FORCING MELONS 63 



inp up the vines similar to the method of training 

 the cucumber. If an even span, the house should 

 siand north and south, so that both sides may be 

 equally exposed to the sunlight. If three-quarters 

 span, it should stand east and west; the melon re- 

 quires plenty of sunlight. The heating system 

 should be of sufficient capacity to maintain a high 

 and steady temperature during the coldest weather, 

 and the pipes must be placed under the benches, so 

 as to furnish bottom heat. 



The Soil. — A good melon soil must be made. This 

 is done by taking an old blue grass sod, or some- 

 thing similar, cut two or three inches thick, and 

 piling this up with alternate layers of cow manure, 

 until the pile is six or eight feet high. This is left 

 for a year or more to rot, in the meantime forking 

 it over once or twice, so as to get it as uniform as 

 possible. This makes a good, rich, friable soil that 

 will not need much more fertilizer to produce a 

 good crop. 



Our experience has shown that subirrigation is 

 much better for either melons or cucumbers than 

 surface watering. So before putting the soil into 

 the beds, the bottom of the beds are covered with 

 soft bricks which have had the lower edges chipped 

 off, so as to admit a circulation of water. These are 

 placed as closely together as possible, and the bed 

 is then filled with soil. Opening should be left at 

 frequent intervals for the admission of water. This 

 will admit plenty of moisture to the roots and pre- 

 vent them from drying out, which is a very impor- 

 tant point to remember in the forcing of melons. 

 The soil should not be more than five or six inches deep. 



Planting the Seeds. — The seeds may be planted 



