746 
In order to supply the moisture uni- 
formly to the seed along the row, the 
seed must have been planted at a uni- 
form distance from the water line, about 
four to six inches; to insure uniformity 
in the soaking of the rows, the rows 
should be “logged” out, or smoothed out 
with a short piece of log about the size 
of the furrow; this will cause the water 
to run through quickly, and by regulating 
the amount in each row, the rows will 
become uniformly wet without flooding or 
soaking the ground. Plate No. 6 shows 
Plate No. 6. Irrigating for Germination of 
Seed 
a field being properly irrigated, to germi- 
nate the seed. When the water can be 
gotten through the rows quickly and the 
amount regulated to supply the rows 
- about as fast as it soaks in the soil, the 
upper and lower parts of the row will be- 
come wet at about the same time and 
amount, with practically little water 
wasted. 
The idea is to soak the rows until the 
water has fully reached the seed, while 
the surface over the hill remains nearly 
dry; this is ideal condition for germina- 
tion and is sufficient for the needs of the 
plants in all the early irrigations. Later 
the rows can be soaked till moisture 
shows on the surface back to the plants. 
Under arid conditions one _ irrigation 
after planting, and one again about the 
time the plants are coming up, is ordina- 
rily all that is required until after the 
first cultivation; after that irrigation and 
cultivation alternate each other every 
week or ten days, the exact number of 
times depending on the weather and soil 
conditions. 
The amount of irrigation necessary to 
secure the best results in cantaloup cul- 
ture, is subject to so many varying fac- 
tors, that it is impossible to lay down an 
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 
exact rule. In the first place, the canta- 
loup does not thrive in a wet soil, as 
evidenced by the injury and poor quality 
of the crop in seasons of excessive rain. 
The needs of the crop in the first stages 
are very small, and as light watering as 
possible to secure the needed moisture is 
best; then as the plant develops the 
amount of irrigation should be increased; 
light, frequent irrigations rather than 
heavy soakings at long intervals has 
proven to be the best plan. 
When the vines are nearly grown and 
set full of developing fruit a heavier irri- 
gation is then needed by the plant, but 
as soon as the fruits have reached their 
growth, light waterings should again be 
the rule; to insure the best quality, little 
if any irrigation should .be applied dur- 
ing the picking season, just enough to 
prevent severe wilting; it is at this time 
that the cantaloup “rust” fungus makes 
its appearance, and moisture and dews 
are favorable to its development. 
The dryer the season, the better the 
quality in cantaloupes, is an axiom that 
should induce more careful irrigation 
among cantaloup growers in the irrigated 
sections. 
The relation of irrigation to early set- 
ting of cantaloupes is a somewhat mooted 
question; there are growers who argue 
the use of frequent irrigations during the 
setting period in order to secure a good 
set, but others prefer to keep their vines 
dry, even allowing them to show the need 
of moisture before they will permit irri- 
gation during this stage. 
It is evident that the season and cli- 
matic conditions have more to do with 
the setting of fruit than the watering; 
there are experiences that might seem to 
support both theories; yet continued ob- 
servations would indicate that a grower 
is not warranted in following either 
course to the extreme, but rather the 
medium plan of providing just enough 
moisture to secure an even, healthy 
growth all the way through, would seem 
to be most favorable condition. 
An excess of water in hot weather is 
apt to induce a heavy growth of vine at 
the expense of early “sets” due to the 
