How to Gro\v Melons tKat Bring Big Money" 



1 ^IV TE prefer a light soil, and high 

 \^ ground so as to prevent water 

 from getting underneath. Our 

 hotbeds are six by twelve feet, three 

 sashes. The seed is sown in a hotbed 

 in the begfinning of April in drills six 

 inches apart, and when the third leaf 

 begins to show, the young plants are 



J. T. Gorman, Outremont, Quebec 



stopping that they receive. In plant- 

 ing, remove the pot carefully, place the 

 plants in the centre of each light, 

 leaving two or three inches of earth 

 over the manure; pack the soil well 

 around the plants, and water; this is 

 the only hard watering that we give 

 them. As they require it during the 



Hotbeds Used by Mr. Gorman for Growing Melons 



ready for potting. We use five-inch pots, 

 two plants to a pot, and place or plunge 

 them in another bed which has been 

 made for the purpose. Care should be 

 taken to shade them for two or three 

 days to prevent wilting. 



To the place where they are to be set 

 out or grown, we give a liberal dressing 

 of well-rotted manure and plow in, after 

 which we dig the trenches ; these trenches 

 are made in rows twelve to fifteen 

 feet apart, and eighteen to twenty 

 inches deep, the same in width. When 

 tlie time comes for planting out, say 

 I be first week in May, we fill these 

 t rcnches with well-heated horse manure, 

 packed firmly and level off to the surface 

 uf the soil. We then put on the beds 

 or frames two or three feet apart in 

 tlie rows, being careful to have the 

 iiumure in the centre of each bed 



iigthwise. Next day, we fill in the 



rth. This we take from both sides 

 1)1 the frame and throw in the centre 

 of each bed, right over the manure. 

 If this work is done in the morning, 

 I luy are ready for planting that after- 

 noon, which is the best time to plant, 

 ibout four o'clock. 



liefore planting we water the plants 

 thoroughly and pinch out the top or 

 centre of each plant; this is the first 



•A portion of an adHrcss given at last convention of 

 Ibi Ootano Vegetable Growers' Association. 



season, we pull back the sashes for 

 favorable showers, being careful to 

 replace them the same evening. 



Airing is also very important. This 

 is done about eight o'clock every 

 morning, closing down around five in 



to one side, and throw in sufficient earth 

 to level off the beds. Repeat the same 

 operation on the other side and train 

 out the vines, pinching out the centre 

 or top of each vine. This is the second 

 stopping. 



By this time, the space between the 

 beds requires attention. This we dig 

 or plow and level in such a manner as to 

 have a fall to the centre between the 

 frames. As the beds begin to fill with 

 vines, they require to be let out. We 

 take off the sashes, raise the frames about 

 a foot, and train out the vines carefully, 

 again pinching back the tops. This is 

 the last stopping they receive. Place 

 four blocks or flat stones, one at 

 each comer, to receive the frame; this 

 leaves a space of three or four inches 

 and prevents the vines from being 

 crushed. Replace the sashes and air 

 as usual. 



By this time, most of the melons have 

 set, and as they begin to swell and net, 

 they should be turned, not completely 

 around, but just enough to relieve the 

 part that rests on the earth and in' 

 such a manner as not to bring the ex- 

 posed part in direct contact with the 

 sun. This process of turning is very 

 important and should be done at least 

 once a week throughout the season:) 

 About a week or less, as near as we can 

 judge, before the fruit begins to ripen, 

 we remove the sashes and frames, store 

 them away and train out any vines that 

 may require it. 



In marketing the melons, we are care- 

 ful not to have any of them over-ripe. 



The Famous Gorman Melons as They Appear in the Field 



the afternoon, so as to retain suflRcient 

 heat to do them over night. 



When the plants begin to run, that 

 is when the plants are from a foot 

 and one-half to two feet long, they 

 require earthing. To do this, we take 

 off the sashes, remove any weeds that 

 may have started, turn the vines over 



61 



To prevent this we go over the patch 

 every morning, and should it be a very 

 warm day, we place them in the store- 

 house in the evening and ship or dispose 

 of them every day. 



In the next issue an article will 

 appear on growing tomatoes in pots. 



