MELONS WATER. 75 



which you happen to plant the most largely. If you 

 have a large crop you can select delicious melons from 

 either of these varieties. 



MELONS WATER. 



Watermelons can be grown as easily as pumpkins 

 or corn, but you can not grow corn and watermelons 

 together. The land must be entirely devoted to the mel- 

 ons, and the mistake that people make, is, they try to 

 grow melons and thistles on the same ground. The 

 thistles pump up a large quantity of water from the soil, 

 and when we have dry, hot weather, the melons are left 

 without sufficient moisture. The weather can not be too 

 hot for this crop, provided it has sufficient moisture and 

 plant food. People are apt to think that if they keep 

 the soil clean immediately around the hills, the rest of 

 the land can be suffered to produce weeds. This is a 

 great mistake; the roots of the melons are at least as long 

 as the vines, and in our dry, hot climate, they need all 

 the moisture the land contains. The distance apart at 

 which it is best to plant watermelons depends on the 

 climate. In this section, they will do well planted in 

 hills or rows four or five feet apart, but as we go south, 

 we must increase the distance. One of my correspond- 

 ents in Texas, wrote me that his watermelons completely 

 covered the ground, even when they are planted fifteen 

 or twenty feet apart. 



I have grown excellent watermelons on light, rich, 

 sandy soil, in rows five feet apart. We drilled in the 

 seed with an ordinary garden drill, using the hole made 

 for sowing corn. As the plants grow, thin out, leaving 

 them from eight to fifteen inches apart in the row, just 

 as you happen to find them. If the plants are thin, and 

 you find two or three near together, leave them all to 



