EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 



45 



ing spraying- as a regular procedure in melon culture. Each 

 year the sprayed vines have remained green longer, but usu- 

 ally the desired results of increased yield and flavor over the 

 unsprayed melons have not been forthcoming. The past sea- 

 son was, however, an exception in this respect, for the sprayed 

 melons both yielded more and had better quality. Perhaps I 

 can best express the spraying question by saying that it will 

 do no harm and may do good, and that it is most desirable in 

 those cases where melon growing is an important part of the 

 farm work and where it will receive the necessary attention. 

 The fungicide used is the ordinary Bordeaux mixture, and the 

 first treatment need not be made before the first of July, or 

 even as late as the fifteenth. In general, treatments every ten 

 days or two weeks, according to the weather, and making four 

 to six altogether, are necessary. 



Another possible method of combating the blight is 

 through resistant varieties. The seedsmen are now beginning 

 to advertise such, and the Colorado Experiment Station has 

 been conducting experiments recently with a strain of the 

 Rocky Ford, which is said to show unusual resistance to the 

 leaf mold fungus, a fungus which also does damage in this 

 State. Our experiments with melons the past year were not 

 alone variety tests, but had for their prime motive the dis- 

 covery of the degrees of resistance of different varieties' to- 

 ward fungous attack. Therefore, we made special effort to 

 secure all varieties for which any merit in this direction was 

 claimed. The results were not altogether promising, for no 

 variety showed marked disease resistance, and such differences 

 as did appear may have been in part accidental, so that anoth- 

 er year's test may give a different set of varieties that retain 

 their foliage longest. While we do not think it likely that a 

 perfectly resistant variety with other desirable qualities will 

 be found, still it is quite possible that the tendency to resist 

 attacks may be increased by careful selection and breeding. 

 This and greater stability in quality in such desirable varie- 

 ties are points we have chiefly in mind in these experiments. 

 We have gone into details regarding this subject of melons 

 because we wish to come more intimately in contact with the 



