The Cucumber and Melon 



291 



For table use (slicing), cucumber fruits should be 

 6 inches or more long, green, fresh and plump. All cucum- 

 bers, whether for slicing or pickles, are picked before they 

 begin to turn yellow. For good markets, the cucumbers 

 should be graded to shape and size. They are marketed 

 in baskets, crates, and hampers. 



MELON 



Four by six feet is a customary distance for the hills of 

 muskmelons, making 1,185 hills to the acre. The quantity of 

 seed required is about the same as for cucumber. Sometimes 

 two crops are grown on the same land, a very early and a 

 main-season crop. The early crop is planted 4x5 feet, and two 

 or three weeks later the main crop is planted between. Three 

 or four good fruits to the plant is a good yield. Seeds are cov- 

 ered about % in., or somewhat deeper if planted directly in 

 the field. 



The melon is affected by wilt, mildew and mosaic, for which 

 see the account under Cucumber ; and by anthracnose, treated 

 under Watermelon. 



Striped cucumber beetle (Dial)rotica vitfata). — See under 

 Cucumber. The beetles not only attack the young plants but 

 later in the season destroy the young blossoms. Control: In 

 small gardens screen the young plants. Fish scrap fertilizer 

 not only forces the growth of the plants but has a tendency 

 to keep the beetles away. Air-slaked lime, tobacco and sul- 

 fur have a decidedly deterrent effect. Sow an excess of seed and 

 thin the plants after the danger from the insects has passed. 



Garden springtail (Sminthurus hortensis). — See under Cu- 

 cumber. Apply tobacco dust, fish scrap or air-slaked lime just 

 as the plants are coming above the ground. Repeat a week 

 later. Sow an excess of seed, cultivate frequently and apply 

 quick acting fertilizers to help the plant outgrow the injury. 



Southern corn root-worm {Diahrotica duodecimpunc- 

 tata) . — A yellowish green beetle, i/4 in. long, with twelve black 

 spots on the wing-covers. The beetles are often destructive to 

 cucumbers and melons which they attack in much the same 



