494 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. [ December 20, 1S64. 



CULTIVATION OF THE MELON. 



(Continued from page 413.) 



MELONS IN HOUSES. 



Fig. 18. 



the axils of the seed-leaves 



Fig. 16 shows a plant in a six-inch pot with two rough 

 leaves, and a pair of seed- 

 leaves, and which is ready for 

 stopping. Fig. 17 represents 

 the same with the growing 

 point rubbed off, or taken 

 out with the point of a pen- 

 knife, at the second rough 

 leaf. Any shoots coming from 

 are to rubbed off when first 

 visible. 



Fig. IS represents the plant with two shoots springing from 

 the axils of the two rough leaves to which it was previously 



stopped. If the plant have 

 a six-foot trellis to grow on, 

 these two shoots will be 

 sufficient, and they may, 

 therefore, be trained to the 

 trellis without stopping, at 

 1 foot apart, taking out the 

 first three side shoots that 

 spring from the bottom of 

 each of the principal shoots 

 with a small pointed sharp 

 knife. Thus taking away the side shoots near the collar 

 of the plant secures light and air at that part, and decay 

 there, which is a common disease, is to a certain extent 

 prevented. 



If three or four shoots be required to cover the trellis, at 

 the distance of a foot apart, the two shoots are stopped at 

 the third leaf (b, fig. 18), and this will give rise, generally, 

 to six shoots, but always to four ; and of these, four shoots 

 should be trained up, at 1 foot apart, from the bottom to- 

 wards the top of the trellis, and if two more be produced, 

 they also may be retained, and kept at the lower part of 

 the trellis, and stopped pretty closely, to act as a reserve in 

 case the principal shoots fail to produce fruit. 



The requisite number of shoots to cover the trellis being 

 obtained, whether that number be one, two, three, four, or 

 more, they should be trained straight without any further 

 stopping until they reach to within 6 inches of the top of 

 the trellis, when the point of each should be taken out with 

 a penknife, for large cuts at any time always weaken the 

 plant. Taking out the points of the principal shoots will 

 cause the emission of side shoots, which I will term laterals, 

 all along the principal shoots, and from these, at the axils 

 of the second or third leaves, fruit will usually appear. 

 Should any, however, not show fruit at or before the third- 

 leaf on the lateral, such 

 should be stopped at the 

 thirdleaf, but those show- 

 ing fruit should not be 

 stopped until the embryo 

 fruit has been duly fer- 

 tilised, and the corolla 

 has closed over the im- 

 pregnated organs ; all 

 the laterals should then 

 be stopped at one joint 

 above the fruit, the plant 

 will then have the ap- 

 pearance shown in fig. 19, 

 presuming it to have 

 been trained with four 



Fig. 19. 



shoots ; and let the number be what it may, each principal 

 shoot will resemble those in the figure. g ~ 



From two to four fruit being set on each plant, their 

 swelling will be materially aided by stopping at the first 

 joint all growths from laterals not producing fruit, but those 

 sub-laterals taking their rise from tha axils of the leaves 

 situated on the laterals producing fruit should not be 

 stopped until a week or ten days afterwards, so that the 

 food arrested by stopping the sub-laterals may not only be 

 driven, but attracted past or into the fruit, the growing. 



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V^Sl 





/§Hi£ 



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Fig 



point being situated above or near it. This being effected 

 the fruit will swell rapidly, and by stopping the sub-laterals 

 on the lateral on which the fruit is borne beyond the point 

 at which this takes its origin, and the whole of the other 

 sub-laterals on the plant being kept closely pinched in to 

 one joint as fast as new growths are made, the whole 

 strength of the plant will be concentrated on the fruit, 



which will rapidly advance towards perfection. Continue 

 to keep the sub-laterals closely stopped, giving those, how- 

 ever, on which the fruit is borne rather more freedom. 

 Should the frequent stopping tend to overcrowd the main 

 leaves from the principal and lateral shoots, the sub-laterals 

 must be reduced in number by cutting them clean out, and 

 close to the shoot or lateral from which they spring, so as to 



