THE MELON. 221 



of the crop from those on the north forming a succession 

 to those on the south aspect. This, however, only holds 

 good in the case of those not planted before May, nor 

 ripened after the middle of October. The best arrange- 

 ment in the case of those who have only a melon-house 

 of limited extent, and who at the same time desire to 

 have melons continuously, say from the end of May to 

 November, is to produce their earliest and latest crops 

 from the melon-house, and to fill up the interval with a 

 summer supply from dung-frames or pits, in which case 

 I decidedly advise the lean-to form, as shown and 

 described in connection with cucumbers, p. 263. Where 

 a supply is required only from July till the middle of 

 October, the span-roofed house is best, and it is desirable 

 to have it divided into three successional compartments 

 of equal proportions. Although I have succeeded in 

 bringing on three successional crops in one long division 

 perfectly well, yet these crops would be better in 

 separate divisions, inasmuch as when the melons plant- 

 ed for the first and second crops are ripe, these compart- 

 ments can be more successfully and conveniently used 

 for anything else — such, for instance, as tomatoes that 

 have been grown in pots in the open air, and many other 

 things besides. When in more than one compartment, 

 the heating should be arranged so as to be able to heat 

 sufficiently all at once, or to heat each separately ; and 

 also that the bottom and top heat-supplying pipes can 

 be worked independent of each other. Although great 

 blunders have now and again been committed in glazing 

 such houses with obscure glass, it need scarcely, at this 

 period of horticulture, be necessary to warn against 

 such glass in the case of all forcing-houses intended for 

 tropical fruits. 



