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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



Iiaps of greater commercial value than 

 the other varieties. In some states there 

 is no distinction made between the 

 names muskmelon and cantaloup, both 

 varieties being called by the same name. 

 In others there is a marked distinction, 

 especially by dealers who use both terms 

 as distinctively as they would use plums 

 and prunes. 



If the cantaloup or muskmelon is 

 planted early in the spring, the fruit is 

 generally ready for market by Septem- 

 ber and may be sold at reasonable profits 

 until late in the autumn. They need 

 about the same treatment as pumpkins, 

 squashes and other trailing vines, but 

 because they are more delicate in flesh 

 and flavor, are generally given more 

 care in picking, crating and marketing. 



Muskmelon Culture in the North 



Only about one-third as much land is 

 devoted to muskmelon* culture in the 

 United States as to watermelons, but 

 the area devoted to it is rapidly increas- 

 ing. Owing to its smaller growth it is 

 more easily and successfully grown in 

 northern localities than the watermelon. 

 The states of largest production are 

 widely scattered. New Jersey leads in 

 acreage, followed by Texas, Illinois, In- 

 diana, Maryland, Virginia, Arkansas and 

 Colorado. A number of the experiment 

 stations have published bulletins dealing 

 with the culture of muskmelons. * * * 



In a bulletin of the New York Cornell 

 Station J. Craig gives an account of the 

 methods followed by successful farmers 

 in Niagara county, New York, in the 

 culture of muskmelons. 



Muskmelon growers in that county se- 

 cure their early melons by starting the 

 plants either in the hotbed or green- 

 house late in April or early in May and 

 transplanting to the open field when 

 all danger from frost is past, usually 

 during the third or fourth week in May. 

 For this early crop the seeds are sown 

 in bottomless boxes, like berry boxes, 



♦ The term "muskmelon" is here used in a 

 wide or generic sense, to include not only the 

 furrowed, hard-rind melons known as "canta- 

 loupes," but also the netted, softer-rind kinds 

 Imown as "nutmeg" or "netted" melons The 

 term "cantaloup" is thus confined to a par- 

 ticular class of muskmelons. 



made for the purpose, and about three 

 inches square and four inches deep. A 

 wad of well-rotted barnyard manure is 

 pressed in the bottom of these boxes, 

 which are then filled with light garden 

 loam well packed down. About five 

 seeds are sown in each box. The seeds 

 are covered by sifting soil over them 

 and the usual attention given to water- 

 ing and heat. The temperature of the 

 plant house is kept at about 85 degrees 

 F. in the daytime and 60 degrees to 70 

 degrees at night. Should the "damping 

 off" fungus threaten it is kept in check 

 by free ventilation, careful watering, 

 keeping the heat up during cloudy pe- 

 riods, and by spraying the plants with 

 a solution of potassium sulphid, using 

 about one ounce of the sulphid dissolved 

 in three gallons of water. 



As a result of a test of a large number 

 of varieties of muskmelons the New 

 Hampshire Station recommends the fol- 

 lowing for cultures in that state: Gem 

 type — Oval Netted Gem, Golden Netted 

 Gem, Netted Gem, Rose Gem, Paul Rose 

 and Emerald Gem. Medium type — ^Extra 

 Early Hackensack, Kinsman Queen, Sat- 

 isfaction, Chicago Nutmeg, Improved 

 Jenny, New White Japan, Nectar of Angels, 

 Kinsman Queen, Extra Early Cantaloup 

 and Acme. Large long type — Granite 

 State, Long Yellow and Improved Canta- 

 loup. In a more recent bulletin Profes- 

 sor Rane recommends the following va- 

 rieties for garden culture in New Hamp- 

 shire: Emerald Gem, Rockyford or 

 Netted Gem, Montreal and Long Yellow. 



The New York Cornell Station states 

 that on Long Island and about New 

 York City, Emerald Gem is probably the 

 most popular variety, with Hackensack 

 a close second. In Western New York 

 Netted Gem is the leading variety, fol- 

 lowed closely by Paul Rose and Surprise. 

 At the experiment station Osage was 

 one of the best melons tested. 



Emerald Gem produces fruits of small 

 size (from 1 to 2 pounds). These have 

 flattened ends, are shallow ribbed and 

 lightly netted, and the flesh is salmon 

 colored. Rockyford or Netted Gem pro- 

 duces melons of about the same size and 



