296 GARDEN FARMING 



plants are very susceptible to cold and frost injury and are liable 

 to be seriously stunted or entirely destroyed if planted too early. 



Cultivation. The cultivation of the muskmelon should follow the 

 same general plan as that of the watermelon, that is, clean cultiva- 

 tion during the early stages of growth for the purpose of clearing 

 the soil of all weed growth and for the maintenance of a soil mulch 

 to conserve moisture. 



Insects and diseases. In certain localities the muskmelon is very 

 susceptible to a disease called the wilt, caused by a fungus, Fusa- 

 rium, which is able to maintain itself in the soil from year to year. 

 Because of its unusual habitat it is impossible to treat this disease 

 by ordinary remedial measures. The only means of preventing 

 injury to a crop is to plant it on soil which has not been devoted 

 to the cultivation of muskmelons for at least five years. In fact, 

 no cucurbitaceous plant of any kind should be planted on soil 

 which has been infested with this organism within five years. 



The wilt may cause the destruction of the plants at any time after 

 they appear above ground until the harvesting of the fruit. One of 

 the worst features of this disease is that the plants are liable to suc- 

 cumb to it when the heaviest drafts are being made on them by 

 the maturing fruits, thus leaving a large quantity of well-developed 

 fruits without sufficient vine to ripen them properly. The result is 

 insipid, ill-flavored fruits. Before the growers fully understood the 

 cause of the trouble, and, as a matter of fact, many of them do 

 not yet properly appreciate this difficulty, these affected fruits 

 were placed upon the market with the result that not only has the 

 consumption of muskmelons decreased, but buyers are very care- 

 ful to secure fruits only from regions known to be free from this 

 disease. The production of muskmelons in certain localities has 

 been almost entirely abandoned because of this disease. 



Besides the wilt disease, muskmelons both in the field and in 

 the greenhouse are susceptible to injury from blight and mildew. 

 Practically the same organisms which work on the cucumber affect 

 the muskmelon, and the treatment must follow the same general 

 plan. Spraying the plants from the time they are well out of the 

 ground until the fruits are mature, at intervals of ten days or two 

 weeks, with a solution of Bordeaux mixture, consisting of 3 pounds 

 of copper sulphate and 5 pounds of lime to each 50 gallons of water, 



