MELON. 



203 



of the air under the frames ; and, to secure this, it is weE 

 to keep a supply of it in a pot, placed in a corner of the 

 hot-bed. In about a month, the plants, thus raised, will bt* 

 fit for transferring to a second and larger hot-bed, construct- 

 ed like the preceding, with the exception, that the mass o^ 

 dung must now be greater, and that, after earthing, the bed 

 should not be less than three and a half or four feet in depth. 

 The plants, with the earth in which they grow, are now to 

 be taken from the pots — an operation in which practice 

 only will make us expert, and which consists in placing 

 the neck of the plant between the first and second finger 

 of the left hand, reversing the pot, and gently striking its 

 sides till the earth be disengaged. The discharged mass 

 is then placed in a hole, previously prepared in the 

 square, where it is intended the plant shall ripen and 

 produce." 



Catting the fruit. — Nical observes, that " Melons, if al- 

 lowed to remain on tha plant till they be of a deep yellow 

 colour, lose much of their flavour. They should, therefore, 

 be cut as soon as they begin to change to a greenish-yellow, 

 or, rather, as soon as they begin to smell ripe. They may 

 lie in a frame for a day or two, if not immediately wanted, 

 where they will acquire sufficient colour. But if they are 

 let remain many days in the frame, they will become as 

 insipid as if they had been left too long on the plant." 



Saving seed. — The ordinpry mode is to request the 

 seeds of particularly fine fruits of approved sorts to be re- 

 turned from table. The best way, however, is to pick 

 some best ripe fruit, take out the seed, clean it from the 

 puip, and let it be well dried and hardened ; and then put 

 it up in papers. — Ahercrombie, Nicol says, wash it very 

 clean, skimming off the light seeds, as those only which 

 sink in water will grow. Great care must be taken that 

 the sorts from which seeds are saved are genuine and dis- 

 tinct. When different sorts are planted in the same bed, 

 this cannot be the case. 



Second crop from the same plants. — " When the fruit of 

 the first crop is off, a second crop may be obtained from 

 the same stools, which often proves more productive than 

 the first. If the first crop is taken before the middle of 

 June, the second will come at a very good time. For this 

 purpose, as soon as the fruit is cut, prune the plant. Short- 

 en the vigorous, healthy runners, at a promising joint, to 

 force out new laterals, cutting about two inches above the 

 joint. At the same time, take off all decayed or sickly vines, 



