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GARDENING FOR THE SOUTH. 



Phospliorus, potash, and soda are the chief constituents, 

 and the special manures indicated are common salt, bone- 

 dust, or superphosphate of lime, and ashes. Guano and 

 animal matter of all kinds are valuable manures. 



Culture. — The water melon likes a deep, rich, sandy 

 soil. Where this plant is most successfully cultivated, it 

 always grows upon sand. The hills should be seven or 

 eight feet apart. In all other respects it is cultivated 

 exactly in the same manner as the musk melon and cu- 

 cumber. It should not be grown within one hundred feet 

 of other melons, gourds, &c., if you would gather pure 

 seed. Protect from insects as directed in the article, " Cu- 

 cumber." The melon worm does not annoy the watermelon. 



Use. — This is a wholesome fruit, very popular in sum- 

 mer from its beauty and the refreshing coolness of its 

 juice. It is not very nutritious, as it contains ninety-five 

 per cent, of Avater. It is not by any means as nourishing 

 as the musk melon, and lacks its peculiar rich flavor. The 

 outer rind is used for preserves. The seeds are valuable 

 in urinary complaints. In many parts of Europe the 

 juice is boiled into a pleasant syrup or made into beer. 



Cucurhita Melopejpo — Squash. 

 The squash is a tender trailing annual, thought to be 

 the connecting link between the melon and the pumpkin, 

 and was first brought to England in 1597. It is a native 

 of the Levant. It is a much esteemed garden vegetable, 

 and in some of its varieties can be had for the table the 

 greater part of the year. The best summer squashes are 

 the Early Bush, of yellowish white color, and scolloped or 

 patty-pan shaped, and the Early Bush Crooknecked, a 

 small crooknecked sort, yellow, covered with warts, but 

 excellent. These are very early, and their dwarf growth 

 renders them most desirable for the garden. 



