106 Southern Gardener^s Practical Manual 



land should be thoroiighlj' broken broadcast, deep fur- 

 rows opened ten feet apart and checked every eight feet. 

 Open with pronged hoe at the checks a space eight 

 inches deep and two feet in circumference. Apply in these 

 openings a good shovelful of well -fermented compost — 

 about five pounds. The compost made of 600 pounds of 

 cottonseed, 600 of manure, 600 of high grade acid phos- 

 phate and 200 pounds of kainit, thoroughly mixed and 

 thrown into a large heap to ferment for six weeks, will 

 be free from live seed and ready to be promptly utilized 

 by the plants. A small handful of cottonseed-meal to the 

 hill may be worked into the soil and subsoil, and a flat 

 hill made over the manure by using surface soil, and the 

 land is ready for the seed. Plant as directed for canta- 

 loupes, half the seed very early and the other half a 

 week later to be sure of a stand. If fresh manure is 

 used, it should be applied in January to ripen before 

 planting time. This should be covered with soil, but the 

 hill finished just before planting. If enough manure 

 cannot be secured, a standard commercial compound 

 mixed in the hill with woods mold or rich loam will 

 answer well, but I prefer some manure in every hill. 

 Very heavy manuring increases the growth of vine, at 

 the expense of the size of the melons. This was tested 

 on a large scale in 1884, using one shovelful of the com- 

 post — five pounds — on half a field and two shovel- 

 fuls — ten pounds — on the other half. The crop was 

 nearly 100 per cent better where five pounds were used, 

 and the melons much larger. Cover the seed with 

 friable soil one inch in depth, six to ten to the hill. If 

 baking rains, followed by drying wind, occur before the 



