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VEGETABLE GARDENING 
sometimes used. Bushel and half-bushel baskets are 
also popular in some sections for local sales. In ah 
types of packages, the melons should be packed firmly, 
so they will not bruise or be injured in transit. 
^18. Yields. — Nearly 345 standard crates of musk- 
melons an acre were produced at the Arizona station. 
It is not unusual for growers to harvest over 200 crates 
to the acre. In New Jersey 150 crates an acre is re- 
garded a good yield, and 100 crates is considered a satis- 
factory crop in Georgia. 
519. Insect enemies. — The striped cucumber beetle is 
one of the most destructive insect pests. (See Cucum- 
bers.) The melon louse is a serious enemy in some 
seasons. Infested plants should be destroyed as soon as 
discovered. The usual insecticides for aphides may also 
be employed, but the spraying of a field of melons when 
the plants have attained considerable size is not easy 
to accomplish. It is doubly difficult to kill the lice, be- 
cause they feed on the underside of the leaves. 
520. Diseases. — Bacterial wilt ( Bacillus tracheifrhUus) 
may appear at any time during the season. The dis- 
ease is dreaded because no means of control has been 
discovered excqpt to check the cucumber beetle which 
is a carrier of the disease. Wilting is caused by the 
germs of the disease filling up the water ducts, and pre- 
venting circulation in the plants. 
Rust or blight annually causes heavy losses in vari- 
ous parts of the country. It is most likely to be de- 
structive in warm, showery weather at low altitudes and 
where there is little circulation of the air. The disease 
may be controlled by spraying with bordeaux mixture. 
The first application should be made when the plants 
begin to vine, with subsequent treatments to keep the 
plants well armored against the disease spores. 
521. The Montreal melons. — It is believed that the 
Montreal muskmelons could be grown in various parts 
