1484 The Vegetable Industry in j\ t ew York State 



last few years. The quality is very good and it stands shipping 

 well, but the vines seem rather weak and sometimes fail to mature 

 the later settings of fruit. This fact may force us to return to the 

 Dixie, although a little coarser in flesh and less regular in shape. 

 Care in the selection of seed is of more importance than variety. 

 Seed selected from the best specimens of the home patch is 

 superior to that secured by cutting the entire crop as the com- 

 mercial seedsman must do. 



PREPARATION OF SOIL 



The preparation of the soil should be thorough, and an abund- 

 ance of humus and plant food are essentials. Stable manure, 

 broadcasted and plowed in, is valuable when available, but in our 

 own practice we depend upon green manure for the humus, and 

 chemicals for the additional plant food. The ground should be 

 plowed early so that the vegetable matter is somewhat decom- 

 posed and thoroughly mixed with the soil. If sod land, fall plow- 

 ing and early working in the spring will give a looser soil for 

 planting. The better the preparation, the better and more easily 

 will the cultivation of the small plants be accomplished. 



Before the expected time of planting, 150 pounds of muriate 

 of potash and 450 pounds of acid phosphate per acre are broad- 

 casted and harrowed in. Two hundred and fifty pounds of tank- 

 age or other fertilizer containing 20 pounds of organic nitrogen in 

 good form, is placed in drills running east and west across the 

 field. Good ridges are thrown up and cross marked — four feet 

 for canteloupes and ten feet for watermelons. 



When the first runners are about twelve inches long, 100 

 pounds of nitrate of soda and 100 pounds of tankage are ap- 

 plied and w 7 orked in. The material must not be allowed to come 

 in contact with the vines. This application furnishes an abund- 

 ance of plant food at the time the fruit is making its most rapid 

 growth, anal adds to the quality of the product. 



PLANTING 



Melons may be started in plant boxes in cold frames and trans- 

 planted to the open ground when four or five rough leaves have 

 been made. 



