EPITOME OF MELON FORCING. 205 



sweetness and fragrance of August, is no mean ambi- 

 tion. Then, if at no other time, one may exclaim with 

 Thoreau 



' ' And what saith Adshed of the melon ? 



" ' Color, taste, and smell, smaragdus, honey, and musk ; 

 Amber for the tongue, for the eye a picture rare; 

 If you cut the fruit in slices, every slice a crescent fair; 

 If you have it whole, the full harvest moon is there.'" 



In order to satisfy the reader's curiosity at the outset, 

 I will say that the essentials for growing midwinter mel- 

 ons, as I understand them, are these : High temperature 

 from the start (80 to 85 at midday, and 65 to 70 at 

 night) ; the plants must never be checked, even from the 

 vioment the seeds germinate, either by insects, fungi, low 

 temperature, or delay in "handling" ; dryness at time 

 of ripening ; a soil containing plenty of mineral ele- 

 ments, particularly, of course, potash and phosphoric acid ; 

 polliniferous varieties ; the selection of varieties adapted 

 to the purpose. All these requirements seem to be easy 

 enough of attainment as one reads them, but it has taken 

 us six years to learn them. Others would no doubt have 

 been more expeditious ; but it should be said that no 

 one of these conditions will insure success, but all of 

 them must be put together. 



Watermelons are not forced, as they demand a too 

 long season, make too rampant growth, and probably 

 would not develop their best quality in midwinter. I 

 have seen them ripened in a glass house in early sum- 

 mer, following winter crops, with fair success. It is 

 probable that forcing varieties could be developed, but 

 it is doubtful if the fruits would be large enough to meet 

 with ready sale. 



The house. A house which is adapted to the grow- 

 ing of English cucumbers or tomatoes should grow mel- 

 ons. The first requisite is heat. The capacity of the 

 heating system must be sufficient to maintain a high 

 temperature in the coldest weather. The house should 



