VEGETABLES MELOtf. 227 



spread over several square rods and completely destroy 

 the crop. A sure preventive against the lice or Aphis 

 is tobacco, which, if either in the form of refuse stems 

 or dust, is strewn on the hill, the lice will ne\er appear ; 

 it will also act as a preventive against the striped bug. 

 The striped beetle is the worst enemy to deal with. It 

 lays its eggs on the stem at the ground, and the smal] 

 grubs work their way to the root and feed upon it. The 

 first indication of their presence is the wilting of the 

 leaves ff going down" of the vines, the growers call it 

 and vine after vine thus goes down, until at times the 

 larger part of the crop may be destroyed when the Melons 

 are half grown. The remedy for this pest is to apply 

 strong tobacco water around the stem on the first appear- 

 ance of the small striped beetle and repeat it in a few 

 days, and to repeat it again as soon as the wilting of the 

 first leaf is noticed. The fruit begins to " net" about 

 two weeks before it ripens, and the indications of ripe- 

 ness are the fragrant scent, the softness of the blossom 

 end of the melon, and the cracking and easy parting of 

 the stem. 



Too much care cannot be used in sowing the seeds of 

 all plants of this class, as they cross very readily ; for 

 this reason, when seeds are to be saved from any par- 

 ticular variety, care must be taken that it is widely re- 

 moved from any other not less than 300 yards. If 

 seed is not wanted, improper crossing will make no 

 difference to the fruit that season, but the seed the pro- 

 duct of that crop will be affected thereby, and its im- 

 purity developed in the fruit raised from it. 



From the facility with which the Melon intermixes, it 

 follows that the varieties are very numerous, and for the 

 same reason it is difficult to retain varieties pure. The 

 following seem to be the most fixed in character, and are 

 the varieties in general use: 



Early Hackensack, This is an improvement of recent 



