WATERMELONS 



459 



per acre. It is incorporated with the soil by running a scooter 

 plow once or twice along the row, and then bedding on this by 

 turning two or four furrows upon this line of fertilizer. The seeds 

 are planted, sometimes in drills to be thinned to the desired dis- 

 tance after the plants are established, but more often in hills 3, 4, 

 6, or 8 feet apart. 



Planting. At planting time an abundance of seed should be 

 used so that there may be a sufficient number of plants to with- 

 stand the attacks of insect enemies which are more or less trouble- 

 some. Fifteen and even twenty seeds are often used to a hill, 

 and if these are separately placed at intervals of an inch or more 

 apart it will prove an advantage. Another plan is to plant about 

 half the seed at one time and from six to ten days later to plant 

 again, so as to have two sets in the same hill. About the time the 

 plants begin to form the third leaf and to show a tendency to run, 

 they should be thinned to 3 or 4 plants to the hill. At this time, 

 if they are not growing rapidly and the plantation is in a region 

 where there are frequent showers, it is well to stimulate growth by 

 a light side dressing of nitrate of soda, at the rate of 100 pounds 

 per acre, or of a high-grade fertilizer, using 250 pounds to the 

 acre. This treatment can be repeated to advantage after each 

 cultivation. 



At planting time the seeds should be covered with soil to the 

 depth of i inch or ij- inches. Deep planting is not advisable be- 

 cause the plants are slow in reaching the surface of the ground 

 and a great deal of the stored strength of the plant is used up in 

 reaching the light if it is planted too deep. 



Cultivation. The habit of growth of the plant makes it impera- 

 tive that the selection and preparation of the land before planting 

 be most carefully and thoroughly done. The preparatory crop 

 should be one which will enrich the soil and at the same time 

 smother weed growth. Plowing should be done early, to give an 

 opportunity to kill one crop of weeds by harrowing before plant- 

 ing. All this is made necessary because the crop cannot be culti- 

 vated with horse-power implements after the plants begin to vine. 

 'After planting, which should be planned so that a two-horse 

 spring harrow can be used between the rows, cultivation should be 

 regular as long as the vines will permit. The aim is to anticipate 



