372 VEGETABLE GARDENING 



Thinning should not be done until the plants are well 

 started. The tendency is to allow fewer plants to the 

 hill than formerly. It is doubtful whether more than 

 two plants should ever be left. Crowding always de- 

 creases the size of the melons. An experiment made in 

 Georgia (Ga. Sta. Bui. 57, p. 177) shows the importance 

 of severe thinning. The results were as follows : 



Average 



Marketable weight per melon Unmarketable 

 Ibs. 



Plat A, one plant to the hill 90 1.09 19 



Plat B, two plants to the hill 116 .98 30 



Plat C, three plants to the hill 86 .99 27 



Plat D, four plants to the hill 47 .79 57 



One plant to the hill, it will be observed, yielded the 

 largest melons and the smallest percentage of unmarket- 

 able fruit. Two plants to the hill gave more marketable 

 melons, but there was no real gain, as the melons were 

 smaller and there was a larger percentage of unmarket- 

 able fruit. Three and four plants to the hill gave fewer 

 marketable melons and a larger percentage of unmar- 

 ketable fruit; the marketable melons were also smaller 

 than in plats thinned to one plant to the hill. 



Forcing boxes have been profitably used in some sec- 

 tions. They are especially popular in New Mexico, but 

 probably possess even more merit in northern sections. 

 The New Mexico station (New Mexico Station Bui. 63, 

 p. 27) gives the following account of their construction 

 and management : "These boxes may be made from inch 

 lumber, 8 x 10 x 12-inch, with a groove for a 10 x 12- 

 inch glass. The cantaloupe seed is planted in the field 

 as early as possible in the spring and the glass-covered 

 boxes are placed over the hills; at the station the seed 

 has been planted as early as March 25. 



"The seed soon germinates and the plants grow right 

 along without being injured by the low night tempera- 

 ture. If it can be so arranged, it is desirable to have 



