74 



GARDENING FOR YOUNiG AND OLD. 



the better plan is, to put in the melon seed in the open 

 ground as soon as the soil is in good working condition. 

 You may lose half your seed and be obliged to replant, 



but in three years out of four, 

 you will get as good and as 

 - early a crop as you would by 

 | transplanting from the hot-bed. 

 | The mistake people make is, in 

 g not using seed enough. You 

 3 ought to sow at least three 

 g times as many as you think you 

 will need, even of the best of 

 seed. Melons are not all of the 

 ^ best quality, and if you have 

 | more than you need, you can 

 o reject those which do not please 

 you. We do not expect every 

 apple on a tree to be perfect, 

 and we need not expect every 

 % melon x>n the vine to be of the 

 | . choicest quality. The methods 

 3 I recommended for the cultiva- 

 HP 1 tion of Cucumbers are generally 

 * adapted ta the production of 

 | melons. If possible, the land 

 should be made even richer 

 for melons than for cucumbers. 

 <5 1 have never yet seen land too 

 | rich for them. Plant largely 

 g and sow thickly, so that if the 

 seed all grows, you can thin 

 out the weak plants as directed 

 for cucumbers. The best varieties are : the Early Chris- 

 tiana, the Nutmeg, Green Citron, White Japanese, and 

 Casaba. Of the first three, Nutmeg, Christiana, and 

 Citron, the best variety, in my judgment, is the one of 



