222 THE VINE CROPS 



unwise to plant in advance of the normal season in the hope of 

 securing an early crop. Occasionally, such plantings do well, but 

 usually the sand is poor, necessitating much replanting, and the 

 early plants which do survive are likely to be so badly stunted 

 by reason of the cool weather that they do not mature their crop 

 much in advance of the later plantings which have had the benefit 

 of warm weather from the start. Under normal seasonal condi- 

 tions, planting can safely begin in central latitudes from the tenth 

 to the twentieth of May. 



Preparations for Planting. — Melon ground should be plowed 

 early in the spring, or replowed if it was broken in the fall. After 

 plowing, it should be thoroughly pulverized by the use of a disk 

 harrow or smoothing harrow, or both, and then kept in good, 

 friable condition by occasional working until planting time arrives. 

 Shortly before planting is to begin, the field should be furrowed 

 out both ways with a single-shovel plow or a one-horse turning 

 plow. The furrows should be about six inches deep and as far 

 apart as the hills are to be placed. On some soils melon vines 

 make only a moderate growth and the hills may be planted as 

 close as four feet apart each way, but on rich soil, where they make 

 a stronger growth, they should be at least five by five, and in some 

 cases six by six. 



After the land is furrowed out as indicated, the rotted manure 

 is apphed at the intersections of the furrows (Fig. 15). Three or 

 five rows are usuahy manured at a time, the wagon straddling 

 the middle row. From a quart to a half-peck of manure is used 

 for each hill, depending upon the quality of the manure and also 

 the quantity available. The manure is dropped into the bottom 

 of the furrow, and either mixed thoroughly with the soil there, 

 and covered with a layer of pure soil in which to plant the seed, 

 or is merely covered with the soil without any mixing. The latter 

 method seems to give fully as good results as the former, especially 

 when a small quantity of manure is used, and is a great saving 

 of labor. In either case, especial care should be taken to compact 

 the soil over the manure so that when the seed is planted it will 

 not suffer from lack of moisture by reason of any vacant air space 

 in or about the mass of manure. Sometimes the manure is covered 

 with soil by merely plowing a furrow on each side of the furrow 

 containing the manure, but unless the soil is in exceedingly fine 

 condition, this method is not as satisfactory as using a hoe and 

 giving each hill individual attention. In making the hill, some 



