f>4 MELON CULTURE 



in four-inch pots and then transplanted into the soil 

 later on, placing the plants about 2^2 feet apart. 

 More seeds should be planted than are wanted to 

 remain, in order to guard against accidents thin- 

 ning out the weaker ones later on, leaving only one 

 in a hill. If the crop is wanted for the Christmas 

 holidays, the seeds should be planted about the first 

 of September ; and for early spring, plant about the 

 first to the middle of November. 



Training. As soon as the plants have gotten a 

 good start in the bench, the terminal bud is nipped 

 out, so as to cause it to throw out laterals; two or 

 three is enough. These are then trained up to a 

 wire or cord, and as soon as they reach the top, 

 they are cut back. This will induce them to pro- 

 duce fruitbuds. 



Fertilizing the Blossoms. This is done by hand, 

 as the male and female flowers are borne on differ- 

 ent parts of the plant and there are no bees or other 

 insects, and scarcely any wind to aid in the process 

 of pollination. Hand pollination is done very 

 rapidly by means of a piece of clean glass and 

 camel's-hair brush, as explained on page 6. One 

 should not be in a hurry to fertilize the blossoms 

 until there are a number ready, so that the fruits 

 on the same plant may ripen up together. We 

 should remember that the most exhaustive process 

 on the plant is the ripening of the seeds, hence if 

 one melon is allowed to ripen long before the others, 

 the later ones are likely to be checked in their 

 growth and consequently will be of poor quality. 

 Four or five melons to the vine are all it can ripen 

 up properly, and some varieties will not carry more 

 than two or three. 



