WAYS WITH CANTALOUPS 211 



Much seed is sprouted before planting but care must be taken 

 not to start long sprouts. The seed are put in a sack, soaked about 

 12 hours, flattened out not over an inch thick so they won't over- 

 heat, and buried in sand. They sprout in two or three days, de- 

 pending on the heat, and must be planted at once. The field is har- 

 rowed two or three times before the plants are up. 



Seeds are planted by machine thickly in drills six feet apart. 

 If plants are very thick, they are thinned with a hoe as soon as they 

 come up; but later if not so thick. The final thinning comes about 

 June 1, when the vines average a foot long, showing which are 

 strongest. These are left as nearly as convenient three feet apart. 



If continued cultivation does not keep the vines growing, they 

 need water. This is given through a furrow in each center. Plenty 

 of time is allowed for a thorough soaking, but no water is allowed 

 to touch the plants, because that would bake the soil around them. 

 Several rows may be irrigated at once with a small stream. Within 

 two or three days the ground is cultivated. One such irrigation and 

 two cultivations may be given before the vines run into the way. 



Growing Plants in Hot-beds. Some growers think that grow- 

 ing plants in hot-beds to get a good stand is worth while. In one 

 case there were only forty hills missed in more than six acres. 

 Thrifty growth was made and some plants in bloom while plants 

 from seed on the same ground were just coming up from planting 

 on the same date. Small pasteboard folding cases were used to 

 grow the plants in and the case removed when the plant was in 

 place, just before filling in around it. 



Pruning for Early Fruit. J. E. Johnson, of Los Angeles county, 

 believes he can ripen cantaloups a week or ten days earlier by prun- 

 ing. He prunes the tips off with a corn knife when the vines are 

 five or six joints long. This makes them throw earlier laterals 

 which bear fruit. When the laterals have grown a joint or two 

 beyond the fruit of the first crop which will already have set, he 

 prunes off their tips with a quick sweep of the corn knife around 

 the hill. It does not pay to prune for the second crop, which would 

 have to compete with the general first-crop run from unpruned 

 fields. 



Cantaloups in Young Orchard. H. S. Reed, of Imperial, thinks 

 cantaloups are one of the very best summer intercrops. They shade 

 the ground, and the frequent irrigation they require is good also 

 for the trees. He took off 228 crates of cantaloups per acre when 

 the trees were one and two years old, and followed them with a 

 winter crop of Bermuda onions. Of these he got 240 crates per 

 acre, which sold at $1.40 to $1.55 per crate. The winter crop would 

 be feasible many years, but summer crops would soon suffer from 

 too much shade from the growing trees. 



How to Tell a Ripe Cantaloup. The fruit is ripe for shipping 

 when there are cracks about the base of the stem, which comes off 

 with a little pressure of the thumb, leaving a smooth "cup" in the 



