Vol. LXXI, No. 4139. 
NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 24, 1912. 
WEEKLY, $1.00 PER YEAR 
COLD FRAME SYSTEM OF MELON GROWING. 
The Whole Story By Paul Rose. 
That the growing of cantaloupes has become a great 
industry, and that the demand for cantaloupes of high 
grade and good quality is keeping pace with produc¬ 
tion. is an evident fact. Cantaloupes in the Central 
and Eastern States are generally grown on high, roll¬ 
ing hill lands of a sandy nature. Sandy soils are gen¬ 
erally preferred because of their natural warmth and 
earliness, as earliness is generally to be desired, al¬ 
though the best flavored melons are grown on clay 
hill lands where a liberal amount of stable manure is 
used. Valley lands with poor atmosphere drainage 
and without the best of under drainage, are not de¬ 
sirable, owing to the tendency to be affected with leaf 
blight, as stagnant air, cold nights and heavy dews 
are conducive to the propagation of the melon-blight 
fungus. Sandy lands where the water plain is within 
15 or 20 feet of the surface T consider dangerous. 
Vines in such locations are more liable to be affected 
with the blight than where there is no water plain 
beneath. 
Sod lands, Fall plowed and well pulverized in the 
Spring, are desirable if seed plantings are to be made 
in the open; then Fall plowing is advisable on ac¬ 
count of cutworms, for Fall plowing is a good remedy 
for cutworms. Stable manure is the very best fertilizer 
that can be used if one is so fortunate as to be able 
to get it, even at a high cost. Liberal quantities 
broadcast and plowed under, or if well rotted, scat¬ 
tered over the surface and well disked and harrowed 
into the soil, will give good results. Owing to the 
scarcity of this commodity, we seldom do this only 
on poor, thin knolls, manure generally being piled up 
and handled over during the Winter and used in hills 
and trenches. Good heavy crops of cantaloupes—not 
watermelons—can be grown on the same lands year 
after year where liberal quantities of fertilizers are 
used, either stable manure or commercial fertilizer, if 
a crop of rye or wheat is sown as soon as melons 
are off. We do this as soon as possible, always plow¬ 
ing the ground, turning crab-grass, weeds and the 
old vines down about eight inches. The rye then 
makes a good Fall growth and is preferable to wheat, 
as it is more hardy and less liable to winter-kill on 
exposed portions of the fields. This is plowed under 
in the Spring when the new growth is about a foot 
high. If stable manure is to be used in the trenches 
or hills, then the rye should be plowed under earlier, 
giving it a chance to rot some before the trenching 
begins. Sandy lands that I have owned have pro¬ 
duced very heavy crops when thus treated for 18 years, 
and the last crop was just as good as the first. 
The prime object of this article is to explain the 
system of cantaloupe growing that we call the “cold 
frame system,” hoping that some of the readefs of 
The R. N.-Y. may be situated as to profit thereby, or 
perhaps help some young man to take up a work that 
he can do within his limited means until his other in¬ 
dustries get upon a paying and profitable basis. Few 
realize how much ready cash can be gotten off a few 
acres of cantaloupes and watermelons until they make 
the trial. In preparing the cold frames, or “beds,” as 
we call them, I have found by an experience of over 
40 years that a large bed is best, as it holds a more 
even temperature than small or narrow beds through 
cold spells and frosty nights. We build these cold 
frames about 40 feet long and nine feet five inches 
wide. These beds or frames are made of two-inch 
plank, cypress or Southern pine, a 12 and an 8-inch 
plank on the north or upper side of the bed, and a 
12-inch plank on the south side. The end plank is 
nailed about two inches higher than the level of the 
bed. This prevents the wind from getting under the 
end sash. The cross-bars or railings are made from 
sound pine 2x4 or 2x5 dressed and sized. These rail¬ 
ings should be cut four inches longer than the inside 
of the bed. two inches sawed in and split out at each 
end. Then there should be two dressed inch pieces 
the exact length of the inside measurement of the bed 
nailed to each cross bar, that it will be flush or even 
with the top of the bed at both ends of the cross bar 
when in place; also one of these inch strips on the in¬ 
side of each end of the bed. These are for the sash 
to slide on. Be sure to have these strips well nailed 
and in perfect line, so that the sash can be run up or 
down without hindrance. The cross-bars should be 
put in place as sash are put on, and left a little 
loose, as dampness from the moist air in the beds and 
rains will cause the wood to swell and sash may cause 
trouble in sliding. The sash are made from soft 
wood. I use White cedar mostly, also cypress, pine 
and Yellow poplar. Sash bars are 2^ by l.)4 inches 
by nine feet two inches long, five bars to the sash; 
four lines of 8x10 glass placed in the sash the wide 
way, crosswise of the sash, 14' lights of glass to the 
line and four lines of glass to the sash. I prefer A 
glass; B and C glass is of uneven thickness and apt 
to be full of air blisters. Such glass is apt to break 
in using. The grooving of sash bars should be care¬ 
fully done—just wide enough to admit of one light 
of glass, and not wide enough so the glass will lap or 
slide over each other. The head pieces of the sash 
are made of the same material as the sash bars, the 
tail pieces just wide enough so that the glass can be 
slipped in over the tail piece. The top glass will slip 
into the groove when pushed up against the head 
piece, making it air and waterproof. The head piece 
should be mortised about one-fourth inch deep and 
the tail piece about one-half inch deep. Three and a 
half inch strips one-half inch thick should be nailed 
across the sash, one in center and the other two half 
way to each end from the middle. When this sash is 
put together, and nailed, glass put in and fastened at 
lower end, you will have a good strong, heavy sash 
that will not be blown off the bed, and will last for 
years if kept housed when not in use. Many will say, 
“Why so heavy and wide?” Experience has taught 
us that it is best. Ten of these sashes are used on 
each bed. Longer beds are not as convenient. We 
use no under heat, as this causes the plants to grow 
spindling and too tender. Such plants do not with- 
TRANSPLANTING COLD FRAME MELON PLANTS ON A SOUTHERN FARM. Fig. G7. 
