How to Protect Cantaloupes from Insects 105 



frequently enter elsewhere. The worms seem to f^ed 

 upon the foliage until half grown and then cut their way 

 into the melon. They often avail themselves of the shel- 

 ter of a leaf resting upon the melon. If cut out of the 

 green melon before the cavity is reached, the melon will 

 mature, but after the cavity is reached and air admitted, 

 the melon rots. I have succeeded in completely protect- 

 ing my garden crop by the use of six -pound paper bags, 

 such as merchants use in their retail business. When 

 the melons have attained the size of a goose-egg, slip 

 the bags about the stem and pin through the fold as in 

 bagging grapes. I have never known a worm to attack a 

 melon thus protected. Just before the melons should 

 ripen, tear open the bag just enough to see the melon 

 and thus discover when it is ripe. It is common to 

 advise placing a chip under each melon to keep the 

 worms out, but that is useless. Lifting the melon 

 off of the ground prevents it from softening and often 

 from rotting in wet spells. 



WATERMELON 



As the citric family of fruits is especially adapted to 

 warm climates, this melon is especially grateful to the 

 palate in warm weather. It delights in a sandy soil of 

 moderate fertility. It will not succeed upon clay or any 

 very heavy soil. Second -year new ground or an old 

 broomsedge field where there is no crab -grass seed, 

 makes typical ground for watermelons. They should not 

 be repeated on the same land for a number of j-ears, 

 since the plants are subject to blight if repeated. The 



