CUCUMBER. MELON. PUMPKIN. SQUASH I3I 



Watermelons. — Eight by eight feet suits me 

 for these long-running vines ; some growers prefer 

 them even farther apart. A long growing season is 

 required, and therefore only very early varieties can 

 be successfully grown in the North. Cole's Early 

 is good for this purpose. In the South watermelon 

 growing is a large industry, and carload shipments 

 are made. Kentucky Wonder, Sweetheart, Seminole, 

 Kolb's Gem, Gypsy, Dixie, etc., are favorite southern 

 kinds. 



There is a variety known as "citron," the rind 

 of which is used for preserves. The flesh is not 

 edible. The real citron of commerce comes from the 

 fruit of a tree grown only in the far South. 



The knowledge of telling a ripe watermelon 

 comes mainly by experience and observation, says 

 a southern grower. It is often claimed that when 

 the little "curl" or tendril on the stem is dead, the 

 melon is ripe; if green, the melon is also green. 

 This is not altogether a reliable sign. The flat, dead 

 sound emitted by the melon 



when thumped with the finger V''if"^^'^%'^,ji/^'''^ 

 is also an indication of ripe- ^f^^^^^^-^^ 

 ness. If on turning the melon 

 over and exposing the under 

 side, the white blotches are 

 found yellowish, rough, and 

 warty, with the surface suffi- 

 ciently hard to resist the finger nail when scratched, 

 it is another sign of ripeness. After the melon looks 

 ripe and thumps as if it were ripe, and if on pressing 

 it down, the interior appears to give, and this is also 

 accompanied by a slight crisp crackling, the melon 

 is almost sure to be ripe. (Melons that are to be 

 shipped should not be put to this latter test.) 



