712 



Tlir PRACTICAL GARDENER. 



[Apr. 



to the state of the heat in the beds, and upon the first appear- 

 ance of anydechne in the heat, the hnings should be renewed, 

 or made entirely fresh. Accordingly as the shoots extend 

 themselves, they should be stopped, as already directed for 

 cucumbers, and carefully trained down to the surface of the 

 beds ; a certain portion of mould should be added as the roots 

 begin to make their appearance through the hills, and as it is 

 progressively applied, it should be well trodden or beaten in 

 a compact body. Care must be taken that no damp nor moul- 

 diness appears in the beds ; and to guard against this evil, 

 the surface should be kept clear of weeds, and stirred fre- 

 quently up to the depth of half an inch, and all decayed or 

 dead leaves carefully removed. Melons sutler much more 

 from the loss of leaves and hard pruning than cucumbers ; and 

 when it is necessary to remove either, let the end of the shoot 

 or foot-stalk of the amputated leaves be squeezed between the 

 finger and thumb, so as to bruise the ends of the vessels and 

 prevent a too copious bleeding. 



The vines, or runners, should be carefully pegged down 

 close to the surface, by which they will not be liable to be 

 displaced, nor will they rub against each other, which might 

 be productive of wounds, which, if not attended to, would pro- 

 duce canker ; and this happening to a principal branch, would 

 endanger its total loss. This circumstance happens not un- 

 fre(}ucntly, when the vines have almost filled their allotted 

 space, and their share of fruit set and fast Iwelling. 



When a canker of this kind occurs, from damp or wounds, 

 a little unslaked lime or chalk, finely pounded, and laid over 

 the wound, will tend to dry up the damp; but if canker arise, 

 from want of sufficient heat, which is not unfrequently tlie 

 case, the crop stands in great danger of being spoiled ; and 

 should the fruit, by a renewal of the heat, be brought forward, 

 it will neither be handsome nor well-flavored. 



Mr. Knight, in the Hort. Trans, ^ sensible of the injury 

 which melon-plants sustain by losing their leaves, recommends 

 that the utmost care be paid to their preservation, and insinu- 

 ates that their leaves should never be displaced from their 

 natural position, even by the process of watering with a coarse 

 rose watering-pot ; but he recommends that the water be ap- 



