Book I. 



CULTURE OF THE MELON. 



585 



" Therefore, let nature be assisted in this work, " considering that she is more under re- 

 straint here, than if the plants grew in the open air, where the wind, insects, and oUaer 

 casualties, might help." (^Kal. p. 384.) 



3308. Care of the fruit. As the fruit increases to the size of a walnut, place a flat tile 

 or slate under each, to protect it from the damp of the earth ; the slab thus interposed 

 will also assist the fruit to ripen, by reflecting the rays of the sun. [Abercrovibie.) 



3309. M'Phail says, " The fruit should lie upon dry tiles, stones, or slates, and no leaves or shoots 

 ought to be suffered to lie upon it. When the fruit is young, it is better to have a gentle shade of leaves ; 

 but when it is full swelled, it should be entirely exposed to the sun." 



3.310. Nicol advises placing the fruit on bits of slate or glass some time before it begins to ripen, as the 

 flavor might else be tainted ; but by no means slate or moss the whole surface of the bed, lest you encourage 

 the red spider. " Think on the reflection of the sun upon the slates or tiles, in hot weather particularly, 

 and of his additional force in shining through glass ! It is more consonant to the nature of the plants that 

 they be trained on the earth. By mossing the surface, the indolent may find a pretext, as it, no doubt, in 

 some measure, lessens the labor of watering. But it is wrong to do so, in so far as it harbors and encou- 

 rages the breeding of various insects ; and, as the fruit approach to maturity, taints it by unpleasant 

 eflauvia." 



3311. Time of maturation. The interval between the setting of the fruit and perfect 

 maturity is generally from thirty to forty days ; but the plants in the same bed, and 

 the vines on the same plant, often show some difference in the time of reaching maturity. 

 (^Abercrombie.) 



331 '2. Cutting the fruit. " Ripe melons are distinguished by their full size ; sometimes 

 by turning yellowish, more constantly by imparting an agreeable odor ; often by the 

 base of the foot-stalk, close to the fruit, cracking in a little circle. On these indications 

 of maturity, the fruit should be cut, before too mellow or dead ripe, that it may eat with 

 a lively sharp flavor. The morning is the time for cutting." 



3313. Nicol observes that " melons, if allowed to remain on the plant till they be of a deep yellow color, 

 lose much of their flavor. They should, therefore, be cut as soon as they begin to change to a greenish, 

 yellow, or rather, as soon as they begin to smell ripe. They may lie in the frame for a day or two, if not 

 immediately wanted, where they will acquire sufficient color. But if they are let remain many days in the 

 frame, they will become as insipid as if they had been left too long on the plant." 



3314. Saving seed. The ordinary mode is to request the seeds of particularly fine 

 fruits, of approved sorts, to be returned from table. The best way, however, is to pick 

 some best ripe fruit, take out the seed, clean it from the pulp, and let it be well dried 

 and hardened ; and then put it up in papers. {Abercrombie.) Nicol says, wash it very 

 clean, skimming off the light seeds, as those only that sink in water will grow. {Kal. 

 p. 396.) Great care must be taken that the sorts, from which seeds are saved, are 

 genuine and distinct. When different sorts are planted in the same frame, this cannot 

 be the case. 



3315. Second croj) from the same plants. " When the fruit of the first crop is off, a 

 second crop may be obtained from the stools ; which often proves more productive than 

 the first. If the first crop is taken before the middle of June, the second will come in 

 at a very good time. For this purpose, as soon as the fruit is cut, prune the plant. 

 Shorten the vigorous healthy runners at a promising joint, to force out new laterals ; 

 cutting about two inches above the joint. At the same time take off all decayed or 

 sickly vines, and all dead leaves. Stir the surface of the mould ; and renew it partially, 

 by three inches depth of fresh compost. Water the plant copiously ; shutting down the 

 glasses for the night. Shade in the middle of hot days ; and give but little air until the 

 plant has made new radicles and shoots. Afterwards repeat the course of culture above 

 described, from the stage when the first runners are sent out till fruit is cut." 



3316. Nicol says, " When all the fruit of this crop are cut, suppose in three or four weeks, the plants 

 may be pruned for the production of a second crop, equal, and perhaps superior to the first. They should 

 be cut pretty much in, in order to cause them to push jilenty of new vines, which wiU be very fruitful ; 

 observing to cut always at a joint of some promise, and to thin out all decayed or unhealthy vines, dead 

 leaves. Sec. Observe, also, to cut at an inch or two above the joint you expect to push, and then to bruise 

 the end of the stem so lopped with the thumb and finger ; which will, in a great measure, prevent it from 

 bleeding. The plants should be shaded from the mid-day sun, for a week or ten days ; exposing them to 

 his fuU rays by degrees. Now, also, let tlje mould in the frame be well watered, in order to put the roots 

 in a state of active vegetation ; point over the surface, with a small stick, or little wedge ; and cover the 

 whole with about two inches of fresh mould. This will greatly encourage the plants, and cause them to 

 make new fibres near the surface. At this period air need not be admitted very freely, especially while 

 the glasses are covered ; but, rather, as it were, endeavor to force the plants into new life. After they 

 begin to shoot, water, admit air, prune, train, and otherwise manage the plants as before directed. If the 

 season be fine they may yield you a third crop, by a repetition of the above rules, coming in in September, 

 which might be very gratifying. I once had fifty-two full-sized fruit produced in a three-light frame, a 

 second crop, and two dozen a third, ofF the same plants, the early golden cantaleupe. Of the first crop 

 (twenty-six fruit) two were cut the 10th of May. Thus, a three-light box produced, in one season, 102 

 full-matured melons." 



3317. M'Phail says, " If you intend to have melons as long as there is a sufficiency of sun to ripen them 

 tolerably weU, you had best put linings of warm dung to some of your beds. These, if applied in time 

 and kept on, will cast a fresh heat into the beds, and with other necessary assistance, the plants will grow 

 as long as you want them." 



3318. La'e crop on old hot-beds. To ripen melons, not earlier than the month of 

 August, M'Phail " generally made beds of dung which had first been used for linings 

 to the early cucumber and melon beds. For this pui-pose, this kind of dung is better than 



