184 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



solved. Meantime prevention must be studied, and the 

 first step is to advance the crop as far as possible before the 

 sultry weather of the dog-days. Insects are suspected of 

 spreading the disease, and so should be ehminated. A 

 steady, continuous growth should be maintained for the 

 sake of the physical vigor of the plants. To frequent culti- 

 vation might be added a light application of nitrate of soda 

 as the vine approaches maturity, the object being to drive 

 the plant into the dangerous August weather with the thrift- 

 iest possible growth. 



There are strains of melons called rust resistant. Their 

 rust-resistant qualities vary under different conditions of 

 climate and weather. On the whole, they represent an ad- 

 vance, but the time has not come to depend on them greatly 

 in the east. 



Spraying. 



Some good results in cucumber growing have been achieved 

 by spraying. With melons the success has not been as gen- 

 eral; some report good, and some very indifferent, results. 

 Variation in results is probably explained by the fact that 

 sometimes the disease present is one susceptible to the ef- 

 fects of spraying and sometimes not, the bacterial wilt not 

 generally yielding to such treatment as readil}" as downy 

 mildew or anthracnose, if at all. Undoubtedly, also, the 

 violence and rapidity of the attack vary and have their 

 influence on the measure of success in spraying. 



Under the usual circumstances melons should never fol- 

 low melons in successive years. A rotation of three years, 

 at least, is generally advisable, although one prominent 

 grower states that he has raised melons eighteen years on 

 the same field by sowing with rye after picking and plowing 

 in the rye in the spring. He states that the eighteenth 

 crop was better than the first. 



Spraying must not be put off until nearly time for the 

 blight to appear, but should be begun as a preventive 

 measure as soon as the plants are well above the ground, 

 and continued once in ten days or so till the fruit is safe 

 or the vines past hope. Use Bordeaux. This will stain the 

 fruit more or less, but that is not important. 



