118 JOURNAL OF THE EOYAL HORTICULTUEAL SOCIETY. 
MELONS. 
By Mr. A. Pettigrew. 
[Read August 14, 1900.] 
The Melon (Cuctunis Melo), Loudon tells us, "has been cultivated 
in England since 1570; but the precise time of its introduction and the 
native country of the plant are both unknown." 
The Melon is highly appreciated as a dessert fruit by those who can 
afford it during the summer and autumn months. But owing to the 
expense incurred in its cultivation it is seldom seen on the tables of any 
but the rich and well-to-do people in this country. 
Some fifty or sixty years ago Melons were grown entirely in pits 
heated by decomposing stable litter, leaves of trees, and spent bark from 
the tanyard, and in frames placed on hot-beds of these materials. This 
entailed a great amount of labour in making and in keeping the heat up 
to the proper temperature by adding linings of hot litter to the sides of 
the beds when the heat declined. But since the advent of cheap glass, 
and the introduction of the system of heating houses by means of hot 
water in pipes, and a better style of gardening architecture, the hot-bed 
system of growing Melons has almost disappeared from our gardens. 
My first experience in making a Jiot-bed for Melons takes me back 
more than fifty years. It was then considered an important matter to be 
able to make a good hot-bed which would maintain the heat till the crop 
of fruit was ripened. In making the bed the litter, leaves, and =bark (as 
the case may be) were collected in large heaps close to where the bed was 
to be made. After they had began to heat they were turned over several 
times at intervals of a few days to allow the rank steam to escape, and 
the heat to mellow down to the desired temperature before making the bed. 
The heat was ascertained by means of trial stakes thrust into the heaps, 
where they remained until the materials were in proper condition to put 
together. The stakes were pulled out daily, and the heat gauged by the 
feel of the hand. I do not remember ever seeing a thermometer used for 
that purpose. The bed, which had generally a southern exposure, was 
made from 2 to 3 feet wider than the frame on all sides, and was raised 
to the height of 4 feet at the back and 3 feet in the front, so that when 
the frame was placed on it it would slope gently to the front. Stable 
litter was used to form the sides to make them firm and strong, and the 
leaves, litter, and bark were put in the interior of the bed. Sometimes 
these were kept separate and put on in layers, and sometimes they were 
mixed all together. 
As the building of the bed proceeded the materials were shaken out, 
and spread evenly over the surface, and trodden at short intervals to 
guard against the bed settling down more in one place than in another 
when it was finished and the frame placed on it. To prevent the heat 
from rising too rapidly at first and injuring the roots of the young plants, 
a few turves with the grass side down were placed in the centre of each 
light, and small mounds of earth — loam and leaf -mould — were placed on 
