86 THE FRUIT GARDEN 



required to develop and mature the fruits. In this connection one of the most 

 important considerations to bear in mind is to grow those only which are of 

 handsome, golden appearance, well netted, and which are reliable and heavy- 

 croppers, and for this purpose I do not know of better varieties than Golden 

 Perfection, Royal Sovereign, and Hero of Lockinge. 



Culture in Cold Frames. — Taking the country generally, I suppose 

 where there are three gardens possessing ample accommodation for melon 

 culture in houses, there are scores, if not hundreds, of small gardens, not so 

 favourably placed, whose owners would be delighted to be able to grow their 

 own melons. This is quite possible, and the method of doing so during the 

 summer months is easy and simple. We will suppose that the would-be 

 grower possesses a one, two, or three-light frame, as the case may be, and 

 the size of the frame will govern the quantity of fermenting material 

 necessary. If only a one-light frame is available, the bed should extend 

 beyond the frame for at least 2 feet all round, all the better if for 2| 

 or 3 feet. When the bed is finished it should be 5 feet high ; the material, 

 consisting of ordinary litter from the stableyard, mixed with fresh leaves, 

 if obtainable (if not, stable litter will do by itself), should be put together 

 temporarily in a large heap to ferment, and in the course of a week 

 turned over to let the noxious gases escape ; in about two hours it must 

 be put together again until it becomes hot, then opened out as before, 

 when, as a rule, it will be safe to make the permanent bed of the dimensions 

 given. Immediately the bed is completed, the frame should be placed upon it, 

 and the necessary soil put in ; this will be the same as recommended for beds in 

 the houses, namely, a layer of turf across the middle of the frame, 2 feet wide, 

 laid grass side downwards, and a small mound of soil in the centre of each light. 

 The seeds are sown, two in a small thumb-pot, and the pots plunged in 

 leaf soil previously placed in a corner of the frame. It will be necessary for 

 some time to leave a little air at the back of the frame night and day to 

 allow the escape of any injurious fumes, which, in a confined atmosphere, 

 might prove fatal to the young plants. When these have three or four leaves 

 plant them out. They must be kept intact as they come out of the small 

 pots ; in planting press the soil firmly. A little air must be given each 

 morning if the weather is sunny and warm (not otherwise), but close the 

 frame in good time in the afternoon, so that the heat may rise to 80 or 85 

 degs. with sun heat. Before closing, the plants, border surface, and sides of the 

 frame should be syringed with tepid water. Until, by experience, the grower 

 knows how high the temperature will become after the frame is closed in the 

 afternoon, a thermometer must be placed in a convenient corner ; look at this 

 a quarter of an hour after the frame is closed, and if more than 85 degs. are 

 registered, a little air must be readmitted. After a few days' close observation 

 the cultivator will soon know the proper time to close the frame in order to 

 secure the heat desired, but until this experience is obtained, reference must be 

 made to the thermometer. 



General Culture. — The young plants will make rapid progress, and 

 when about six inches high they must be stopped, so that each plant will 



