164? THE VEGETABLE CULTIVATOR. 



1. Early Cantaleupe Celebrated for its popu- 

 larity and firm flesh. This excellent little melon 

 was brought from Portugal about the beginning 

 of the last century, by the Honourable Dormer 

 Stanhope, and was called the " Dormer " melon for 

 many years ; it is the same which Miller describes 

 as the Portugal or pocket melon. There was an- 

 other introduced about the same time, called the 

 Galloway, which answers to the description given by 

 the same author of the " Zatte," but the first ac- 

 quired the preference. 



The Early Cantaleupe, so called, is nearly round ; 

 colour, a yellowish green, rind smooth, and the 

 fruit very slightly ribbed, the pulp orange coloured, 

 firm, and, when not too early ripened, pleasant, and 

 high flavoured. On the whole, it is an excellent 

 fruit for an early season. It is a very prolific 

 bearer, generally setting its first show of fruit 

 kindly. Should there happen to be two or more set, 

 and swelling off equally at the same time, it is a 

 sign the plants are in health. 



After what may be called the first crop, is cut, 

 if the plants are pruned back to a healthy leader, and 

 the surface of the bed refreshed with a little good 

 mould as deep as it will admit, without injuring the 

 wood, a second crop is frequently produced, equal, 

 if not superior to the first. 



When such pruning takes place, the plants should 

 have but little air for a day or two ; the mould must 

 be kept rather moist by a slight watering, which 

 should be done in the morning; and if the sun 

 should shine out clear, the lights must be moderately 

 shaded ; for which purpose a double netting or thin 



