SEED-VESSELS WE EAT 243 



but there are quick-growing varieties of water- 

 melons suited to their needs. By starting the 

 seeds in flower pots, or berry baskets, or planting 

 them in inverted sods, the young plants are well 

 along when the time comes to set them in the 

 garden. A great saving of time is thus achieved. 

 Liquid manure or other quick fertilizer forces 

 growth, and good culture does the rest. The best 

 soil is a light, warm, sandy loam. 



White-fleshed melons may be sweet and fine- 

 flavored, so may the yellow-fleshed varieties. 

 But the American taste prefers a red-fleshed water- 

 melon, with black seeds, and not too many of them 

 — all in a thin, but strong, protecting rind, pre-* 

 ferably dark green. 



California is a great state for watermelons, 

 because of the intense heat of some interior valleys, 

 and the warm climate of all the lower half of the 

 state. The earliest crop comes to market from 

 inland in June. July and August have the 

 heaviest yield. An acre produces, on an average, 

 a carload of marketable melons. This means one 

 hundred dozen. They run up to one hundred 

 pounds and over; a twenty-pound melon is con- 

 sidered the smallest size to sell. Smaller ones 

 would grade the whole lot to their level, and that 

 doesn't pay. 



