28 



D. M. FERRY & GO'S DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 



MELON, WATER. 



French, Melon d'eau. German, Wasser-Melone. 



Culture.— The essential thing is to get a good, strong vine 

 early in the season, which may be secured by forming a large 

 well drained hill of rich earth, avoiding the use of manure in 

 such a way as to cause the plant to dry out under the hot 

 sun. On this hill plant the seed as soon as the ground is warm 

 and dry, and carefully protect the young plants from insects, 

 and hasten their growth by the use of liquid manure. 



PHINNEY'S EARLY.— A valuable variety for use in the 

 North; hardy and a sure cropper. Vines vigorous and pro- 

 ductive, fruiting quite early; fruit medium size, oblong, 

 smooth, marbled with two shades of green; rind thin; flesh 

 pink, very sweet, tender and crisp. 



D. M. FERRY «& GO'S PEERLESS.— The best melon for 

 private gardens and for market gardeners who deliver direct 

 to consumers, but is also grown extensively in some sections 

 for shipping in car-load lots distances of two and three hun- 

 dred miles. Vine moderately vigorous, hardy, productive; 

 fruit medium size, oval, finely mottled ; rind thin ; flesh bright 

 scarlet, solid to the center, crisp, tender and of the highest 

 flavor. Our stock of this variety is most carefully selected. 



DARK ICING.— Fruit large, nearly round, dark green, 

 very indistinctly mottled with lighter shade. Flesh very rich, 

 bright red. The juice, which is very abundant, is of rich, 

 deep color and flows so freely as to be available as a drink. 

 All of our stocks of Icing Melon are pure and perfectly dis- 

 tinct, showing very uniformly the characteristics of each 

 sort as described. 



ROUND LIGHT ICING.- Fruit medium size, round, very 

 light green or white, mottled with slightly darker green. 

 Flesh bright, light red. very sweet and tender. By many this 

 is considered the best of .all melons. 



LONG LIGHT ICING.— A variety established by selection 

 until it is uniformly long, oval in shape and nearly twice as 

 heavy as the Round Icing. In other respects it is much like 

 that sort and fully equal to it in quality. Re- 

 peated trials have shown that many so-called new 

 sorts resemble the Round and Long Icing, but are 

 inferior to our stocks. 



BOSS.— Vines small but vigorous, with small, 

 finely divided leaves. Fruit above medium size, 

 long, with rounded ends, very dark green skin, 

 and exceedingly bright red flesh which extends to 

 within one-half inch of the surface, and is very 

 sweet. Seed small, dark brown. It is an excel- 

 lent sort for home use, but the rind is too thin for 

 a good shipper. 



BLACK SPANISH.— Vines small, so that they 

 may be planted closer than most sorts. Fruit 

 round, ver^' dark green, with scarlet flesh and 

 black seeds. It is not so large as some of the 

 other sorts, but very sweet and of fine flavor. 



DIXIE.— This new and desirable variety, of 

 Southern origin, is a cross between Kolb's Gem 

 and Mountain Sweet, having the tough rind and 



long keeping qualities of the former combined with the great 

 productiveness and high flavor of the latter. We think 

 it is destined to become a leading market sort. Vines 

 vigorous, large growing and hardy; fruit medium size 

 to very large, about one-third longer than thick. Color 

 of skin dark green striped with a lighter shade, making 

 it very attractive; rind thin but tough; flesh bright scarlet, 

 ripens closely to the rind, is of the best quality and free from 

 the hard coarse center, which is so objectionable a feature of 

 many shipping melons. We hope ah our customers will give 

 this very desirable sort a trial, as we feel sure they -will be 

 greatly pleased with it. 



GYPSY, OR GEORGIA RATTLESNAKE.— One of the 

 largest varieties, and stands shipment long distances. Fruit 

 cylindrical, square at the ends, smooth, distinctly striped 

 and mottled hght and dark green. Flesh bright scarlet and 

 very sweet. 



CUBAN QUEEN.— Fruit medium size to large, globular or 

 oval; skin striped light and dark green in shai-p contrast: rind 

 medium thick, but stands shipment well. Flesh bright red, 

 solid, very crisp and sugarj'. 



KOLB'S GEM.-The most profitable variety to grow for ship- 

 ping long distances, and is probably used more than all others 

 for this purpose. Vines of medium size, but remarkably vig- 

 orous and healthy. Leaves of medium size, deeply cut with 

 a peculiar, frilled edge. Fruit of the largest size, round or 

 shghtly oval, marked with irregular mottled stripes of dark 

 and light green. Outer rind or shell exceedingly hard and 

 firm, regembhng that of a }\inter squash. Flesh bright red, 

 extending to within half an inch of the rind; always solid, 

 very firm, a little coarse, but sweet and tender. An excel- 

 lent keeper. Seeds dark gray. 



MOUNTAIN SWEET.— A large, oval variety; rind green; 

 flesh scarlet and quite solid to the center, very sweet and 

 delicious. This is an old standard sort and one of the best 

 for the home garden. 



MOUNTAIN SPROUT.— A large, long, striped variety, 

 with bright, scarlet flesh and drab colored seeds; it differs 



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Gypsy, oh Georgia Rattlesnake. 



from the Mountain Sweet in color and shape, 

 is rather late, and will keep longer in the fall. 



ORANGE. — An oval melon, skin green; 

 flesh scarlet, of good quality, and is peculiar, 

 in that the flesh may be easily separated from 

 the rind like an orange. 



ICE CREAM.— Medium size, with scarlet 

 flesh, and very sweet; a good variety for 

 main crop. 



CITRON.— Grows uniformly round and 

 smooth, striped and marbled with hght green. 

 Flesh white and solid: seeds red. It should be 

 borne in mind that this variety is not used 

 for eating in the raw state, but for preserves, 

 pickles, etc. 



MUSHROOM. 



Agaricus campestris. 



The Mushroom is an edible fungus, of a 

 white color, changing to brown when old. 

 The gills are loose, of a pinkish-red, changing 

 to liver color. It produces no seed, but in- 

 stead, a white, flbrous substance in broken 

 threads, called spawn, which is preserved in 

 horse manure, being pressed in the form of 

 bricks. Thus prepared it will retain its vitaUty 

 for years. 



Culture. Mushrooms can be'srov^Ti in a 

 cellar, in sheds, or in hot-beds in open air, on 

 shelves, or out-of-the-way places. Ferment- 

 ing horse manure at a temperature of about 

 70 degrees, mixed with an equal weight of 

 fresh sod loam, is made into beds the size 

 required, eight inches deep. See to it that 

 the bed is packed very solidly and evenly. In 

 this bed plant the broken pieces of spawn 



