything is normal and 

 favorable for their development the characteristic form or that typ- 

 ifying the variety will predominate. The larger the experience of 

 the grower, the easier it is for him to understand these various types. 

 In order to get the true type of each variety, it is important that the 

 seeds be secured directly from the seedsman \vho first introduced 

 them thus avoiding complications or errors. (F. B. 255; N. H. E. 

 S. 86; Ind. E. S. 123; N. Mex. E. S. 63; S. Dak. E. S. 67.) 



