THE MELON. 



321 



forward growth with, leaps and bounds, and if the 

 fruits are allowed to uncover themselves gradually, 

 no evil comes of enshrouding them for a week or so 

 at first in temporary darkness. 



But this method of burying the fruit is a mere 

 accident in express culture, and by no means essen- 

 tial to it. 



Stopping. — Assuming that the Melons are grown 

 on trellises, they should be allowed to reach half- 

 way up the trellis or more before they are 

 stopped. After this stopping, the plants, full of 

 vigour and of growth, will break into several or 

 many shoots. Erom three to five will prove suffi- 

 cient for a crop. These should be chosen of as 

 nearly a uniform strength as possible, and all others 

 rubbed off. These side or lateral shoots form the 

 ones on which the fruit will show. When this 

 happens the instructions given by Mr. Earley cannot 

 be bettered for the sure setting of a crop. 



Few Fruits to a Plant.— In express culture, 

 many plants with few fruits are to be preferred 

 to few plants and many fruits. The latter is alwaj's 

 somewmat risky practice in Melon culture, from the 

 peculiar power that even one Melon on a plant 

 has of monopolising all the supplies, and so starving 

 off all the other fruit. The number may range front 

 one to five fruits to a plant. There is something to 

 be said even for the one plant one fruit system. Three 

 Melons to a plant, however, is an excellent medium 

 for express culture. The plants may be placed at 

 any desired distance, from nine inches to thirty 

 -apart. Melon-seeds are cheap and plentiful, and 

 the plants themselves of no intrinsic value. Hence 

 time may be husbanded, and the chances of a crojj 

 greatly multiplied, by rather close planting. "With 

 an average of three or five Melons per plant a 

 maximum weight may be cut from any given area, 

 for the size of Melons and their weight are largely 

 detei-mined by the number of fruit per plant. 



Until the Melons have reached full size, the culti- 

 A-ator may push them on at the highest possible rate 

 of speed. Provided that they are grown near to the 

 glass, that the latter is clean, and that they are not 

 grown too early in the season — that is, not till 

 towards the end of February or later, when the sun's 

 light is becoming powerful — there is no fear of the 

 speed unduly weakening the plants. More care will 

 be needful in the removal of superfluous growths 

 under express culture. The shoots should be 

 stopped a joint or two beyond the fruit, and all 

 laterals and leaves vigorously suppressed, beyond 

 ■what can find room while fully exposed to the light. 



Second Crops. — The stems are, however, of so 

 much importance in this mode of culture that all the 

 93 



leaves should be left intact upon them, and every 

 care be taken to preserve these primary leaves from 

 injury. These impart unusual size and vigour to 

 the stems, and not seldom keep them and the root- 

 stocks in such vigour as to yield a third crop of 

 fruit. And all this has been done within less than 

 nine months from the time of sowing. But though 

 several successive crops of Melons from the same 

 plants in an incredibly short period of time is one 

 of the indirect advantages of the express culture of 

 Melons, it is by no means essential to the system. 

 The plants may be destroyed after the first crop, and 

 if good strong plants are ready to take their places 

 but little time will be lost. But as the system de- 

 velops such enormous root-force and vigour of stem, 

 it is well to utilise these in the production of a 

 second or third crop. This is the more important 

 inasmuch as a second crop from the same plants can 

 generally be produced and finished in far less time 

 than the first. 



Quality. — As the crop nears maturity, the atmo- 

 sphere should be kept drier, and more air given. 

 Up to this point little or no air may be needed. 

 A close and semi- saturated atmosphere is the most 

 favourable to the rapid swelling of the fruit. 

 The roots should also be kept moist. The plants 

 should never be allowed to flag from the start to 

 the finish, nor should the roots be allowed to lack 

 water during the finishing of the Melons. It is a 

 vital mistake to force maturity through dryness at 

 the root. The air may be dried as much as is con- 

 sistent with the maintenance of the Melon foliage 

 clean and green. But the transition from semi- 

 saturation to partial aridity must be gradual, and 

 not carried too far. 



Cutting. — Fortunately Melons need not be quite 

 finished on the plants. Soon after the fruit changes 

 colour, and the stem begins to crack round its neck, 

 and the Melon gives off a luscious odour, it may be 

 separated from the plant, not only without injury, 

 but with positive benefit to its quality. It is of 

 immense practical importance to sever the connection 

 so soon as practicable. Fruit- splitting, rotting, drop- 

 ping, internal fermentation of juice, attacks of 

 rodents and other vermin, all occur most frequently 

 during the finishing stages. Hence the prudence of 

 abridging the pending dangers as much as possible. 



Storing of Ripe Melons. — The best place to 

 store Melons is a warm kitchen-shelf, not too near 

 the fire. Many have been utterly ruined by being 

 left on hot soil or shelves right in the sun. Only 

 considerable experience enables one to tell when any 

 particular fruit is in the best condition for eating. 

 Touch, smell, sight, all reveal perfect ripeness to the 



