8 
Bulletin 95. 
i 
* 
i 
yet close observation would not warrant following either plah to 
an extreme, but rather a medium course of supplying enough 
moisture for an even, healthy growth, which seems to be the essen¬ 
tial condition all the way through. An excess of irrigation during 
the hot weather in July will doubtless tend to grow vines at the 
expense of early fruit; but the most disastrous result of too much 
water—having the ground so soaked that the surface is nearly all 
wet, and affording the moist, dewey condition which is favorable 
to its development—is in the development of rust. 
The rust problem is a serious one in cantaloupe culture in 
Colorado. Controlling it by proper application of irrigation is 
only a palliative measure, yet a marked contrast is often seen in 
two portions of a field; one over-irrigated, and the other compara¬ 
tively dry, aside from the moisture necessary to the growth of the 
vines. Rainy weather and dewey nights afford the proper condi¬ 
tions for the growth of the rust spore, and while the farmer can¬ 
not change climatic conditions, yet by careful attention in the ap¬ 
plication of water, having the rows well ditched, and with adequate 
waste laterals to prevent over-soaking and flooding, the surface of 
the ground will dry rapidly after a rain or an irrigation. Thus 
the dews at night will be less, and in a measure alleviate the ef¬ 
fects of rust. 
Marketing .—The high prices which prevail at the beginning 
of the season, and the urgency of the commission men, have re¬ 
sulted in the shipment of many green and unmarketable melons. 
It is evident that a continuation of such practice will produce 
dissatisfied customers and consequently loss of trade. The popu¬ 
larity of the Rocky Ford cantaloupe and its value as a money 
making crop, should induce the farmers of the Arkansas Valley to 
maintain the standard of excellence by every means in their pow¬ 
er, and to discountenance the shipping of green and otherwise un¬ 
marketable melons as an act of treachery to the cantaloupe in¬ 
dustry. 
