D. M. FERRY & CO., DETROIT, MICH. 
47 
WATER MELON 
To make certain of raising good Watermelons, it is essential that the plants have a good start and to this end it is important 
to prepare hills about eight feet apart, by thoroughly working into the soil an abundance of well rotted manure—hen manure, 
guano or other forms rich in nitrogen being most desirable. Over this highly manured soil put. an inch or more of fresh earth 
and plant the seeds on this, covering them about an inch deep. 
It is important that the seed should not be planted before the ground becomes warm and dry, as the young plants are very 
sensitive to cold and wet. Put ten or twelve seeds in a hill. When the plants have formed the first pair of rough leaves, they, should 
be thinned so as to leave two or three of the strongest and best to each hill. 
Frequent watering of the plants with liquid manure will hasten the growth, thus diminishing the danger from insect pests. 
If the striped beetle appears use tobacco dust freely. The best protection against blight and insect pests is to maintain a 
vigorous and continuous growth. It is desirable to change the location as often as practicable. 
. , .. An extra early melon of excellent quality. The fruits are exceptionally large for so early a variety. 
Hams Earliest slightly oval with irregularly mottled broad stripes of light and dark green. The flesh is bright red. 
sweet and tender. Seed black. The vines are vigorous and 
productive One of the best varieties for northern latitudes. 
\V e have carefully observed this splendi.l variety in our 
trials for several se'asons and are convinced that it is the very 
best first early melon for the home garden. Pkt. 5c; 
Oz. 10c; 2 Oz. 15c; l /i Lb. 25c; Lb. 80c. 
_ _ o r* i Sometimes sold as Ice Cream. One 
D. M. r erry & Lo S Of the best early sorts for the 
Po^locc home garden and for market gardeners who de- 
r eenebb liver direct to consumers. The vines are mod¬ 
erately vigorous, hardy and productive. The fruits are 
very tender, medium sized, oval to medium long, bright 
green, finely veined with a darker shade. The rind is thin. 
The flesh is bright scarlet, solid, crisp and very sweet. Seed 
white. Pkt. 5c; Oz. 10c; 2 Oz. 15c; V 4 Lb. 25c; Lb. 75c. 
- * • 1 . * • Our stock of this sort is much better 
Long Lignt Icing than that usually offered and su¬ 
perior to many strains offered as Gray Monarch, etc. The 
frairs are long and large, light green, slightly veined with a 
little darker shade. The flesh is deep, rich red, and of splendid 
quality. Seed white. Pkt. 5c; Oz. 10c; 2 Oz. 15c; V 4 Lb. 25c; 
Lb. 75c. 
d 1 f • 1 . f • The fruits are small-medium, 
Kound Light icing nearly round, greenish white, 
slightly veined or dotted with light green. The flesh is bright, 
light red. very sweet and tender. Seed white. Pkt. 5c; 
Oz. 10c; 2 Oz. 15c; V 4 Lb. 25c; Lb. 75c. 
Harris' Earliest 
Monte Cristo or Kleckley’s Sweets excellent 
variety is unsurpassed for home use or near markets. The vines 
are vigorous and productive. The fruits are medium to large, 
oblong, tapering slightly towards the stem end, dark green, 
often showing fine russeting. The flesh is very bright, rich 
red and is exceedingly sweet. The variety is so crisp and 
tender that it will not stand shipping, the fruit bursting open 
if subjected to even a slight jar, or when the rind is pene¬ 
trated w ith a knife. Seed white. Pkt. 5c; Oz. 10c; 2 Oz. 20c; 
Walcnn long meion similar in shape, color 
l om VV atson and splendid quality to Monte Cristo but 
averaging larger in size and with a tougher rind, making it 
especially adapted for shipping to distant markets. The vines 
are vigorous and productive. The flesh is rich red, sweet and 
tender. Seed white, more or less marked with brown Wher¬ 
ever grown in the south it has become very popular as a ship¬ 
ping sort. There has been an increasing'demand of late for 
a better quality of shipping melon and this demand has been 
met in most exceptional degree by the Tom Watson Pkt 5c- 
Oz. 10c; 2 Oz. 15c; V 4 Lb. 30c; Lb. 90c. 
1/4 Lb. 30c; Lb. $1.00 
r-»i • J 17 •. A splendid melon of very large size 
r lonaa r avonto and excellent quality. The fruits are 
long, dark green, with irregular mottled striping of a lighter 
shade. The rind is thin but firm. The flesh is very bright, 
deep red, very sweet and tender. The vines are vigorous 
and productive. Seed nearly white. Pkt. 5c; Oz. 10c; 
2 Oz. 15c; V 4 Lb. 25c; Lb. 80c. 
* 1 1 o .A very large, long melon of excellent 
AlaDama oweet quality, popular in the south where 
it is grown extensively for shipping. The color is rather 
deep green, with dark, irregular striping. The rind is thin 
but very tough. The flesh is bright red, fine grained and 
sweet. The fruits average a little thicker than Florida Favor¬ 
ite. Seed nearly white. Pkt. 5c; Oz. 10c; 2 Oz. 15c; 
V 4 Lb. 25c; Lb. 80c. 
pL;i* n T .he quality of this melon is equalled by few va- 
v^uuian rieties and surpassed by none for the home 
garden. It is desirable also for shipping. The fruits are 
medium sized, nearly round or slightly oblong. The skin is 
very deep green, indistinctly mottled and striped with a 
lighter shade. The flesh is decidedly bright vermilion-red, 
remarkably fine grained but firm and very sweet Seed 
w hite. A melon of splendid quality, very popular on the Pacific 
coast and taking high rank elsewhere as it becomes more 
generally known. Pkt. 5c; Oz. 10c; 2 Oz. 20c; 1/4 Lb. 30c; 
Sweet This variety, introduced by us in 1894. is 
much used f V r shipping as well as for the 
norm garden. The vines arc vigorous and very productive 
ripening their fruit evenly. The Fruits are of largest size, ovai 
but flattened at the ends and very heavy. The rind is very 
TO?:. The color is very light, green, very slightly veined with 
a little darker shade. The flesh is bright red. firm but very 
sweet. The fruit remains in good con¬ 
dition a long time after ripening. Seed 
black. Our stock will be found very 
uniform in shape, size and color. 
Pkt. 5c; Oz. 10c; 2 Oz. 15c; V 4 Lb. 25c; 
Lb. 75c. 
Monte Cristo or Kleckley'S Sweets 
Gypsy or Georgia &“est* and 
Rattlesnake 
sorts, especially adapted for the smith 
The fruits are very long, of a light green 
color, distinctly striped ami blotched 
with a darker shade. The flesh is 
bright scarlet, tender and sweet when 
grown in the south, although usually 
the fruits are too late maturing to ripen 
properly in the north. Vines are large 
and vigorous. Seed nearly white. 
Pkt. 5c; Oz. 10c; 2 Oz. 15c; Vi Lb. 25c; 
Lb. 75c. 
