286 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 



were harvested, and before the volunteer crop appeared 

 the following year, the ground was plowed twice, har- 

 rowed twice, and cultivated four times in the regular 

 course of orchard work. Notwithstanding all this dis- 

 turbance of the soil, the seeds, which remained in the 

 ground during the warm rains of winter and spring, did 

 not sprout until June considerably later than seed sown 

 that year, and produced as good a crop as the latter. Be- 

 ing, probably, deeply covered they awaited the penetra- 

 tion of the warmth, which came first to the seed sown near 

 the surface. The soil was a light loam, naturally well 

 drained, and the seed abided its time in good condition. 



Soils. Soils which best suit the watermelon are warm 

 alluvial soils, and the plant thrives on a lighter, drier soil 

 than suits the muskmelon. It does well on a light soil 

 with a retentive sub-soil, which acts as a reservoir of mois- 

 ture. In such a case the surface soil may be coarse or 

 even gravelly. Good specimens have been shown which 

 have been grown without irrigation on recent deposits of 

 mining detritus; on the other hand, good melons are 

 grown on rather stiff clay loam. On heavy land much is 

 gained by plowing under a winter-grown sod or green 

 crop, or a covering of manure, which renders the soil more 

 permeable as well as enriches it. The plant seems to tol- 

 erate many conditions, but neither cold nor wet agrees 

 with it. 



Culture. The preparation of land for watermelons is 

 like that for sugar beets, already described. In regions of 

 heavy rainfall the fall plowing should be done with enough 

 dead furrows to remove surplus water so that the spring 

 plowing may not be delayed by wetness. Two spring 

 plowings and pulverizations are desirable on the heavier 

 soils. 



The land is laid off with a marker in six or eight feet 

 squares, and planted, after danger from frost is over and 

 the ground is warm, with 10 or 12 seeds in a place to cover 

 accidents and insects. These are reduced at the first hoe- 

 ing to one or two plants in a place. The cultivator should 



