I3O BIGGLE GARDEN BOOK 



Another hint : Spade up the ground in a large 

 circle. Take a barrel, with the bottom knocked out, 

 set it in the center of the circle and fill it two-thirds 

 full of well-rotted manure. Plant cucumber seeds 

 in hills around the barrel, and every day turn in upon 

 the manure a pail or two of water. The water will 

 soak its way through and keep the ground moist 

 and rich. 



MUSKMELONS. Rows six feet apart and hills 

 four feet apart in the row, are about right. E. R. 

 Jinnette plants 5x5 feet and trains the vines all one 

 way in the row to facilitate cultivating and picking. 

 Earliness counts with this crop. Rocky Ford, Netted 

 Gem, Osage, Paul Rose, Jenny Lind, Montreal Mar- 

 ket, Hackensack, Blinn, etc., are favorite varieties. 

 (NOTE: Muskmelons are often wrongly called canta- 

 loupes. The true cantaloupe, says Prof. Bailey, is 

 a distinct kind having a hard, warty rind; it is fre- 

 quently grown in Europe, but is not much grown in 

 this country.) 



Climax baskets (one-third-bushel size with 

 slatted cover) are a popular Illinois shipping package. 

 A slatted crate 12x12x22^ inches (inside measure- 

 ment), holding forty-five melons each, is a well- 

 known Colorado package. Other styles of packages 

 are used. The fruit should be graded as to size, and 

 packed so that the ribs of the fruit all run length- 

 wise of the package this gives an attractive appear- 

 ance. How to tell when a muskmelon is ripe : Only 

 sound, heavily-netted, mature melons should be 

 shipped. But they must not be soft nor over-ripe. 

 When the stem parts readily from the melon is the 

 right time; if not picked promptly then it soon turns 

 yellow and soft. The vines should be picked over 

 every day ; sometimes twice a day. 



