MUSK5IELON 



MTOPORUJI 



1051 



fruit is the plaoing of ' 

 of each hill. It is m- 

 rotted, as the par:iiii'iu 

 moisture and mitrim. 

 best plan of preparinL; 

 a full spade deep, tli. u 

 face with the maimrr 



■<1 manure at the bottom 

 tli;it this be thoroughly 

 ~ lo feed the roots with 

 iliis will supply. The 

 1 1 alluring is to dig holes 

 . within 4 in. of the sur- 

 .V, r with 3 in. of soil. 

 This can be done s.v.ral days |iri.ir to puttini; out the 

 melons. The objeot of this\.x]i.usive treatment is to 

 furnish the roots witli f.ju.l an. I moisture through the 

 heated season and induce a free growth, which will over- 

 come scalding and also attacks of enemies. 



The above methods will apply to both Musk- and 

 Watermelons. The soil best suited to melon-growing 

 is a sandy loam. When the soil is of a clayey nature 

 and heavy, a free use of sand is beneficial. Muskmelon- 

 forcing is followed successfully on some of the large 

 and fully equipped private places. For this only a 

 limited number of varieties are used-prineipally the 

 orange-fleshed sorts with prominent netting on the ex- 

 terior. Growing by this method is treated under the 

 head of Forcing. 



Muskmelons are a staiile articl.- :miong the people of 

 Persia, Italy and al-- ili l.-Miians. The thin-skinned 

 Persian types ar. x I la.ted for being very 



sweet and of fin.- i' li.tter grown on very 



light soil. The la.uini. . in -aiiiM ni New .lerst-y along 

 the coast supply the larsre markets ..f i i-i. in . iii. - with 

 the famous Cassaba, or Persian, thr -. ■ J. ty 



havingbeenoriginally procuredfroin - ' i i .ami 

 growers adhere to such varieties as i , i i nny 



Lind, Hackensack, Green Citron. N l;il.r 



Cream. The varieties introduced in i - i ilie 



orange-fleshed sorts are the EmeraM ' '•■■.:■. I'ri- 



nmph and Paul Rose, and the green il I; r lal. 



These are an acipiisition. and find roa.l} -:,|. v, !,.n loMp- 

 erly grown. K. inir -' -i. .liura size and quite solid: they 

 «ndure tr II II. The famous Montreal Mar- 



ket varioi '. . - il in Boston, commands a very 



high pri( c. I' i- "'a .t the best for transportation and 

 for keeping qualitit- s ; of yellowish gold color and fine 

 flavor. It can be found in'all eastern Canadian markets. 

 Muskmelon -growing is conducted on a large scale in 

 the southern states, but only for their local markets. 

 The valley of the Mississippi is particularly adapted 

 for this industrv. New Jersey supplies one-half of the 

 Muskmelon crop ; the seashore trade is the most exten- 

 sive known, and as this market is so accessible to the 

 grower, many farmers have their entire farms taken up 

 for this purpose. They also have a method, not prac- 

 ticed elsewhere, which "is a good one for extending the 

 picking season over a long period. Their first planting 

 is 3Hx5 feet, and two to four weeks later they plant 

 again between the hills, thus prolonging picking season 

 in the same patch, and giving a full stand of plants in 

 the field with minimum labor. The varieties grown by 

 the largest planters are the Jenny Lind, Golden Jenny, 

 Netted Gem and Green Citron, and only in very recent 

 years have they added such varieties as the Emerald 

 Gera and Triumph. j. Qtto Thilow. 



MUSTAED, species of Brassica (which see), chiefly 

 B. alba, nigra, jiiitr,, I and .f.ii'.niica. There are two 

 types of Mustard-L'riiwin^-.-fiir the leaves, which are 

 ■used as a vegetablf ; fio- tin- ~i-.cls, which yield oil and 

 are used as a condinn-nt. Talilr :\lustard (the flour) is 

 the product mostly of Bi-ussk,, i,i,,rn, although seeds 

 of B. alba and B. jiinceu an- aU" u-. .1 fur making it. 

 The Mustards often beconi.' im iiii.' wi .-.Is, but since 

 they are annual, they are easily k.pt in i-ln-.'k by means 

 of good farming (see Weeds). 



As a culinary vegetable, Mustard is used for " greens " 

 (which see). For this purpose, the large soft basal 

 leaves are desired. These leaves grow best in early 

 spring, although they do fairly well in the fall. If sown 

 late in the season, the plant makes few bottom leaves and 

 run quickly to seed. Perhaps the best of the Mustards 

 for greens in this country is Brassica Japonica (Fig. 

 266, Vol. I. ) , a species which has long been grown in this 

 countrv, but which has no other well-known name than 

 "Mustard." This often seeds itself and comes up the 

 following spring. Some of the large-leaved forms of 

 Chinese Mustard {Brassica Jttncea) are excellent, and 



should be better known. One of the oriental species 

 (B. napiformis) makes an edible turnip-like root (Fig. 

 263, Vol. I.). Mustard needs a rich quick soil for the 

 producing of the best foliage. Sow the seeds in drills 

 1 ft. or more apart, and thin to 6 in. in the row. 



L. H. B. 

 MUSTAKD, CLOWN'S. Iberis amara. 



MYALL. SeeAcaciu. 



MYOPdKUM (Greek words referring to the translu- 

 cent resinous dots in the Ivs.). Myopordcem. About 20 

 species of shrubs, ranging from Australia and New Zea- 

 land to China and Japan. One of them was once a fa- 



lobeil tis.. anil i.nianiiutal ln-rries. These two are de- 

 sirable fi.r plaiiriii^' n. ar i!n- si-aeoast in S. Calif. 



In Iss:; it wa^ siaiiil in ilii- Garden that for 20 years 

 many tliiiu^aml iilant- i,|' .1/. ;i. u-cfYo/i'iim had been sold 

 annua", m I'n '.. , . i i i' , :- ,.r Paris. One grower 

 ahva; ~ 'i : ■' : Tne plants were 



gnmi 'I I ' mI, I w- decoration in 



spniL-. .\;. ■ ■ . ::.. Il ,■ must beautiful as 



seen \iitli it> [.ali. ^nin liranihi..-. drooping gracefully 

 around the pot sides, and more especially so when the 

 shoots are wreathed with sweet, snow-white blossoms." 

 This species is practically unknown in England and 

 America. Full details of the French method of culture 

 are given in Gn. 24, p. 409. The American gardener may 

 get some general suggestions from the experience re- 

 corded under JSpaeris and jErica. 



Myoporuras are erect and tall, or diffuse, glabrous or 

 glutinous : Ivs. alternate, rarely opposite, entire or 

 toothed : fls. axillary, usually clustered, small or medium 

 sized, usually white; calyx 5-cut or5-parted, somewhat 

 bell-shaped or funnel-shaped, the tube very short or 

 long: lobes usually 5. The genus is divided into 5 sec- 



1449. Myoporum 



tions based on the shape of the fls.. the number of the 

 corolla-lobes and stamens, which vary from 4-6, and 

 the number of cells in the ovary, which vary from 2-10. 

 Usually the calyx segments are small and narrow, but 

 in one "section they are large and leafy. 

 A. Lvs. lanceolate. 

 Isettun, Forst. f. (if. perfordtum, Horf.). Fig. 1449. 

 Lvs. 2-4 in. long, lanceolate or obovate-lanceolate, acute 

 or obtuse, finely serrate above the middle, bright green, 

 shining: fls. white, 4-9 lines wide, with rounded lobes, 

 which are hairy inside. New Zealand. 



