186 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



Under Connecticut valley conditions the Emerald Gem is 

 an extra early and very refined melon as to flavor, but it 

 is not a good shipper or keeper. We raise it to supply trade 

 till something else is ready. Next in this region may come 

 the Extra Early Osage, or, if the market cares for them, 

 some of the Gem type of melons, like Burrell's Gem. These 

 are all yellow-fleshed melons. Green varieties may be se- 

 lected if preferred. The beginner should try more than one 

 kind and stick to it, and develop by selection a strain of 

 his own perfectly adapted, if possible, to his conditions. 



Hybridizing. 



Just how far this subject is a legitimate subject of study 

 and experiment to the average grower is a question. The 

 process is interesting and occasionally profitable, but it 

 draws on the most valuable asset the farmer has, — his own 

 personal specialized attention. Sometimes a grower finds 

 himself in possession of a variety that seems adapted to his 

 locality and market, but lacks some one necessary quality 

 which it may be worth while to try to supply by a cross 

 with a melon that possesses it. Random crossing produces 

 99 inferior varieties to 1 valuable one. 



In our own work our difficulty at first was to find a vari- 

 ety that combined flavor with standing-up quality in the 

 market; and to this we sought to add a degree of hardihood 

 that would carry the plant through to fall in healthy condi- 

 tion. In the former we feel satisfied with results. In the 

 latter we have been only partially successful. 



A peculiarity of certain vines, like the cucumber, is that 

 they bear their stamens and pistils on different flowers. 

 This is true of some varieties of cantaloupes, but not of 

 others. Many melon vines produce perfect flowers, having 

 many staminate blossoms in addition. 



If it is desired to obtain something definite and known 

 in a cross, the closed petals or corolla and stamens should 

 be cut away from the flower just before the bloom opens, 

 after which the flower may be covered again for a day. A 

 small paper bag will do for this. At the end of this time 

 it is in about the right condition to receive the pollen, which 



