No new Water Melon which 
has been introduced for 
years has made so great a 
stir in the great melon grow¬ 
ing district ashas the Kolb's 
Gem, or American Champion 
as it has been called by some. 
It originated with Major R. 
F. Kolb, of Eufaula, Ala., 
and is said to be a hybrid 
between the popular Scaly 
Bark and Rattlesnake. It 
has a very tough rind, and 
carries in good condition for 
very long distances without 
breakage. Its shape is well 
shown in our illustration. 
They grow uniformly round, 
of about equal diameter each 
way. It has narrow, light- 
green, mottled stripes. The 
flesh is of bright red and of 
good flavor. 
Probably no Water Melon which has been 
Introduced previous to this year has made 
a better record than the Mammoth Iron- 
dad, which grows to an immense size and 
is noted for its long keeping qualities. 
KOLB’S GEM WATER MELON. 
Some Seasonable Hints. 
BY DAVID LANDRETH & SONS. 
More than usual attention seems of late 
to be bestowed upon the improvement of 
that grand vegetable the Lima Bean. 
Dreer's Improved has had a long run having 
monopolized the field for several years. 
Bliss's Extra Early Lima was the first to 
compete with Dreer’s; Bliss’s is thismer, 
flatter and earlier than Dreer’s. The Chal¬ 
lenger next claims attention, being truly a 
pedigree Bean, having been kept strictly 
pure in one family for three generations, 
being constantly improved by saving seed 
from the strongest vines that had the great¬ 
est number of beans in the pod. It is 
claimed that they will yield more shelled 
beans to the bushel of pods than any other 
Lima. Our friend Frank S. Platt of New 
Haven, Conn., has for many years paid 
special attention to the culture of Lima 
Beans, annually growing a large acreage 
of them for the trade. He 1ms recently 
offered a choice selection of his own which 
he styles the King of the Limas. It is fig¬ 
ured and described on another page of! 
this issue. I 
SEED PURCHASING A MATTER OF CONFI¬ 
DENCE. 
It is entirely so! The man who buys dry* 
goods or groceries, corn or cotton, can, to- 
a very considerable extent, judge of th<* 
quality and value of the article. This is, 
not the case with seeds, Simply because 
a dealer says a certain Cabbage Seed he 
holds in his hand is Large Flat Dutch, it 
does not follow that it is so. He may have 
been deceived himself. No one can tell til) 
valuable time and labor has been expended 1 
on the crop. No other commodity but 
Drugs is so entirely a matter of confidence. 
It behooves every one to get their supplies 
from dealers of recognized repute, men 
who have a reputation at stake. Cheapness 
at once is sufficient to raise a doubt both as; 
to vitality and quality. Good seeds have a 
value—they cannot be cheap in the com¬ 
mon acceptation of the word. The rathe? 
inelegant tho’ expressive phrase, cheap, 
and nasty f applies to Seeds more than t€i> 
other commodity. 
