222 MUSKMELON. 



greatly disturbs their domestic arrangements. In one of 

 our melon experiments, when the mealy-bug got a foot- 

 hold, we picked them off with pincers. We went over 

 the vines three times, at intervals, and eradicated the 

 pests; and the labor of it the vines were small was 

 much less than one would suppose. 



There are two troublesome fungous disorders of frame 

 melons. One is the mildew (Erysiphe Cichoracearum, or 

 Oidiitm of earlier writers), which appears as whitish 

 mold-like patches on the upper surface of the leaves. 

 It also attacks cucumbers. It may be kept in check by 

 evaporating sulphur in the house, as described on pages 

 91 and 92. It is imperative that the sulphur do not 

 take fire, for burning sulphur is fatal to plants. 



The second fungus is canker, or damping-off (see 

 page 84). This usually attacks the plants after they have 

 attained some size in the benches, sometimes even when 

 they are in fruit. The vine stops growing, turns yellow, 

 and finally begins to wilt. If the plant is examined at 

 the surface of the ground and just beneath the soil, 

 the stem will be found to be brown, and perhaps some- 

 what decayed, the bark sloughs off, and sometimes deep 

 ulcers are eaten into the tissue. In this stage of the 

 disease nothing can be done to save the plant. The 

 treatment must be a preventive one. Keep the soil 

 dry about the stem. Do not apply water directly at 

 the root. In order to keep the soil dry, it is an ex- 

 cellent plan to hill up the plant slightly. It is also 

 well to strew clean, white sand about the plant to keep 

 the surface of the soil and the stem dry. If a little sul- 

 phur is mixed with the soil about the plant, the spread 

 of the fungus will be checked. Some persons sprinkle 

 lime about the plant to check the fungus. 



A most serious difficulty once appeared upon our mel- 

 ons, and which we have called the house-blight (Fig. 79, 

 page 223). The first visible injury to the leaves was the 

 appearing of yellowish fungous-like spots or patches on 



