336 How THE FARM PAYS. 



planted in each hill early in May, and when well up the plants are 

 thinned out to three or four of the most promising. It is a crop that 

 can be as easily raised as a crop of corn, and when sold at wholesale, 

 it is safe to say, will pay a profit of at least $100 per acre. The 

 variety most preferred for this section is that known as Hackensack, 

 which is grown by the thousands of acres for the New York market. 

 The flesh is of a greenish-yellow color, and is of the most delicious 

 flavor. Another variety is the Surprise, equally good in all respects, 

 the flesh being of a salmon or pink color. This variety, however, is 

 not so popular in the markets as the green-fleshed sorts. The most 

 successful growers greatly increase the yield of this crop by a system 

 of pinching the main vine, so as to encourage the lateral shoots, upon 

 which the fruit is borne. A large grower in the vicinity of Hacken- 

 sack, N. J., a noted locality in this respect, gives the following details 

 of the culture : 



Melons are a special crop which needs particular care and culture. 

 In some localities they are grown for market in great quantities. It 

 is said that, on one evening last summer, 160 two-horse wagon loads, 

 each of about 1,000 melons, crossed by one ferry from a suburb of 

 New York City. And this was by no means an extra occasion. The 

 melon season lasts from July into October, so that some idea may be 

 gained from this of the magnitude of this business. The crop is a 

 very profitable one when skillfully cultivated, and often realizes $500 

 to $1,000 an acre, and more rarely even as high as $1,500, when the 

 melons are the first in the market and bring the highest price of the 

 season. But as with other products, these large profits 'are only 

 realized by those growers whose long experience and skill give them 

 more than usual advantages. The methods, however, are no secret, 

 and any one who will follow them may just as easily meet with the 

 same success. 



The most suitable soil for melons is a rich, warm, deep, sandy loam 

 having a southern or south-western exposure. The latter is prefer- 

 able, as it gets the last rays of the sun and the soil is thus warmed up 

 for the night, and, being sheltered from eastern and northern winds, 

 retains this warmth until the morning. This may make several days* 

 difference in the ripening of the crop, which may be equivalent to 

 $300 or $400 an acre in the value of the fruit. The best fertilizer is 

 well decayed stable manure and night soil in equal parts, with a 

 moderate addition of Peruvian guano applied in the hill. The 

 manner of culture is as follows: The soil is plowed in the fall or 

 early in the spring and is cross-plowed the first days of May, about 

 twenty loads per acre of manure being plowed under. The ground 

 is then well harrowed and furrowed out six feet apart each way. A 



