HOME VEGETABLE GARDENING 
MIJSKMELONS— SPECIAL SOIL REQUIREMENTS 
AND HOW TO GATHER 
T HERE is no question but that quality in the melons 
differs on soils of a different character. Some claim 
that a warm, sandy loam grows the best product, but ex- 
cellent quality crops have been raised on heavy clay 
soil. A great deal depends on the variety that is being 
grown as well as on the season. 
When is a melon ripe? As a rule, with the smooth- 
skinned sorts, a change in color will announce the start 
of the ripening process. When the stem that joins 
the fruit to the vine begins to crack around the edges 
next to the melon and a slight twist will separate the 
two, the fruit may be considered ripe. With the netted 
varieties, the gradual change in color is not so easily 
detected and a closer watching for the cracks around the 
stem end is advisable. The melons are generally of top- 
notch quality when a few drops of a reddish juice begin 
to show at the cracking stem end. 
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