mm 



A FIELD OF MAULE'S EARLIEST OF ALL 15 DAYS FROM PLANTING. 



MAULE'S EARLIEST OF ALL PEAS. aJ^jKilHft™. 



Is there a seedsman in tbe U. S. who bus not the best Extra Early Pea in existence? I have 

 yet to lind a catalogue where this claim is not made, and where tbe special strain of Peas oli'ered 

 l>.\ t he said seedsman is not all the v. ay from one to two w efics earlier than any other Pea in the 

 world. Now I do not claim there is no other extra early pea but Maule'S Earliest of All, but 

 1 do claim that I have a strain of extra early peas t hat is the equal of anything on the market, 

 and a thousand per cent, better than lots of trash that is \ early sold for extra early peas to the 

 confiding gardeners of the country. Every gardener who has ever sown Maule's Earliest of All 

 alongside of other varieties, has yet to find an earlier pea, and nothing can better Illustrate its 

 worth than the fact that many times in the last ten years I have entirely sold out, as the de- 

 mand invariably exceeds the supply. If you want a pea that is unsurpassed in regularity of 

 growth, yield, size of pod and general excellence, vou need Maule's Earliest of All. It is wonder- 

 fully productive and can almost always be cleared off in two pickings, in fact, if given half a 

 chance it will always come out ahead. Color of the dry peas a bright green. Packet, 10 cents ) 

 pint, 25 cents; quart 45 cents, postpaid. (For prices by the peck and bushel see page 61.) 



The WONDERFUL SUGAR MELON. 



ONLY TWO YEARS OLD, BUT 

 ALREADY A LEADER. 



It is with great pleasure that I offer my customers seed of the best watermelon ever put before the American 

 public. In describing this variety I cannot do better than quote from a letter received from Prof. Massey, of Ilaleigh, 

 ISL C, under date of September 16th, 1893 : 



from the West Indies, and that, although he had tried all the new 

 melons, he had yet found none equal to it. Now it is admitted that the 

 Florida Favorite Is a melon of good quality, so one morning the Col. 

 sent to another patch and had a line Florida Favorite brought in, split 

 in two, with some of his own, and tbe spoons were handed around for 

 all to compare the two. There was no getting around the fact that the 

 Mclver melon was far superior in sweetness. One of the greatest excel- 

 lencies of this melon is its ability to withstand wet weather. The sum- 

 mer of '02 was very wet up to the end of July, and was then succeeded 

 by prolonged drought. The wet weather had caused nearly all Water- 

 melons to crack in the centre and become hollow, but we never found 

 one of the Sugar Melons cracked in the slightest degree, and there was 

 a total absence of anything like stringiness, which makes Kolb Gem 

 and others so objectionable. In fact, I feel like begging pardon for men- 

 tioning Kolb Gem on the same page with the sugar .Melon. Having 

 enjoyed this superb melon so much at Col. Mclver's hospitable home, I 

 felt convinced that such a melon should be known to the Horticultural 

 AVorld. I have grown nearly every Watermelon in the catalogues, old 

 and new, and can sincerely say that this melon is the best of all, and 

 leaves nothing to he desired in a Watermelon that I can conceive of. I 

 only regret that my professional engagements prevented my accepting 

 the earnest invitation to meet these kind people again this summer, 

 and one of tbe things I most regretted was that I should miss that 

 feast of Watermelons under the rTaks at Col. Mclver's. 



Yours truly, 



W. F. MASSEY. 



"As I was the first to bring this melon to public notice through the 

 •columns of Tlie Practical Farmer, it is natural that you should ask me 

 more about it. My notice of this melon was prompted solely by the 

 fact that I was satisfied that it was the best Watermelon I ever ate. 

 Having not the slightest financial interest in the sale of the seed, I feel 

 perfectly free to give my opinion in regard to it. In August '02, I went 

 to South Carolina at the invitation of Col. E. R. Mclver, President of the 

 County Agricultural Society, to make an address at their annual meet- 

 ing. During my stay I was the guest of Col. Mclver at his beautiful 

 plantation. It was in the height of the Watermelon season, and in ad- 

 dition to his general activity as a progressive planter, Col. Mclver, I 

 found, was an enthusiast in Watermelon culture. In a nook on the 

 beautiful lawn around his house, shaded by some fine evergreen oaks, a 

 table was built, long enough to accommodate a score of guests, as a 

 special altar of sacrifice for Watermelons, and then every day during 

 my stav dozens of them were sacrificed. It is a point of etiquette in 

 South Carolina never to offer a guest less than half a Watermelon, no 

 matter how large, and the quantity of the sweet pulp I made away with 

 that week I feel ashamed to guess. At any rate I survived it, and 

 brought a forty-pounder away with me to make a lunch of on the train 

 borne, and still I live. When I first saw the melons being piled out on 

 the table, I asked Col. Mclver if they were Georgia Rattlesnake? 'No 

 sir,' said he, 'go a little closer, and when you try them tell me if you ever 

 ate a Rattlesnake melon equal to them.' I then noticed that the shape 

 was different from the Georgia melon. Col. Mclver informed me that 



this melon had been grown by him for many years from seed originally 



The above letter covers the ground so fully, and describes so tersely the superior qualities of the Sugar Melon, that I do not think I can improve 

 upon it. The illustration on third page of cover, as also the one herewith, is accurately made from nature, and in < eery respect represents a fair 

 average specimen. of this remarkable melon. More than 10,000 of my customers, embracing among them many of the most celebrated melon 

 growers In America, unanimously endorsed Mclver's Sugar without exception as tbe most perfect and thoroughbred melon it had ever been their 

 pleasure to raise, and in flavor far ahead of anything they ever conceived of in a watermelon. The $100 Prize oli'ered last season on The Wonderful 

 Sugar Melon was secured bv Samuel Guvmon, Harris, Mo., for a fine specimen weighing S7 1 .. lbs. 



Pacltet, 10 cents; ounce, 30 cents; % pound, SI. 00; pound, S3.0O. 



THE WONDERFUL 



SUGAR MELON. 



