304 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



the melons from which it was saved, or purchase it 

 from a reliable grower before it has passed through 

 several hands. 



The fact that seed can be had cheap and growers 

 are willing to plant it is an evident reason for its 

 existence on the market, but the lack of information 

 as to what constitutes a good seed cantaloupe may also 

 be responsible for poor seed selection. In this bulletin 

 we wish to show what a good melon is and that it pays 

 to plant and save good seed. 



STANDARD OF PERFECTION. 



The form and outward appearance of a perfect 

 Rocky Ford cantaloupe is well represented in the sev- 

 eral plates shown in this bulletin ; as to size, it requires 

 a melon slightly over four inches in diameter and about 

 four and five-eighths inches long; it should have sil- 

 ver gray netting that stands out like thick, heavy lace, 

 practically covering the entire melon, save the well- 

 defined slate-colored stripes; these should run the 

 whole length of the melon, clear cut as if grooved out 

 with a round chisel, and terminating at the blossom 

 end in a small button, well shown in the melon on 

 the left side of Plate III. The interstices in the net- 

 ting should be light olive green, tliat turns slightly 

 yellow when the melon is ready for market. A melon 

 with a black skin under the netting- it not so attractive 

 in appearance. The proper netting is well brought 

 out in Plate I. 



But the outward appearance is not the only basis 

 for selection in saving seed. The inside points are as 

 essential to consider as any external quality, and no 

 one can determine that a melon is fit for seed until it 

 has been cut open and the inside qualities examined. 

 For this reason the machine seeder is of no use in se- 

 lecting choice seed. The melons should all be cut and 

 examined by hand. 



The flesh should be thick and firm, of a smooth 

 texture and free from watery appearance, rich and 

 melting in flavor. The shipping and keeping qualities 

 depend largely on the solidity of the melon, so the 

 seed cavity should be small and perfectly filled with 

 seed. The color of the flesh near the rind should be 

 dark green, shading lighter toward the seed cavity, 

 which should be salmon or orange in color. The flesh 

 is often mottled with salmon and not uncommonly the 

 entire flesh is of that color. The flavor is usually 

 quife uniform, though it is sometimes affected by 

 the health of the vines or other conditions of growth. 



The seed will bear close inspection, as it is some- 

 times cracked or sprouted, which renders it of no 

 value for germination. 



The first steps in seed selection should be made 

 when the melons are growing. Extra prolific hills 

 should be marked with stakes and the earliest ripening 

 specimens conforming to the above ideal should be 

 saved as choice seed and planted in a place isolated 

 from other melons, and the same care should be .exer- 

 cised in the years that follow. 



The grower can and should save his own seed, as 

 he can give it more careful attention than any com- 

 mercial seed grower. 



A few growers, realizing the importance of sys- 

 tematic selection, have made the proper choice of seed 

 for their own use. 



As an illustration of what can be done in this line 

 the plates shown in this bulletin represent photographs 

 of melons developed after five years of careful seed se- 



lection. Beginning with a melon as nearly perfect as 

 could be found, the old saying that "like produces 

 like" has been exemplified to a marked degree. Each 

 year the number of perfect melons has increased, BO- 

 that now, when soil, fertility and all growing condi- 

 .tionj; are favorable, the oversized melons are eliminated, 

 all melons are completely netted and practically all 

 are marketable. 



Plates II and IV represent an average product of 

 the choicest of this seed. 



Improvement is still possible, yet the value of 

 careful seed selection has been so demonstrated that if 

 hielon growers would only adhere to a strict selection 

 of perfect, early-ripening melons, not only would the 

 returns from the melon crop be increased, but the 

 cantaloupe would become a more staple article by 

 virtue of its improved shipping and keeping quali- 

 ties. 



VALUE OF CHOICE SEED. 



Unless one has a well-developed strain of seed it 

 i* not probable that he can save more than one or two 

 pounds per acre of extra selected seed, so the supply of 

 choice seed is limited. 



Irie market value of the cantaloupe at the time 

 the seed is saved should determine the price of seed. 

 Thus it requires about as many melons to produce one 

 pound of seed as will fill a standard crate, and actually 

 more, because some melons need to be rejected. This 

 can not be fully determined until the melon is cut, 

 when if it proves unfit for seed it is also lost for mar- 

 ket. So the price of seed must be equal to or exceed 

 the price of a crate of melons at the time the seed 

 was saved. 



During the first week or ten days of the shipping, 

 season at Rocky Ford it is common to realize from 

 .$2 to $6 per crate. Jfo.. one.. at. this time can afford 

 to save seed to sell at the ordinary price per pound. 

 Indeed, few growers are wise enough to save for their 

 own use. 



At the average price of cantaloupes through the 

 shipping season, the grower must realize at least $1 

 per pound to warrant him in saving seed for the mar- 

 ket. At the close of the shipping season, when melons 

 are no longer marketable, the seed is willingly saved 

 for what it will bring. This is the source of a large 

 part of the seed on the market. 



The difference in value between seed saved early 

 from perfect melons of high market worth and that 

 saved six weeks later from immature, frost-bitten mel- 

 ons, which can not be marketed, is not often appreciat- 

 ed ; yet if the higher priced seed should yield only one 

 or more crates per acre of early melons, or increase 

 the total yield by several crates, which the extra vitality 

 and superior points of perfection can easily do, the 

 higher priced seed is cheaper at any price, and its value 

 to the melon industry can not he estimated. 



Send $2.00 for The Irrigation Age 

 1 year, and The Primer of Irrigation 



