22 EXPERIMENTS WITH MUSKMELONS 



year; the way shewn me by a large dealer as the best method 

 of detecting the superior fruits is to select those stemless, as 

 already described, or those from which the stem easily sepa- 

 rates; then by smelling of the fruit at the stem end, the aroma 

 present will indicate their value. 



If none is detected, or a very slight one, the fruit will be of 

 little value. In case the stem is already removed the same 

 test is applied, but the fruit should be scraped with a knife 

 or, more commonly, the thumb nail, where the stem was sev- 

 ered, and this aids in the detection of aroma and hence flavor. 

 With the larger varieties the general appearance and sense of 

 smell are perhaps the only index as to quality. 



Each variety has its characteristics and the more one ac- 

 quaints himself with them the better judgment he has as t© 

 picking time. A good muskmelon picked and marketed at 

 the proper time usually is delicious, while if too green or 

 allowed to over-ripen it becomes a rebuke to the melon trade. 



EXPERIMENT NO. Ill 



TRANSPLANTING PLANTS STARTED EARLY VS. SOWING SEED 



OUT OF DOORS 



This experiment as planned and conducted was to determine 

 the comparative yield of the two methods of growing musk- 

 melons and to determine if the transplanted plants produce 

 fruit enough earlier to compensate for the extra care necessa- 

 rily given them. 



A large plot was set aside for this experiment and the three 

 varieties shown in Fig. 2 were used. These varieties are 

 early and found to be very desirable in our markets. Two 

 rows consisting of fourteen hills of the transplanted and one 

 row planted with seeds were devoted to the No. 23 Rose Gem. 

 A similar planting with two rows of the seed was made of the 

 No. 80, Netted Gem, and with No. 85, True Jenny Lind, 

 but one row was transplanted and two planted with seed. 



