178 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



with their rains and "muggy" heat, set the ground to steam- 

 ing, and in consequence the vines to bhghting. 



To get an early start one should get the seed in the ground 

 as early as the late frosts will permit, and as soon as the 

 ground is warm enough for germination. Some prefer to 

 gain time by starting the plants under glass. This is at best 

 a dehcate operation and requires patience and study. 



Many of the great melon growers of the Arkansas valley 

 start them in cold-frames with success, and claim a hardier 

 plant is grown than in a hotbed; but the writer, in several 

 years' trial, has always encountered some difficult}^ in get- 

 ting a good stand in cold-frames. Perhaps there is too much 

 cloudy weather in our early spring for the beds to warm up 

 sufficiently. 



A hotbed, though more expensive, overcomes the difficulty, 

 and if well handled insures a good germination and continu- 

 ous growth. Such a hotbed requires 1}^ or 2 feet of horse 

 manure in the bottom, which should be put in, leveled and 

 trodden enough to make a level floor for the receptacles in 

 which the seeds are sown. Plant boxes or inverted turf 

 may be used for these. We use some of both. With boxes, 

 finely composted manure may be mixed with rich loam for 

 filling. The manure may be screened through an inch-mesh 

 screen made of old telephone wire. If preferred, manure 

 may be put in the bottom of the boxes, pressed down, and 

 the loam put on top. If the loam is sterilized with steam, 

 the weed seeds will be killed, so that the necessity of weed- 

 ing the beds may be obviated. The "damping oft'" fungus 

 will also be destroyed, and the growth of the plants be 

 greatly promoted by sterilizing. Success can, however, be 

 attained without it. The boxes may be bought in the flat, 

 and tacked together as used. These should be filled level 

 full. 



If turf is used, it is preferable to select in the fall the 

 place where it is to be cut, spreading on a coat of stable 

 manure to enrich it. The sod may be cut into 5 or 6 inch 

 squares, about 5 inches thick, and laid soil up, on the 

 manure of the hotbed. After all is ready the glass should 

 be put in place for two or three days, to allow the bed to 



