318 



THE GARDENER'S ASSISTANT. 



object being to obtain early fruit, the earliest 

 flowers should be set as soon as the plants are 

 strong enough to carry them, two on each plant 

 being enough for first early crops. 



Beds. — The soil is commonly placed in the 

 beds in the form of a ridge, as it affords a 

 larger surface for the roots, and enables the 

 rootlets to readily absorb the nourishment ap- 

 plied. The ridge should be 2 feet wide at its 

 base, and 18 inches high; the soil should be 

 made compact, and its surface left rough. In 

 houses with large beds it is a good plan to 



make up two walls of fresh turves, leaving a 

 space of 18 inches between them to be filled with 

 the compost in which the plants are to be grown. 



Planting. — Melons in beds should be planted 

 singly at 1 foot apart for the single-cordon 

 system, and 2 feet for the double-cordon, leav- 

 ing the surface of the soil rough. They should 

 be well watered after planting. 



Training and Stopping. — Many growers prefer 

 to limit each plant to a single stem, which is 

 allowed a good run and then stopped, and for 

 first early and late work this method is com- 



Fifj. 1^9.— Melon— Farl's Favnuritp. tVrnm Cardiff Castle.) 



mendable. But for mid -season crops, if the 

 plants are stopped sooner, a branching habit 

 will result, and a heavier crop be obtained. 



About four months is considered the average 

 time which elapses between sowing the seeds 

 and ripening the fruits. In summer it may be 

 reduced to three months with early varieties. 



Melon plants delight in heat; the minimum 

 at night should not be less than 70° in the early 

 spring months, and 75° later on, and the day- 

 heat 75°, and 80° to 85° as daylight increases, 

 and 90° or even, on exceptional days, 100° with- 

 out fear of injury. If too much moisture is 

 present, give a little air at the apex of the 

 house. During very hot weather it is a good 

 plan to leave a little top air on all night. This 

 will permit of slightly more warmth in the 

 pipes. The dew-point, be it noted, is reached 

 much sooner in hot weather than in cold, hence 

 the slight amount of top ventilation will permit 

 the superfluous moisture to escape. Syringe 

 the plants early every day, and again in the 

 afternoon at the time of closing the house. 



Setting the Flowers. — Except for very eany 

 crops the flowers should be removed until the 

 plants have become strong. To secure a good, 

 uniform crop of fruit the flowers should all be 

 set at about the same time. 



The Melon is monoecious (see fig. 1098); that 

 is, it bears male and female flowers on the same 

 plant; the former are essential for the fertiliza- 

 tion of the latter, therefore a sufficient portion 

 of them should be retained for that purpose. 

 The male flower has three stamens, united by 

 their anthers; but the filaments are distinct, 

 and the part between the stalk and base of 

 the corolla is slender and cylindrical. The 

 female flower has a short style surmounted 

 by three large bi-lobed stigmas, and the ovary 

 is of an ovate form. In the male flower may 

 be seen an abortive style in the midst of the 

 stamens, and in the female flower, on the con- 

 trary, three imperfect stamens surround the 

 base of the style. 



When the weather is fine, and plenty of air 

 can be given, the female blossoms usually be 



