82 .THE WATERMELON 



(b) Plantifig. The best planting date for southern New 

 Hampshire has been found to be from the 20th to the 3rst of 

 May. The fact that the watermelon vines are tender and 

 quickly stunted by the cold when small, should always be 

 remembered by the New England or Northern grower. 



The preparation of the hills, which are ten feet apart each 

 way after Mr. Hall's practice, is as follows: Fill the hills, 

 which should be dug 8 or 10 inches deep and iS to 24 inches 

 in diameter, two-thirds full with a rich, well-rotted manure. 



He prefers a good stable manure that has been piled up 

 over winter and thoroughly chopped over, with a small quan- 

 tity of hen manure and sand added. Enough soil is drawn 

 on this and thoroughl}^ mixed with the compost to fill the hill 

 nearly full. A half pint of unleached wood ashes, or fine hen 

 manure, or a small handful of phosphates, is sprinkled over 

 the top soil and well mixed with it, after which enough soil 

 is added to make the hill level with the top of the ground. 

 The hill is now ready for the seed. The seed should be from 

 a reliable source. Ten or twelve seeds should be planted in 

 a circle, about one foot in diameter, in the centre of each hill ; 

 then draw on from one-half to two-thirds of an inch of fresli, 

 moist soil, and press it down firmly with the hoe ; also, add 

 lightly from one-fourth to one-half inch of loose dirt, to act 

 as a mulch. When the seeds germinate, and as soon as the 

 plants begin to run, or after all danger from insects is past, 

 thin to two or three plants, leaving the thriftiest in each hill. 



(c) Cjiltivatio?i. Mr. Hall begins cultivation as soon as 

 the plants are well up. This work is done deeply and thor- 

 oughly, and is repeated as often as necessary to keep the 

 ground mellow and free from weeds. It is especially impor- 

 tant after a rain to loosen the soil around the young plants in 

 order to prevent the surface from becoming hard and crusty. 

 After the vines begin to run, the cultivation is best to be shal- 

 low. Remove by hand all weeds appearing after the vines 

 have covered the ground. When cultivating be careful not to 

 step on or injure the vines in any way, as they are very tender. 



After the vines besfin to run, and before the melons set thev 

 will sometimes be blown around and badly injured by a strong 

 wind. To prevent this, draw a little loose dirt over the vines 



