22 MELON CULTURE 



five or ten melon seeds. This flat is then filled with 

 clean sand which has been dampened, the seeds put 

 in place as indicated in the cut, and the whole 

 covered with glass in order to prevent evaporation, 

 and placed in a warm room for a few days. It is an 

 easy matter then to count out and figure the per 

 cent of those which have germinated. This requires 

 but very little labor and expense, and the satisfac- 

 tion of knowing that the seeds are going to grow 

 will add greatly to one's peace of mind. 



Selecting Melons for Seed; Its Influence on the 

 Crop. It is pretty generally understood by those 

 who have given the matter attention that there are 

 a number of influences at work in the production of 

 a melon crop concerning which the average farmer 

 or gardener knows but little, or if he knows about 

 them, he seldom if ever attempts to follow them 

 out to their logical conclusions. For example, take 

 the matter of selecting melons for seeds for future 

 planting. A little observation will show one that, 

 in most cases, the most haphazard methods are prac- 

 ticed by the growers who save their own seeds. 

 To be sure, many of the large commercial growers 

 have a kind of standard which they follow, but in 

 most cases they do not follow out their selection 

 with reference to any logical sequence. For ex- 

 ample, each grower has his own idea as to the size 

 and shape of the melon which he wishes to grow, 

 and he selects fruits for seeds along those lines en- 

 tirely, disregarding two of the most important 

 points which go to make a perfect and profitable 

 melon ; viz., productiveness and quality. 



Instead of going into the field and selecting the 

 type of melon wanted from the most productive 



