CHAPTER XI. 



MUSKMELON. 



"THERE is not, I believe, any species of fruit at pres- 

 ent cultivated in the gardens of this country," wrote 

 Thomas Andrew Knight, in 1811, "which so rarely ac- 

 quires the greatest degree of perfection, which it is capa- 

 ble of acquiring in our climate, as the melon." The 

 melon is particularly prized in England, for, because of 

 the coolness of the climate, it is generally grown to per- 

 fection only under glass, and is thereby appreciated ; 

 and it is in England, too, that one finds the most expert 

 methods of growing it. The melon is treated there, 

 however, as a spring or early summer, or late fall, crop. 



The forcing of melons for delivery in midwinter is 

 practically unknown. The fruit is often grown as an 

 early winter crop, ripening in October and early Novem- 

 ber, and the seeds are often sown in January and the 

 melons matured in May and June. Gardeners now and 

 then ripen a few melons in midwinter, but the fruits are 

 almost invariably very poor, or even disagreeable, in 

 quality. The writer has long been convinced that it is 

 possible to secure good melons in December, January 

 and February, and to grow them nearly as cheaply as 

 the English or frame cucumbers. The attempt was first 

 made in the winter of 1889-90, and it has been repeated 

 more or less persistently until the present time, and the 

 results during the past two years have been satisfac- 

 tory. The melon is certainly the refinement of the 

 vegetable garden. To get it in midwinter, with the 

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