1909. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
2L26 
THE FAMOUS MONTREAL MELONS. 
How They Are Cared For. 
Melons arc a somewhat difficult crop to raise suc¬ 
cessfully, and it is only with comparatively few that 
they really do well. There are at least two important 
considerations to be thought of by anyone contem¬ 
plating melon 'growing. 
CARE.—The seed should be started in the hothouse 
or in good hotbeds, giving them plenty of time to be¬ 
come fine strong plants. As soon as the frost is out 
of the ground a trench two feet deep by about 18 
inches wide is dug in the proposed melon ground, and 
filled about three-fourths full of well-rotted horse 
manure, and the remaining one-fourth with the best 
rich loamy soil, say in proportions of 
one-third sand and two-tlhrds good gar¬ 
den soil. The trenches should be 12 
feet apart. The frames should then be 
placed in position, so as to have the 
trench in the centre of the frame. 
Choosing a good warm day, transplant 
the young melons into the frames, 
allowing three feet space between plants. 
When plants are in it is necessary to 
protect them for a day or two from the 
d-irect rays of the sun. This may be 
done in any one of several ways which 
immediately suggest themselves, but 
about as easy a way as any is simply 
to scatter straw over the glass and leave 
it on until the young plants are well 
rooted, when it may be removed. Keep 
the glass on carefully at night to pre¬ 
vent any chance of the plants being 
chilled; for melons are very susceptible 
to cold, but every day that it is not too 
cold the glass should be raised a little 
to give the plants air and to harden 
them gradually. When the new shoots 
start from main runners they must be 
pinched back so as to make them spread 
and fruit better. When the vines have 
about filled the frames, these latter 
.should be raised and a brick, stone or block of wood 
of sufficient thickness placed under each corner. In 
this way the vines still have the protection and forc¬ 
ing of the glass while they also have room to run. 
When the Summer has really come and all danger of 
frost is over, and the vines have got a good strong 
growth, common sense and ordinary discretion must 
be used in the removal of the glass and the removal 
of the frames. 
LOCALITY.—The locality and the aspect seem to 
have a marked effect in melon growing in Montreal, 
even a change from one part of the farm to another 
part sometimes affecting the crop either for good or 
ill. It has been found in almost every case that the 
best place on the Island of Montreal for the growing 
of the “Montreal” or as a matter 
of fact any melon, is the south¬ 
west end of Mount Royal, i. e. 
the locality known as Westmount 
and Notre Dame do Grace. This 
part has a splendid, warm aspect, 
and is sheltered from all the cold¬ 
est winds. It is said that one 
successful and experienced grower 
of the section mentioned sold his 
farm and bought in another part 
of the island and had practically 
no success. Montreal melons, no 
doubt, however, could be success¬ 
fully grown in any locality the 
aspect of which and the general 
climatic and other conditions of 
which in the main correspond to 
the district mentioned above. Per¬ 
haps it is hardly necessary to add 
that melon growing successfully is 
not a matter of chance, but a mat¬ 
ter of science and careful study 
of the nature of the plant and the 
conditions necessary to its suc¬ 
cessful cultivation. It is not a 
business. 
Stanbridge East, Quebec. 
ORCHARD CULTURE AND EASY FARMING. 
An old apple orchard of about three acres on my 
11 m has been pastured for the past 26 years and 
'uing that time-has given us fruit of a better quality 
i: m has been yielded by younger trees that were 
A )(: under cultivation. Although the fruit on the 
'ter usually grew a little larger it gave a larger per- 
1 cut age of culls, and was much more subject to rot, 
Ath the possible exception of 1902, when the “pink 
1 prevailed in this section. Of the younger trees 
-be most thorough cultivation given was to a plot of 
2J4 acres set in 1880. During the early years of this 
orchard the rotation was corn (the ground heavily 
manured), oats and clover, three crops of the clover 
plowed under in June. Twelve years after setting 
this plot yielded more than $200 worth of apples, 
some of the trees giving upwards of three barrels of 
No. 1 fruit. A comparison of the present condition 
of these trees with others set at about the same time 
leads me to think that their chances of future useful¬ 
ness would be better if they had not been forced so 
much. Other trees set at about the same time have 
not yielded such heavy crops, but show less signs of 
early decay. About five or six years ago, owing to 
the scarcity of farm help, I turned the apple orchards 
all to pasture. Of course the cows and horses picked 
all the apples they could reach, while some of them 
learned to take hold of any limb within reach and 
shake down apples for themselves and the others to 
cat from the ground, with the result that the finer 
fruit higher up grew the finer because of this {cheap, 
if “unscientific”) method of thinning. 
