2 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



houses, or frames placed on prepared hot beds composed of 

 fermenting materials such as leaves and stable manure ; although 

 for later crops ordinary pits and frames may be utilised for their 

 cultivation. In very favourable seasons, some of the more hardy 

 varieties can be grown and ripened in the open air. In the 

 summer of 1876 I ripened in the open air fruits of Munro's 

 Little Heath weighing six pounds each ; also fruits of Golden 

 Perfection, it being an exceptional season. Generally speaking, 

 our seasons are far too short and uncertain for the successful 

 cultivation of this fruit in the open. Of late years much has 

 been written on Melons and their culture, and a number of first- 

 class varieties have been raised in the Scarlet, Green and White 

 fleshed sections. 



And as the Melon takes an important position among the 

 choicest of our dessert fruits, perhaps a few practical remarks 

 on its cultural requirements would be acceptable to those, the 

 uninitiated, by whom the question is so often asked, How can 

 Melons be successfully grown ? 



It is to such as these that need and ask for information that 

 I shall endeavour to detail as briefly as possible my method of 

 cultivation. 



The following remarks apply to the cultivation of Melons 

 generally : — 



Sowing. — The seeds for the earliest crops should be sown 

 early in January, using perfectly clean pots and crocks ; for this 

 3-inch pots are the most suitable size. Put a crock hollow side 

 downwards over the hole, then a layer of small crocks ; on this 

 place a little moss, which will insure perfect drainage, three 

 parts filling the pots with a mixture consisting of three parts of 

 fibrous loam, one of leaf-soil and sand. Place one seed to the 

 depth of a half-inch in the centre of each pot. In making the 

 hole for the reception of the seed a little silver-sand should be 

 used to imbed the seed : this prevents decay, especially in the case 

 of very early sown seeds. I prefer this method to sowing several 

 seeds in a pot, as when the young plants require potting the 

 roots get disturbed in the process, which often causes a check 

 to the plants. The pots should be plunged in a bottom heat of 

 70 to 80 deg. As soon as the seedlings appear remove them to a 

 shelf near the glass, so as to allow the young plants all the light 

 possible ; shift into larger pots as the plants require more root 



