10.30 



MUSKMELON 



Twu important striins of the npttoil m( Ion tspo 

 lia\e come into great iiroimiiem t iniiicntM ii> 

 Osafee, de\eloped m sourhui liin M) hi^ iii ii 

 Rocky Ford, developed 111 I 1 iil \ii ili i ini| 

 strain of the same cla-^M-. Ill M nii ilMul t \ \< 

 developecl in Cinidi ] li iiii m I n u _i 



MUSKMELON 



of the Fiendi It is \ uiable 

 I coniniouh pMifoiiii md clcti 

 gretn inodoious flesh of fair 



1448 The OranEC i 



Chlto Melon— Cucumis Mela 



pickles and conserves Of these are tlie so called Snake 

 Cucumber (Plate Xl\) and the Oiauf,e or Chito melon 

 (Fig U48) The latter has been much advertised in 

 recent jears as a preserving or mango melon (for mak 

 ing " mangoes " or mi\ed pickles) It is a small leaved 

 slender vine as compared with the common Muskmelon, 

 and it bears an abundance of yellow or orange fruits the 

 size of a hen's egg or lemon. It requires no special 

 culture. The Snake Cucumber is grown mostly as a 

 curiosity in this country, but it may be used for pickles 

 and preserves. 



Another type of Muskmelon is the winter melon. 

 These are described as follows in an Experiment Sta- 

 tion publication (Bailey, Bull. 95, Cornell Exp. Sta.): 



"There is an interesting class of melons, little known 

 in this country, which gives fruits of long-keeping 

 qualities. These are known as the winter or scentless 

 melons. They are mostly of an oblong shape, with 

 green or grayish hard rinds and commonly a white or 

 L'ir. II ll.sli, uhi.li ,,11,11 i;irlis ;ilni,.st ,'iitirely the char- 

 ;i.r,ri-ii,- :,r,.n,,i .■( tl.,- .M u-ki,i,.l,iii. The leaves are 

 LjriH I'llly l.ii-i-r ;iim1 -iv.'ii.M- iliiiii thiisi' ,,f the common 

 111, -I, Ills. 'I'll,- fruits . -in. |.i,k,.ii just l.i't'ore frost, when 

 tliey appear to lie as inedible as siiuaslies, and are stored 

 in a fruit-room to ripen. The true winter melons re- 

 quire a long season. We have planted them upon good 

 soil on the first day of June, and they have barely come 

 to maturity before frost. There is little difficulty in 

 keeping some of the varieties until Chri.stmas, if they 

 do not get too ripe in the field, if the fruits are not al- 

 lowed to become frost-bitten, and if the room is cool 

 and rather dry. 



melons wliich we iKivr u-i-.nMi. line- t\|,,- luis a solid 

 interior, lik,' a ,'ii,'iiiiilic r. .■iml lii,- s,.,.,|\ ;,i-i- iniliedded 

 firmly in tlic stnu'iur,' ••f tlic iMiit. Tli,' other class 

 has a si.ft iiit.'i-ii.r an. I tli,- Im,,s,' v,-,-,Is ,.f ordinary mel- 



Jltlon de Malte 



White \iii 



the W nil 1 I 



melons lu, i i i i 



making ol ions, n, 



For other melon t\ | , s 

 for a sketch of thi h. t ii 

 tlieni see the article iii \ 

 on Cucumis ] h jj 



The Muskmelon a tuut <f 

 much commcicnl \ dm is 

 ^rown in diftrrent locilities under \ arie<l niitliods 

 Where tin \ u, -i,\\n in largest quantities is m the 

 South tin mill tin t hods are emplojed linn the 

 seed IS ill 1 I I 111 lull of well enriched soil tliui to 

 five to < 1 h lull 111 I \(ied with about 2 in ot sod 

 when then i ,liii_, i , t chilly weather after jil iiitiiK., 

 they are covered with litter or straw until the soil ami 

 temperature become warm. Among private giirdeners 

 throughout the country, and where climate and soil will 

 admit, melon-growing' is followed with a great deal of 

 e:\ro ami tmnlile, mainly because the area which they 

 ri-,|iiir,' to iiri.ilni-,' a fair percentage of good fruit can- 

 in. t l.r all,.tt,,l them, and consequently close care and 

 lust ,iiltivaii,,n ate r,'i|nired. The first thing is to pro- 

 vi,le u traiiii' or pit, in which, after a slight hotbed has 

 been made, and upon which the soil to the thickness of 

 about 2 in. has been placed, the sash will be only 12 in. 

 from the soil. Then place pieces of evenly ftut sod 2 

 in. thick by 4 in. square, with the grass side down, on 

 the soil, laying them close together, the edges touch- 

 ing, and with a sharp-pointed trowel dig out the center 

 of each piece of sod, barely penetrating through, and 

 fill up the space dug out with good soil, somewhat 

 sanilv. In ea,-li of these places ,hv,p tw,-, seeds, either 

 of Mn-k- ,,r \Val,i-ni,-l..n; kiin sli-litlv ni.,ist ami also 



must 111- ,\,nis, ,1 t,, k,,,'p them growing, hut not too 



fast, as the 1 ts will i.i-ni'trate the sod, and tlie plants 



will wilt \\1h 11 iiiiiisf, in'<l to the open ground. The 

 matter of \, m ihiiim; ami other care is easily given, and 

 they can I"- transfi-n-, ,1 at will when the weather per- 

 mits, as they will bear the transplanting without being 

 injured. The transferring must be done by taking out 

 each piece of sod with a trowel and setting in the open 

 ground where wanted, making the hills of Watermelons 

 6 ft. apart each way ami the MnskmelonsS ft. in the 

 rows and ft. betw,-, n the rcws. 



Another excellent ,i|„iati,iii , niployed by gardeners 

 for the quick growin^^ ami full ilevelopment of the finest 



