1888 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



303 



still further subdivided. One man makes 

 cabbages a specialty ; another, turnips ; a 

 third, melons ; and each one tinds much joy 

 and happiness in liis special line. By con- 

 fining his attention principally to melons 

 and nothing else, he finds a thousand new 

 and interesting things about the habits of 

 this vegetable, that nobody ever knew l)e- 

 fore. As an illustration of this, I am going 

 to give you a paper below, from a young 

 friend who used to be one of the boys in our 

 factory, but wlio has, by a few years of out- 

 door work, become expert in raising melons. 

 Let us listen to him: 



HOW TO RAISE MELONS — IIY AK/A C. 

 PEARSON, LITCHFIELD, O 



The melon is a peculiar plant, and might 

 properly be called a tropic;il fruii ; but it 

 can be raised as far north as the f(>rt> -fifth 

 parallel of latitude, to a considerable degree 

 of success. The melon delights in a warm, 

 light, sandy soil; but it can be raised upon 

 any soil, with proper care and cultivation. 

 In cultivating the melon, three things are 

 necessary to its proper growth and cultiva- 

 tion ; viz., good seed, good soil, and good 

 cultivation. We propose to discuss them in 

 the order given. 



Good seed is the most essential point in 

 the growth of any plant — more especially 

 the melon. Nevei" plant poor seed, under 

 any condition. You can buy seed of any of 

 the reliable seedsmen, and always buy the 

 best. We find by experience that it does 

 not pay to save seed. We buy our seed eve- 

 ry spring of a reliable firm. You can deter- 

 mine whether your seed is good by examin- 

 ing the germ end of it. Y"ou can buy good 

 seed at from 7.5 cts. to $1.25 per lb. 



After the seed, comes the preparation of 

 the soil. As stated, the melon delights in a 

 sandy soil ; but with good cultivation it (;an 

 be grown upon almost any soil with proper 

 fertilizing. Select a piece of ground facing 

 the south or east, if possible, and plow un- 

 der a good coat of manure in the full or ear- 

 ly winter, so as to freeze out all worms and 

 grubs, as the cut-worm loves a stalk of mel- 

 on, in my judgment, better than a stalk of 

 corn. The freezing of the ground makes 

 the soil light and mellow. As soon as the 

 ground can be worked in the spring, a good 

 dressing of well-rotted barnyard manure 

 should be worked into the soil by frequent 

 harrowings. You can not get the ground too 

 rich or too mellow. The ground must be 

 well drained, as the melon likes frequent 

 showers, but will drown out very easily. 

 After the soil is in proper condition to be 

 planted, mark out your ground S feet each 

 way, and make your hills deep and fine by 

 working w^ith a spade or shovel ; and a 

 handful of some well-known fertilizer may 

 be worked into the hill with benefit. We 

 have had the best success with level culture, 

 as the raised hills are apt to dry out, and 

 the fine becomes stunted in its growth. 

 You will read in your seed-books, that it is 

 best to plant melons after all danger of frost 

 is over. We recommend planting as soon 



as you can get your ground in condition. 

 Sow from 12 to 15 seeds in a hill, and cover 

 half an inch willi fine mellow dirt, and press 

 the soil down with a board or your font. 

 You can thin out the plants as fast as you 

 wish ; and by taking the risk you are very 

 likely to get a stand of 3 or I plants, which 

 is enough. 



Get your melons started as soon as possi- 

 ble, as an early plant is very apt to make a 

 big growth, and the fruit will come in the 

 warm weather, when most desired. Tlie 

 melon requires from 75 to 100 days to 

 mature ; and by planting l)y May 15th, ripe 

 melons may be picked by Aug. ioth, or be- 

 fore. A great many fail in raising melons 

 by too close planting. It should be planted 

 from (i feet each way to 8 feet, according to 

 the variety. The Iron Clad, Cuban Queen, 

 and other varieties of prolific growth, 

 should be planted 8x8, while the Black 

 Spanish, Peerless, and other small varieties, 

 may be planted x 6. Never allow more 

 than four vines to a hill. 



After the vines are from tw^o to four 

 inches high, commence to cultivate and 

 keep the ground loose and mellow by fre- 

 (juent stirring of the soil. Keep the ground 

 loose between the vines, and give a 

 thorough working of the soil. Keep the 

 ground free from weeds. After the vines 

 begin to run, be careful not to get too 

 deep, as the roots run close to the top of the 

 groinid. The melon is a surface feeder ; 

 that is, the roots are close to the top of 

 ground. You can work more good into a 

 hill by cultivation than you can put in by 

 any other means. 



From a week to ten days may be gained 

 by sprouting the seeds, and transplanting 

 them ; but experience and care are needed 

 to secure good results. We transplanted 

 about oOO plants last season, with very good 

 results. Most seed-books recommend a 

 shovel of well-rotted manure to each hill. 

 Y^ou will be apt to get the manure too 

 deep, as the plants will not get the benefit 

 until the fruit is half grown. 



If you desire large melons and no small 

 ones, pinch off the end of the vine after the 

 melon becomes as large as an orange, and 

 you will be surprised at the change, as the 

 fruit gets all the benefit, and will double its 

 size in a week or ten days. 



As to the best varieties for the family 

 garden, w^e recommend the Black Spanish 

 and Peerless for early, and Iron Clad and 

 Kolb's Gem for late. The Iron Clad is a 

 good keeper, and may be kept for your 

 Christmas or New-Y^ear's dinner. As to 

 the cultivation of the melon as a money 

 crop, we believe that, under good cultiva- 

 tion, it will pay big results. Let us show a 

 few figures. You can plant on an acre, 

 8x8 feet, 680 hills ; allowing 4 vines to a 

 hill and one melon to a vine, we have 2720 

 melons, which, at the low price of 10 cts. 

 each, we have the neat little sum of S272. 



The muskmelon can be cultivated the 

 same as the watermelon, only it can be 

 planted closer, \ «i feet each way. Plant 

 from 12 to 20 seeds to a hill. When the 

 plants are 3 incites high, thin out to four of 

 the best plants. Y^ou can hurry its growth 



