March 2, 1912. 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



175 



I 

 111 



4 



•A ■ 



of 



z 



MELON CULTURE. 



To grow melons successfully 



I mean the production 

 liighest quality — it will 



of 



—and by this 

 fruits of the 



be convenient to 



when the atmosphere contains the least 

 moisture. 



Melons delight in heat, and for the early 

 vsowing a minimum night temperature of 

 70 deg. should be maintained, this increas- 

 ing as the season advances. Except during 



keep two things in mind, viz., forethought .... «^vaxx... ^...^p. v.ux..x^ 



i.f... Ain. .^^.i.tv. the time of settmg, the atmosphere must 



As the fruits reacli the ripening stage 

 the water supply must be greath' reduced 

 and air freely admitted. Each fruit will 

 betray its readiness for cutting by crack- 



and the beautiful 



of the 



and preparedness. When once the seeds are 

 sown, a constant, steady growth must be 

 maintained^ as a check will cause serious 

 damage and a waste of time. It is an ad- 

 vantage to have both top and bottom heat, 

 the latter to run directly beneath the bed, 

 as this does away with the employment of 

 iernienting materials to produce heat. Iron 

 gratings used as a base for the bed will 

 allow the heat to come through more readily 

 than slate slabs. 



The material for the bed should consist 

 of good turfy loam, wood ashes or lime 

 rubble. Some groAvers advise the addition 

 of farmyard manure, but my contention is 

 that this is not necessary except wdiere the 

 loam obtainable is poor, for the reason that 

 manure is likely to produce an over-vigo- 

 rous growth. When mixing the compost 

 keep a sharp lookout for wireworm, as this 

 pest will cause considerable damage by eat- 

 ing the young roots. 



The bed should be made up in a ridge, 

 allowing about 2ft. width at the base, and 

 tapering it upw^ards to the required height, 

 which may be from 12 to 18in. Ram the 

 -nil firmly in the process of formation. It 

 IS advisable to make the bed about a fort- 

 night before the time for planting, to allow 

 the soil to become thoroughly warmed 

 through. 



When sow^ing, the cultivator must be 

 guided by the demand. May is considered 

 the earliest period that well-flavoured 

 melons can be expected, and for this pur- 

 pose a sowing should be made in the first 

 week of January. Subsequent sowings for 

 a succession may take place about every 

 ten days or a fortnight. One seed in a 

 small 60-sized pot is sufficient, using pure 

 loam only. Plunge the pot« in a bottom 

 heat of 75 deg,^ and as soon as the plants 

 come up remove them to a shelf near the 

 roof-glass, so that they may receive all 

 the assistance possible in becoming strong 

 and sturdy. At this early season more 

 than ordinary care must be bestowed on 

 the young plants. Watering must be done 

 jndicioiisly, the plants staked, and re- 

 potted into 54's as soon as they are ready. 

 Above all, avoid cold draiights. A few 

 more seeds should be sown than the number 

 of plants required, in ca^e of loss or 

 damage. Sixteen wrecks is considered the 

 average time necessary from sowing seeds 

 to the ripening of the fruit. 



Planting may commence as soon as the 

 plants are ready. Allow 1ft. to 18:n. be- 

 tween the plants, and make the surround- 

 ing soil firm. Well water in, and stake 

 immediately. 



.The method of cultivation which I ad- 

 vise IS to limit each plant to a single stem, 

 which is allowed to grow to the 

 ^f^P wire before 

 moving the point. 



g/<JW they must be kept carefully 

 ^jed up. The process of "setting" 

 female blossoms is an important one. 

 not commence this as soon as the first 

 nowery open, l)ut rather wait until the 

 Piiints have attained strength. The best 

 ^•'•iits will be obtained from those flowers 

 pnxluced about half-way up the plant, and 

 Jl^ese should be set together as nearly at 

 ^ne same time as possible, so that they 

 y^^y swell together and become uniform. 

 i>vo or three fruits on each plant is ample, 

 ^^e operation of setting ':s best performed 

 a hrip;ht day, when a little air can be 

 <i<iinitt(Ml, midday being the best period, 



grow 

 being stopped 



As the 



to 



by re- 

 laterals 



on 



be kept moist by damping the floors and 



Stop all laterals at 

 one leaf beyond the fruit, and remove all 



the 



ing round the stem, 

 aroma it gives off. The flavour 

 melon will be greatly improved if it is 



shelf in the same house as 



surrounding walls. 



sub-laterals as they appear 



Keep 



placed on a 

 grown, or perliaps in a slightly lower tem- 

 perature, for about a week before use. 

 The question of varieties is one which 



CLARKLV ELEGAXS FIREFLY. 



A 



hiffhly effective and beautiful variety, bearing large double flowers of a 

 scarlet-crimson hue. Introduced by Messrs, Sutton and Sons, Reading 



bright 



(See page 179.) 



plants carefully tied up and regulate^l, and 

 give support to the fruits by nets when 

 thev have attained the size of an apple. 

 Artificial feeding is necessary, but th s must 

 be given w^eak and often when the plants 

 arc in ful! growth, on ar<'0unt of tlu* close 

 proximity of the roots to the surface of the 

 soil, as they may be easily injured by the 

 sun's action and strong manure. Encou- 

 rage plenty of root growth by top-dressings 

 of loam. 



T'niv<M>al. 



must remain open for various reasons, but 

 a few Avhich I can strongly recommend are 

 as follows: Green-fleshe<l varieties — Emer- 

 ald Gem, Ringleader, Best of All, and 

 Royal Jubilee ; white-fleshed 

 Eminence, Coiuitess, and Hero of Lix-k- 

 inge; scarlet-fleshed— Suttons Al^ Super- 

 lative, Blenheim Orange, and Sutt<m\s 

 S<^arlet. I have groivn all the above, and 

 consider them equal to any varieties in 

 cultivation. A. GHrBB. 



