GROWING WATERMELONS 215 



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

 or six by eight and eight by ten feet, 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 

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

 used as soon as possible to prevent crusting of the soil, and cultiva- 

 tion should be kept up until it interferes too much with the growth 

 of the vines. During the first two months of their growth the cul- 

 tivator is almost constantly running in the melon field. 



Time of planting is, of course, dependent upon the frost record 

 of the locality. To get the earliest melons, growers often take the 

 chance of replanting by planting in March if it is an early spring 

 and the soil is in good condition. In light interior soils the most 

 of the planting is done in April, and in frosty situations early in 

 May. For succession, planting can proceed on moist or irrigated 

 land until July, and in f rostless locations July planting will give ripe 

 melons as late as New Year's. 



Harvesting. When early sowings succeed, melons can be had 

 in June in the interior, but the weight of the crop comes in July or 

 August. An average yield in field culture is one carload, or one 

 hundred dozen melons to the acre. Sizes run from a common mer- 

 chantable size of 20 pounds up to a monster of 131^4 pounds, 

 grown in Los Angeles county many years ago. Melons of 90 to 100 

 pounds have been reported from all regions which make any pre- 

 tentions to greatness in this line. 



When is a Watermelon Ripe? Various tests are proposed. 

 One is the color of the curling tendril on the vine opposite the stem. 

 When this becomes brown and hard the melon is ripe. The same 

 is said to be the case when the white under-color becomes yellowish. 

 But we have the assurance of commercial growers that by thump- 

 ing a melon or looking at the curl anybody stands a good chance to 

 pick it green, -except after it is dead ripe, which is too late to ship 

 it. But when you slap a ripe melon with the open hand, or catch 

 it as it is tossed from man to man by car loaders, if it springs un- 

 der the hand it is ripe. If it is hard and does not give, it is green. 

 If it gives out a dead, hollow sound, it is dead ripe. Most of the 

 varieties turn a lighter color when ripe and develop irregular, 

 slight creasing of the rind. 



Stock Melons. Excess crop or defective watermelons and can- 

 taloups are freely used for stock feeding. There is also especially 

 grown for stock the pie-melon or citron-melon, which is sometimes 

 called a "citron." This word should, however, never be used in this 

 state without the suffix "melon," because the citron is an ancient 

 and honorable citrus fruit, which we are growing on trees. The 

 name of this fruit was probably connected with a melon because 

 in cold countries they make a preserve of the rind which has a 

 fancied resemblance to the citron of commerce which is made of 

 the skin of the fruit. 



