CANTALOUPE SEED. 
IMPROVEMENT BY SELECTION. 
By Philo K. Blinn. 
The cantaloupe now known as the Rocky Ford was origin¬ 
ally Burpee’s Netted Gem, but under the favorable conditions- 
which prevail in the arid regions of Colorado, it has developed 
into a melon surpassing in quality the parent stock, and its 
superior merits have won for it a new name and a popular repu¬ 
tation. 
In the early days of the cantaloupe industry at Rocky Ford, 
the growers relied on Eastern seedsmen for their supply of seed r 
and to a certain extent had satisfactory results until the growth 
of the industry exceeded the supply of reliable seed, when a num¬ 
ber of growers were supplied with seed which produced a mixed 
lot of varieties, wholly unfit for market as Rocky Ford canta¬ 
loupes. The loss not only fell heavily on the disappointed 
grower, but through the agency of bees and other insects carryings 
the pollen, the injury was easily transmitted to neighboring fields- 
of choice melons, producing crosses of an undesirable nature. 
On account of the introduction of these mixed strains, and 
the varying ideas of seed selection, the Rocky Ford cantaloupe 
lacks uniformity in many respects ; a large percentage of melons 
are unmarketable on account of size and form, which renders 
them unfit to crate. Defective netting and thin, soft flesh are also 
common imperfections. Because of these defects, the growers 
sustain a loss that could largely be prevented by planting a better 
grade of seed. 
The cantaloupe is a product of years of systematic selection, 
and it requires the same methods to maintain its excellence as- 
were employed in its development. Without care in selection, 
the natural tendency of all cultivated plants to vary will soon 
cause a good strain of cantaloupes to revert to an undesirable type. 
There is a marked contrast between the products of care¬ 
lessly selected and pedigreed, i. e ., carefully selected, melon seed 
the one is inclined to be irregular in size and form, with the net¬ 
ting thin and often wanting, and with a decided tendency to- 
