MEL 
and let the cold air to the plants, and frequently leave 
the glaffes in part open; or fometimes when they are 
raifed by the gardener to admit the freffi air, the tilts 
are thrown down, fo that the air is excluded-, all 
which are very injurious to the young plants, as is 
alfo the handling of the fruit after it is fet ; there- 
fore none fhould be admitted, but when the perfon 
who is intruded with the care of them is there. 
T. he next thing is the preparation of the earth for 
thefe plants, in which the Dutch and German garden- 
ers are very exadt : the mixture which they generally 
prepare is of the following forts ; of hazel loam, 
one third part ; of the i'counng of ditches or ponds a 
third part, and of very rotten dung a third part ; 
thefe are mixed up at lead one, and often two years, 
before they make ufe of it, frequently turning it over, 
to incorporate their parts and fweeten it ; but the 
compoft in which I find thefe plants fucceed bed in 
England, is two thirds of frefh gentle loam, and one 
third or rotten neats dung ; if thefe are mixed toge- 
ther one year before it is wanted, fo as to have the 
benefit of a winter’s trod and dimmer’s heat, ob- 
ferving to turn it over often, and never fuffer weeds 
to grow upon it, this will be found equal to any other 
cornpod whatever. 
As thefe plants fucceed bed when they are planted 
young, io before the plants appear there fhould be a 
quantity of new dung thrown in a heap, proportion- 
able to the number of lights intended, allowing 
about fifteen good wheelbarrows full to each light ; 
this mult be two or three times turned over, to pre- 
pare it (as hath been directed for Cucumbers) and in 
a fortnight it will be fit for ufe, at w T hich time the 
trench mud be dug to receive the dung, where the 
bed is intended ; this mud be made wider than the 
frames, and in length proportional to the number of 
frames intended. As to the depth, that mud be ac- 
cording as the foil is dry or wet ; but in a dry ground 
it fhould not be lefs than a foot, or a foot and a half 
deep; for the lower thefe beds are made the better they 
will fucceed, where there is no danger of their differing 
by wet. In the well laying and mixing of the dung, 
the fame care mud be taken as hath been advifed 
already for Cucumbers, which in every refpedt mud 
be the fame for thefe beds. When the bed is made, 
the frames fhould be placed over it to keep out wet ; 
but there fhould be no earth laid upon it till after it 
has been three or four days made, and is found of a 
proper temperature of heat ; for many times thefe 
beds will heat fo violently when they are fird made, 
as to burn the earth, if covered with it ; and when 
this happens, it is much the bed way to take this 
earth off again, for the plants will never thrive in it. 
As foon as the bed is found to be of a proper 
warmth, the earth fhould be laid upon it, which at 
fird need not be more than two inches thick, except in 
the, middle of each light, where the plants are to be 
placed, where there mud be a hill raifed fifteen inches 
high or more, terminating in a flat cone ; in two or 
three days after the earth is put on the bed, it will be 
of a proper temper to receive the plants ; then in the 
evening you may tranfplant the plants, but always 
do it when there is little wind dirring : in taking up 
the plants, their roots fhould be carefully raifed with 
a trowel, fo as to preferve all their fibres ; for if thefe 
are broken off, the plants do not foon recover this ; 
or if they do, they are generally weaker, and feldom 
make fo good Vines as thofe which are more carefully 
removed ; for thefe plants are more nice and tender 
in tranlplanting than thofe of Cucumber, efpecially 
the Cantaleupe Melon ; which, if it is not planted 
out, foon after the third, (or what the gardeners call 
the rough) leaf is put out, they are long recovering 
their vigour ; fo that when it happens that the beds 
cannot be ready for them in time, it will be a good 
method to plant each plant into a fmall pot while they 
are young, and thefe may be plunged into the hot-bed 
where they were raifed, or into the Cucumber-bed 
where there is room, fo that they may be brought for- 
M E L 
ward ; and when the bed is ready, thefe may be turned 
out of the pots, with the whole ball of earth to their 
roots, whereby they will receive no check in removing: 
and this latter method is what I fhould prefer to any 
other for thev^antaleupe, becaufe there fhould never be 
more than one plant left to grow in each light ; there- 
fore in this method there will be no neceffity of plant- 
ing more, as there will be no danger of their fucceed- 
ing ; whereas in the common way, moft people plant 
two or more plants in each light, for fear fome 
fhould mifcarry. When the plants are placed on the 
top of the hills, they ffiould be gently watered, which 
fhould be repeated once or twice after till the plants 
have taken good root, after which they feldom require 
more ; for when they receive too much wet, they of- 
ten canker at the root, and when that happens they 
never produce good fruit. When the plants have 
eftablifhed themlelves well in the new beds, there 
fhould be a greater quantity of earth laid on the bed, 
beginning round the hills where the plants grow, that 
their roots may have room to ftrike out ; and as the 
earth is put in from time to time, it muff be trodden 
or preffed down as clofe as poffible ; and it fhould be 
railed at leaft a foot and a half thick upon the dung 
all over the bed, obferving alfo to raife the frames, 
that the glaffes may not be too near the plants, left 
the fun fhould fcorch them. 
"When the plants have gotton four leaves, the top of 
the plants fhould be pinched off with the finger and 
thumb, but not bruifed or cut with a knife, becaufe 
in either of thefe cafes the wound will not fo foon 
heal over : this pinching is to caufe the plants to put 
out lateral branches, for thefe are what will produce 
the fruit ; therefore, when there are two or more of 
thefe lateral ihoots produced, they muft alfo be pinch- 
ed, to force out more; and this muft be pradtifed of- 
ten, that there may be a fupply of what the gardeners 
call runners, to cover the bed. The management of 
thefe beds muft be nearly the fame as hath been di- 
rected for the Cucumbers, therefore I need not re- 
peat it here ; but fhall only obferve, that the Melons 
require a greater fhare of air than Cucumbers, and 
very little water and when it is given to them, it 
fhould be at a diftance from their ftems. 
If the plants have fucceeded well, they will fpread 
over the bed, and reach to the frames, in about five or 
fix weeks, at which time the alleys between the beds 
fhould be dug out ; or where there is but one bed, 
there fhould be a trench made on each fide, of about 
four feet wide, as low as the bottom of the bed, and 
hot dung wheeled in, to raife a lining to the fame 
height as the dung of the bed, which fhould be trod- 
den down clofe, and afterward covered with the fame 
earth as was laid upon the bed, to the thicknefs of a 
foot and a half or more, treading it down as clofe 
as poffible ; this will add to the width of the bed, fo 
much as to make it in the whole twelve feet broad, 
which is abfolutely neceffary, for the roots of the 
plants will extend themfelves quite through it ; and 
it is for want of this precaution, that it is common 
to fee the Vines of Melons decay, before the fruit is 
well grown ; for where there is no addition made to 
the width of the bed, the roots will have reached 
the fides of the beds by the time that the fruit ap- 
pears, and having no more room to extend themfelves, 
their extremities are dried by the fun and air, which 
is foon difcovered by the plants hanging their leaves in 
the heat of the day, which is foon attended with a 
decay of many of thofe leaves which are near the 
Item, and the plants from that time gradually lan- 
guiffi, fo that the fruit cannot be fupplied with nou- 
rilhment ; but when ripe, will be found to have little 
fleffi, and that meally and ill flavoured ; whereas thofe 
plants which have fufficient breadth for their roots to 
run, and the earth laid of a proper depth and clofely 
trod down, will remain in vigour until the froft de- 
ftroys them, fo that I have had a fecond crop of 
fruit on them, which have fometimes ripened well *, 
but all the firft were excellent, and of a larger fize 
Shan 
