382 FORCING GARDEN. 



bed c. The pit d is filled with fermenting litter or tan- 

 ners' bark; e e are spaces for linings. This pit, ac- 



Fig, 49. 



cording to the experience of the Horticultural Society 

 of -London, Ims been found "far superior to any other 

 yet constructed.'' Tr^^/js., vol. vi., p. 373. Sometimes 

 the whole is formed of wood, or sometimes only the 

 part above ground. 



The extent of the" melonry must depend upon the 

 size of the giirden, and the amount of the demand. 

 Where there is a large family, and especially where 

 pine-apples are cultivated (to the forwarding of wdiich 

 some portion of the melonry may 'frequently be aux- 

 iliary), sixty or seventy sashes may be considered as a 

 moderate coniplement. 



The Melon ( Cucumis 3IeIo) has long been cultivated 

 in Britain, but the period of its introduction' and its 

 native country are not well ascertained. TJbe plant is 

 a tender annual, requiring considerable care and skill 

 to rear it in perfection ; but it repays the labors of the 

 horticulturist by affording a large, and to most persons 

 a highly palatable, fruit. The varieties are numerous, 

 and, from their tendency to sport or Vary, are "rather 

 fugitive in their duration. Many of the old favorites 

 have disappeared, and those at present in vogue will 

 doubtless take the same course, or will at least assume 



