214 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES 



did not sprout until June considerably later than seed sown that 

 year, and produced as good a crop as the latter. Being, probably, 

 deeply covered they awaited the penetration 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 moisture. 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 tolerate many conditions, but neither cold nor wet 

 agrees with it. 



Culture. The preparation of land for watermelons is like that 

 for cantaloups, 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. 



Firming the seed-bed below the plant is very important so that 

 moisture may rise to it from the subsoil. This is done by follow- 

 ing the January or February plowing with a disc with the plates set 

 straight and weighted with sand bags to make them cut deep and 

 to close all underground openings. This is done twice in winter 

 and is followed through the spring with spiketooth harrows and 

 weed cutters, often alternately, to make a fine mulch about three 

 inches deep over the firm capillary seed-bed, soil from which will 

 ball in the hand, while without this sub-surface packing, the soil 

 will be dry all the way down. If the soil is sandy and inclined to 

 blow the surface must not be made too fine. Wind damage can 

 be reduced by sowing rye in strips about forty feet apart planting 

 four rows of melons between them. Such protection from cold 

 winds may bring ripe melons a week earlier. The rye strips make 

 driveways for picking. They should be plowed up, when the rye 

 ripens in May, to check evaporation. The melon roots extend into 

 the rye ground if it is not allowed to dry out too much. 



Irrigation. Watermelons root deeply and on deep open soils 

 free from plow-pan or hard-pan will supply themselves with moist- 

 ure from below if the soil preparation has been of the right kind 

 and the rainfall adequate. If not, irrigation must be employed in 

 good soaking amounts, on light soil which takes them well, and not 

 too frequently. 