Last Spring, having more manure than was needed 
for my corn ground, about three acres of orchard, 
where the grass had nearly run out, was manured, 
and soon as the ground was fit peas were sown and 
plowed under. Just as the peas were coming in sight 
oats were sown and harrowed in, grass seed that had 
spilled out on the feeding floor during the Winter 
being sown at the same time ahead of the last harrow¬ 
ing. About July i the stock were turned in to eat what 
a they wanted and to trample down the rest. This I be¬ 
lieve is the “ideal” method of orchard culture for this 
section for trees above 20 years old. The trees get 
the benefit of cultivation without any risk of damage 
by disturbing the feeding fibers later in the season; 
the oats and peas afford a mulch during the period of 
Summer that is most likely to be hot and dry; the 
stock thin the fruit and utilize what they pick off, 
besides saving wages of hired help by gathering the 
windfalls, which are worth more as feed than the 
price they will bring at the cider mill, while at the 
time of harvesting the fruit we have sod to work on 
instead of tramping about in mud. When wages 
were lower we used to cut the cornstalks for the cows 
in Winter, but think the practice too expensive now, 
still long cornstalks in the manure are not convenient 
to handle, and so this Winter the cows have been 
fed stalks in a part of the orchard that will be plowed 
in the Spring. While these “new” methods which 
have been adopted on account of changed conditions 
are not in harmony with earlier ideals, they have the 
merit of lessening expense without any apparent 
lessening of income. i. s. albright. 
Albany Co., N. Y. 
STRAWBERRIES AS AN ORCHARD CROP. 
The Practice of a New York Grower. 
In an orchard of 1000 trees planted 20 feet apart 
each way, currant bushes are planted five feet each 
way, excepting in every other space, running the 
longest way of the field. But one row 
of currants was planted leaving a space 
eight feet wide for going through with 
sprayer and fertilizers, and for drawing 
out the fruit. In these spaces straw¬ 
berry plants are set, four by five feet in 
hills, in line with trees and currant 
bushes, when all are cultivated alike in 
both directions; varieties, Wm. Belt, 
Sample and Gandy. We have had single 
hills develop that would hardly be 
covered by a bushel basket, or close to 
two feet in their diameter. The Sum¬ 
mer and Autumn of 1908 were so ex¬ 
cessively dry that the plants are much 
smaller than usual, but we expect to get 
a good crop of fancy berries. We 
usually sow Crimson clover all through 
the trees and plants, but it was too dry 
for the clover, and rye was sown among 
the trees and currant bushes and oats 
among the strawberry plants. Rye 
could not be worked out in the Spring 
without injury to the strawberry plants 
and oats were used for a partial Winter 
covering, which will be killed by the 
Spring freezing. With normal moisture 
oats will grow a foot high sown soon 
after the first of September, and they 
make a good Winter covering, after being frozen. 
One crop of strawberries will pay the entire cost 
of the care of the orchard for three years, while the 
second will carry it to the fifth. This orchard of 
standard trees was planted five years ago the coming 
Spring and is well set with fruit buds for a good 
crop of apples, several trees producing from 50 to 60 
apples each last year. The currants will produce 
profit from the land while the trees are growing. 
Under this system liberal fertilizing must be done 
and the land cleared as soon as the trees begin to bear 
freely, about the sixth year. ceorge t. povvell. 
DIOSPYROS VIRGINIANA. 
The cut at Fig. 97, page 226, si ows a fair speci¬ 
men of the Diospyros, otherwise 
known as the persimmon tree, 
rarely met with in the Northern 
States. In England the tree is often 
cultivated for its beautiful dark 
green foliage, but the fruit seldom 
reaches maturity in that climate. 
The long warm Summers south 
of Mason and Dixon’s line, fol¬ 
lowed by several severe frosts, 
renders the fruit sweet and lus¬ 
cious. In appearance it closely 
resembles the apricot, being an 
inch or so in diameter, orange 
yellow in color. The fruit is said 
to attain its greatest perfection in 
eastern Tennessee; there ’simmon 
beer, ’simmon sauce, and ’possum, 
“fit for a king”—or Taft—can be 
had. The making of the beer is 
very simple. A half bushel of 
good ripe persimmons are placed 
in the bottom of a keg, mashed 
and covered with water, to which 
a small quantity of molasses is 
added, according to taste; after standing a week or 10 
days it is ready for use. Cows, horses, dogs, rabbits, 
’coons and ’possums are very fond of the fruit. A dog 
has been known to camp by the hour under a ’simmon 
tree, waiting for “something to drop.” An amusing and 
true story is told of Gen. R. E. Lee and one of his 
soldiers. During the latter days of the Civil War, 
when the supply of rations was at very low ebb, the 
General observing one of his men up a persimmon 
tree, told him that the fruit was still unripe and unfit 
to eat. The soldier is said to have replied that he 
knew that to be the fact, but he was trying to shrink 
his stomach to make it conform in size to the amount 
of rations issued. A - D - DART - 
Virginia. 
THE EVIL AND THE REMEDY FOR BARKED TREES. Fig. 92. 
ALABAMA WATERMELON IN DECEMBER. Fig. 93. 
side issue but 
c. s. M. 
