288 HOW TO PRESERVE MELON SEED. 



HOW TO SAVE AND PRESERVE MELON SEED. 



Par. 59. To have good melon seed that will 

 keep, it is of importance to select it from well- 

 ripened fruit, and it is also preferable to save it 

 from the earliest, and those grown near the stein 

 of the plant, as the plants raised from such seed 

 generally prove more productive, and the fruit 

 set better than when saved from fruit grown on 

 an advanced part of the vine 



When the melon is cut for eating, the pulp in 

 the centre, in which the seed is intermixed, 

 should be preserved, and the seed afterwards 

 washed clean from the pulp, then spread it a few 

 days to dry and properly harden; after which, 

 place each variety in separate packets, each 

 packet being carefully labelled with the name 

 of the sort, and date of the year written thereon, 

 then deposit it in any dry place until it is 

 wanted. 



Seed saved, as above directed, will retain its 

 vegetative qualities for several years; and, as 

 I have before remarked, that it proves more 

 productive when three or four years old, at 



