106 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 



started in pots or under small handlights; a sheet of glass 16 X 24 

 over each hill will also advance the crop quite a little; these glasses 

 should be removed when rain falls, closed on cold nights, and tilted 

 during the day. It is not a good plan to merely dig out a hole and 

 place a shovel full or two of manure in each hole, giving nothing 

 to the rest of the ground. A better plan is to broadcast it and 

 plough or spade it in; this gives more vigorous plants. The 

 finest flavored melon we have grown is Honey Drop; other good 

 sorts are Early Christiana and Emerald Gem. Rocky ford is a 

 great cropper but we have found the skin rots rather badly just 

 before ripening. The same applies to the big handsome Montreal 

 Market. 



Watermelons do well in warm summers; they should not be 

 sown before June 1, and one or two plants only should be left to a 

 hill. Cole's Early, Early Fordhook, Halbert Honey, and Kleckley 

 Sweet all do well in Massachusetts. Many persons cannot tell 

 when watermelons are ripe. One sign is that the little tendril 

 where the stem of the fruit is attached to the vine withers; green 

 fruits sound solid, ripe ones more hollow; the fruit will also "give" 

 a little when firmly pressed, if it is approaching ripeness. 



Celery is a very important vegetable for fall and winter use. It 

 will grow well on level ground and is thus planted by market 

 growers; but in trenches it makes its finest possible growth. 

 Advantages of trench culture are that water is more easily applied, 

 the plants are more readily hilled up, and the trenches give shade 

 to the plants in hot weather. An abundance of well-rotted manure 

 should be placed in the trenches, as celery is a gross feeder. Golden 

 Self Blanching is the finest early variety; Golden Rose is also good; 

 White Plume is handsome, but of coarse texture. Good winter 

 sorts are White Queen, Giant Pascal, and Boston Market. The 

 richest and most mellow soils should be used for celery culture. 

 Early varieties may be bleached by means of boards, but the later 

 sorts must be hilled up by degrees, and housed in a cool, frost- 

 proof cellar before weather becomes too severe. It must also 

 be aired on all favorable occasions. For celery blight pick off the 

 worst leaves and spray with Bordeaux mixture. Hollow stalk is 

 caused by an insufficiency of moisture at the roots during the 

 growing season. In lifting celery the earth should be moist; if 



