Xo. 4.] CANTALOUPE GROWING. 179 



warm up, after which it is ready for the seed, provided that 

 the soil has reached a uniform temperature of about 80". 

 The hotbed needs to be under the care of some one who 

 will not forget it. 



So long as the beds are kept moist, and until plants begin 

 to come up, temperature running up to 120° will do no 

 harm. When the plants are up, 100° is all right for the first 

 ten days; after that a lower temperature will do. 



These, of course, are daytime temperatures. Some loss 

 of heat will cause them to go down more or less at night, 

 perhaps to around 80°. Ventilation must never be forgotten. 

 The need of it increases with the growth of the plants 

 as it is necessary that they be well " hardened off " before 

 transplanting, and also because all the plants in the bed may 

 be destroyed by neglecting ventilation for even an hour 

 on a hot, bright day. 



The growth of the plants may of course be promoted by 

 light applications of hen manure and acid phosphate, but 

 care should be used to see that the bed gets air after this 

 application, since escaping ammonia may do injury. Or 

 the plants may be watered with a nitrate of soda solution. 



Plants should be thinned to one or two in a box in order 

 to get a stocky plant. The proper time to transplant is 

 when the little vines have four leaves. Transplanting may 

 be left until there are six leaves, but should never be done 

 earlier than the four-leaf stage. Just before transplanting 

 time the plants must be gradually hardened by leaving off 

 the glass. 



In setting, the bed is thoroughly wet down, after which 

 the boxes or turfs are loaded on a wagon and taken to the 

 field. They are placed in the furrow and the soil drawn 

 around them with a hoe. In case boxes are used they are 

 cut away as the cube of wet earth is placed in the ground. 

 If the plants are hoed at once and frequently, watering is 

 seldom necessary. 



Field Planting. 

 Two things should be fixed in the mind with this system 

 of planting. Since the early start of the crop is important, 

 the soil should be put into the finest possible tilth for the 



