254 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
July 22. 
being more at liberty; to such we offer some fragments 
of advice. 
The Fly. —Of all the enemies of melon culture this is 
the greatest; and he who would excel must bear in 
mind the saying of Cato on a greater subject—“ It must 
be destroyed.” Nothing short of extermination must be 
thought of. Now, this is not a difficult or expensive 
achievement; four ounces of shag tobacco will effect the 
purpose, for they will exterminate the green fly in any 
jut or frame. 
We must repeat here, that unless the leaves of melon 
plants are healthy when the fruit is ripe, it is needless 
to expect luscious, deep-flushed, melting, and high-fla¬ 
voured fruit. Thus the general culture of this much- 
esteemed and noble fruit becomes a question of leaf- 
culture. 
Late melons are in blossom, or soon will be, and 
careful setting, or hand-impregnation, must be particu¬ 
larly attended to. This is even of more importance ! 
now than in spring, for then omissions of the kind may 1 
be repaired; but in July and August the season is too 
far advanced to admit of delay. 
Stopping and thinning, too, is of increasing import- ! 
auce as the days shorten, which of course means light j 
declining; and the fruit should be placed betimes on : 
slate, or other sound material, to prevent contact with 
the soil, which ruins many a fine fruit. 
Towards the end of August, the linings must be re- ! 
newed, if they are in ordinary dung-beds, for bottom-heat 
will become a most important affair; no success can be 
hoped for with a less bottom warmth than 75°; if 80°, j 
so much the better. This bottom-heat not only sustains 
a continuous root-action, but causes the soil to evapo¬ 
rate freely, or, in other words, to keep in a mellow 
condition: melons being exceedingly adverse to any 
stagnation. A lively root-action is the best preventive 
of the insect tribes, which always attack those plants 
most which have endured some check, or acquired a 
degree of torpidity. 
Watering will scarcely be needed, if one pretty liberal 
one he given when the crop is as large as bantam’s eggs; 
and this should be tepid liquid-manure, poured carefully 
between the stems, so as to effect the desired end without 
damping the whole of the surface of the soil. Never¬ 
theless, although very moderate root-watering is requi¬ 
site, the syriuge should be applied most evenings just 
before closing, yet in a gentle dew, so as by no means 
to wet the soil, and, indeed, such as will dry off betimes 
the next morning. 
A liberal ventilation is of the utmost importance; and 
here exists another reason why strong linings, or some 
equivalent, should be had recourse to. The ventilation 
will of course much lower the internal warmth of the 
frames or pits, and such would soon prove prejudicial, 
unless an artificial heat be well sustained. The interior 
air-warmth should, on no occasion, be allowed to descend 
below 00°; indeed, in the absence of solar heat, should 
generally range from 65° to 70°, allowing a rise to 90° 
maximum in sunshine occasionally. However, there is 
no sustaining any fixed point; much depends on the 
weather; and we would, on all occasions, close as early 
in the afternoon as may be deemed safe, using the 
highest amount of ventilation in the mornings, and 
indulging in the highest temperatures from 3 to (i p.m. 
These directions are intended to apply through the 
swelling period; as soon as any of the fruit show signs 
of ripening, a lower temperature through night and day 
ventilation may be observed,—say from 00° to (55°; this 
will be found to add quality to the fruit, for there is 
nothing like slow ripening. 
Another point of consideration is to pick away con¬ 
stantly dll waste blossoms, whether male or female, 
especially late in the summer. Such nestling below 
the foliage rot and produce miasma of much injury, 
tending to the production of canker and gangrenous 
indications. All decayed, or decaying leaves, too, should 
be removed; and as the removal of such is not always 
a safe procedure; inasmuch, as in the event of damp 
and cold weather supervening, rot is apt to be engen¬ 
dered, means must be provided to arrest such conse¬ 
quences. As far as our experience goes, the best pre¬ 
ventive is a powder composed of equal parts quicklime 
and charcoal dust; and whenever any portion of a leaf 
shows symptoms of rot, we apply a little hillock of the 
compost over and around the suspicious portions. A 
piece of broken glass or slate, placed slightly inclined 
to sustain the dressing, will keep it in its place. 
The careful training of melons, from the time the 
leading shoots extend, is a point of more importance 
than some may imagine. Confusion must bo studiously 
avoided, and it is really necessary to go over them at 
least twice a week. They thus consume much labour, 
or rather occupy much time in the aggregate; and this 
is, indeed, the chief cause why so many failures occur, 
lake good peach culture, a reason should exist for every 
shoot; all besides those really requisite are robbers of 
the system of the plant; and not merely so, but diverters 
of the juices from those portions containing the crop. 
It may be well to name, also, that melons seldom 
swell so fine near to the main stem as they do farther 
off; those blossoms, therefore, which are produced 
within six or eight inches of the collar, should invariably 
be pinched off. Such, too, are generally produced in a 
premature way; that is to say, before the plants have 
laid up a stock of accretive matter, the consequence of 
several weeks elaborations. Like the animal system, in 
most respects, is that of plants, especially fruits; a 
proper foundation must be laid in the parent before 
beneficial reproduction can take place, and this of neces¬ 
sity occupies a given time. 
In setting melons, it is a capital plan to use small 
sticks, a bundle of which may lie in one corner of the 
frame; one of these may be stuck in as a signal to every 
blossom that is set in the earlier stages; this enables 
the cultivator speedily to “take stock” at any time; 
and, as soon as the fruit is swelling freely, the point of 
the stick may be broken, or any other trifling signal 
adopted. Thus will the number of set fruit be readily 
ascertained, and as soon as the desired number is swell¬ 
ing off, the remainder may be kept pruned away. 
As to the number each plant will bear, that is a ques¬ 
tion to be decided by the area of the frame, or pit, and 
the amount of good soil. The larger the glass surface, 
the more room for extension ; and the greater the latter, 
the more liberal the amount of soil. This is all a ques¬ 
tion of light; for, as has been often stated by the various 
departmental writers in this work, light is the primum 
mobile in all gardening affairs. The more of well-deve¬ 
loped and healthy leaf surface that can be exposed to 
the light, the greater the chances of full crops of high- 
flavoured fruit, and vice versa, other accessories being 
present. 
We think, that for frame culture, the best plan is to 
train two leading shoots from each plant, two plants in 
a hillock, and to persist in securing a crop from these 
two however adverse things may appear. Thus, in a 
single “ light,” containing two plants, and measuring 
5 ft. by 4 ft., we should only expect four first-rate fruits ; 
or, if in a needy humour, six to eight; all this de¬ 
pendant on the style and character required in the 
produce. This, it will be seen, is either one to a 
branch or leader, or two, as the case may be. If any 
one seeks exhibition fruit, he must only allow two to a 
plant under such circumstances. But come we to a 
huge pit, each light it may be 8ft. or Oft. by 5ft., 
unci the case is altered. Then we sav, by all means 
expect eight fruits from each light. Whether they be 
Beechwoods, the Bromham Hall , the Egyptian green- 
