THE VEGETABLE GARDEN I7I 



"About July I, I planted hills of Rocky Ford 

 cantaloupes in each alternate strawberry row, 

 allowing three strawberry hills between the can- 

 taloupe hills. This made the hills 8 feet apart one 

 way and yY^ the other, and still left the wide inter- 

 furrows free for cultivation as before. As soon as 

 the cantaloupes came up about loo pounds to the 

 acre of good phosphate was scattered around the 

 hills and hoed in. The berry plants began about 

 this time to run freely, so I attached the rolling 

 coulter of the flushing plow to the one-horse plow 

 and ran it 2 or 3 inches deep on each side of the 

 furrows. The plow threw the severed plants out 

 of the way. Next day a cultivator with large 

 flukes threw the earth back in place. One more 

 hoeing and one more cultivation were given to com- 

 plete the work, except for the pulling of occasional 

 stray weeds. 



" The cantaloupes set fairly well and I netted $25 

 an acre from the crop and left a fine stand of straw- 

 berry plants in condition for a full crop the next 

 year. Had all the fruit matured, I believe I should 

 have netted nearly $100 an acre. In October I 

 gave the berry plants a top-dressing of about 800 

 pounds an acre of high-grade phosphate, contain- 

 ing about 10 per cent of actual potash. This ex- 

 periment has been so encouraging to me that I 

 shall try it again with hopes of better success next 

 time. The cash returns from the cantaloupes have 

 been more than the combined expense for both 

 crops. I cannot see that the future berry crop has 

 been in any way injured by having the cantaloupes 

 planted with it, nor by the trampling in gathering- 

 the fruit." 



