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CHAPTER VI. 



THE CULTURE OF THE MELON ON DUNG BEDS. 



The seed-bed for raising the plants should be 

 formed in accordance with the instructions 

 given for raising cucumbers, and sown on the 

 20th of January in fine loam ; out of which they 

 can be more readily parted and re-potted than 

 if the soil were rough. If the heat of the seed- 

 bed be properly maintained, and the plants duly 

 attended to, they will be ready for removal out 

 of the seed-pot, singly, about the 27th, into a 

 forty-eight pot, or one of four inches in diameter 

 and four inches deep ; the soil as before, with a 

 lump at the bottom, and no other drainage ; the 

 plants should be sunk low so as to bring the 

 seed-leaves even with the top of the pots, which 

 should be only half filled. As the roots show 



