Melons. 



225 



with a ready sale in the face of large importations. This has 

 been accomplished easily in two of the years, when there was 

 a normal amount of sunshine, and without any great difficulty 

 in the other two years, which were very wet and cold. 



In the Paris gardens Melon growing is divided into three 

 periods a " forced crop," the seed for which is sown in Janu- 

 ary and the fruit expected to ripen in May ; an " early crop," 

 for which seed is sown in the latter part of February and gives 

 ripe fruit late in June and early in July ; and the " main-crop," 

 the sowing for which takes place from the last week in March 

 to the last week in April, and from which ripe Melons are 

 gathered during July, August, and September. 



The method of treat- 

 ment is much the same 

 in each case, except that 

 for the earlier crops 

 the hot-beds are made 

 deeper, so as to afford 

 a greater and more 

 lasting warmth than in 

 in the case of the main- 

 crop, and for the forced 

 crop the warmth is still 

 further augmented and 

 maintained by linings of 

 warm manure packed 

 all round the frame, up 

 to the level of the lights, copyright, v. A. & co. 

 The instructions which 

 follow are for the main- 

 crop, which is by far the most important, and they are, with the 

 differences indicated, equally applicable to the earlier crops. 



For directions as to sowing the seed, management of the 

 young plants, preparing the beds, and planting, the reader is 

 referred to the chapter on Frame Cucumbers, the treatment 

 of which in these stages is precisely the same as for Cantaloup 

 Melons, except that instead of one plant under each light, as 

 directed for Cucumbers, two Melon plants are set side by side, 

 a few inches apart. 



Large Rock Prescott 

 Cantaloup Melon. 



