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lutely ncceflary for the Growth of 



Plants. 



When your Fruit begins to ap- 

 pear, you will at the lame Time 

 perceive a great Number of Male 

 Flowers (which the Gardeners call 

 falfe BloIToms, and are eaiily diftin- 

 guiOi'd from the fruitful ones, by 

 their being produced upon a flender 

 Pedicle, whereas the fruitful ones 

 are always faften'd to the Top of 

 the young Fruitj : Theie are by 

 many Perlbns carefully pick'd off, 

 as fuppoling that they weaken the 

 Plants, and are injurious to the 

 young Fruit j but this is a very 

 great Miftake, (as I have more than 

 once expericnc'dj for they are ab- 

 folutely neceilary to impregnate the 

 Ovary of the fruitful Flower : 

 Which when done, the Fruit will 

 foon fweil and grow large » but if 

 this be obftru6ted, they feidom come 

 to any thing, but on the contrary, 

 change yellow, and fall off : There- 

 tore I would caution every one 

 againfl the nice pruning of Melons, 

 in which they are fo liable to com- 

 mit Miftakesj whereas on the con- 

 trary, when they never do any 

 thing more but only flop the firil 

 leadmg Shoots, to encourage their 

 producing ftrong Runners, there is 

 no Danger of mifcarrying, it the 

 Vines are but kept clear from 

 Weeds, and not tumbled orbruiied, 

 but carefully attended with Water, 

 C^-f. then the natural Growth of 

 the Plants not being obflrudted, you 

 need not fear Succefs. 



During the Growth of the Melons 

 you fhould conlfantly attend them 

 with Water, being cautious not to 

 give them too much j but when 

 the Fruit is arriv'd to a coniidcrable 

 Bignels, you fliould intirely forbear 

 watering them, or at leaft do it 

 very Iparingly, for the Water which 

 is then given them, does but cgn- 



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tribute to the making them large 

 and ill-tafted, which fliould always 

 be avoided, for a middle-fiz'd well- 

 tafled Fruit is far preferable to the 

 mofl monflrous, watery, green, ill- 

 tafted Melon that was ever pro- 

 duced. 



When the Fruit begins to ripen, 

 (which you may know by the 

 changing its Colour, and emitting 

 an Odour when clofely fmell'd to) 

 you fhould turn it every Day, that 

 every Side of the Melon may be 

 expos'd to the Sun, that it may be 

 equally ripen'd on all Sides: And 

 if you intend to eat it fbon after 

 it is gathered, you fhould let it re- 

 main upon the Vines until it changes 

 pretty yellow, and the Stalks feeni 

 to fcparate from the Fruit 5 then 

 you fhould cut it off in the Morn- 

 ing before the Sun is too hot, ob- 

 ferving to preferve two Inches of 

 the Stalk to the Fruit, otherwife it 

 will lofe of its Richnefs : But when 

 the Fruit is to be fent to any Di- 

 flance, fo that it will be two or 

 three Days before it h eaten, then 

 you mult obferve not to let it be 

 too ripe before it be cut, for it 

 will be little worth, after beino" 

 kept two or three Days. 



If theabove-mention'd Diredlions 

 be duly obferv'd, you will not have 

 Occafion to pull o if the Leaves from 

 the Vines, to admit the Sun to the 

 Fruit, as is often pradlisM, though 

 very abfurdly, for the Fruit will 

 always thrive much better where 

 it has a gentle Coverture of Leaves, 

 than where it is too much expos'd 

 to the Sun, which hardens the outer 

 Skin, and prevents its kindly Growth 

 whereby it is rendered tou2;h and 

 ill-taffed. 



But notwithflanding I have ad- 

 vis'd the planting out the Melon 

 Plants upon the Hills in the Middle 

 of each Giafs, ye: it* any Perlbn is 



ver/ 



