April 16, 1892. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
517 
MELONS. 
Early Melons will now be rapidly swelling their 
fruit, and the succeeding batch will be about in 
flower. Fertilization ought to be easily effected 
with careful manipulation, as the weather has been 
all that could be desired for Melon culture. Sowings 
ought to be made now, or before the end of the 
month, for if grown on rapidly the plants would not 
produce fruits ready to cut before the middle or end 
of September, after which time Melons are almost 
useless in point of flavour unless the autumn is an 
exceptionally bright one. With early houses, unless 
they are kept well syringed, red spider and other 
pests will soon make their appearance, especially if 
the pipes are allowed to get unnecessarily hot. 
Constant damping is necessary so as to always 
maintain a moist atmosphere, while avoiding a too 
humid one, as I am of opinion that this is one of 
the causes of gangrene. Whenever this disease 
makes its appearance 
I always rub the affec¬ 
ted part with either 
lime or cement until 
the stem is dry, and 
at once lessen the at¬ 
mospheric moisture, 
and have generally 
succeeded in arresting 
the decay. The same 
remedy will also apply 
to canker, but this may 
also be prevented if 
the plants are not 
planted too deeply and 
the base of the stem 
is kept clear of soil. 
Whereas, on the other 
hand, Cucumbers may 
be covered up to the 
seed leaves with the 
certainty that roots 
will readily push out 
from the stem. 
It is a common 
practice in gardens 
whsre large quantities 
of Melons are grown 
to sow the seed on 
mounds of loam, 
placed at equal dis¬ 
tances apart, on a hot¬ 
bed of fermenting 
material; fine, strong¬ 
looking plants are pro¬ 
duced (capital sub¬ 
jects for the attack of 
gangrene), which in 
due course produce a 
crop of handsome look¬ 
ing Melons. But what 
of their flavour ? So 
far as my observations 
go they are little better 
than a garden Turnip. 
To produce highly- 
flavoured Melons, they 
should be grown from 
the commencement in 
pure loam, with the 
addition of a little 
burnt clay, lime rub¬ 
ble, and wood ashes, 
occasionally watering with liquid manure, and 
sprinkle with Thomson's when the fruit is set. If 
grown in large pots a little fermenting material will 
be of assistance in keeping up the bottom heat where 
there are no hot water pipes in the beds, but I am 
of opinion that it is better to avoid litter as a rooting 
medium. 
There are endless varieties of Melons now-a-days, 
and I often think we make a great mistake in grow¬ 
ing too many ; if we were to have about three good. 
varieties and grow each sort together there would 
be less chance of producing mongrels than when so 
many varieties are grown in one house. If I were to 
confine myself to three varieties I should select Hero 
of Lockinge, white-fleshed, Blenheim Orange, scarlet- 
fleshed, and Wm. Tilley, green-fleshed. The latter 
is a most exquisitely flavoured Melon, but rather a 
shy setter, consequently the atmosphere of the house 
should be kept a little drier during the setting 
period. 
To produce good Melons requires more than a 
suitable compost, as watering and ventilating are 
two very important points, for unless good healthy 
foliage is maintained until the last the fruits never 
ripen so well, and how often do we see canes desti¬ 
tute of foliage from the base up to the trellis before 
the fruits are set. This is mainly owing to careless 
watering ; in some cases an insufficient supply, in 
others giving them waterings with very cold water, 
thus chilling the roots and giving the plant a check. 
Some growers plant Melons and Cucumbers in the 
same house, but I don’t advocate the system 
(although I have seen fair crops produced in a good 
season), as both at times require just the opposite 
treatment to each other. For instance, Melons at 
the setting and ripening periods require little or no 
atmospheric moisture, whereas on the other hand 
Cucumbers require to be constantly growing in a 
moist atmosphere. If the plants get infested with 
Ranunculus cortus.efolius : Flowers Yellow. 
mealy bug it is better to clear the whole lot out and 
thoroughly cleanse the house with petroleum, as if 
allowed to remain the fruit, if any were produced, 
would be dirty and scarcely presentable on a gentle¬ 
man's table.— A. K. L. 
_ ■» _ _ 
RANUNCULUS CORTUS^FOLIUS. 
It is not usual for very much attention to be given to 
a Buttercup in gardens unless it should happen to be 
double, or a native of some other country than 
Britain. Truly it may be said that " a prophet is not 
without honour save in his own country,” and the 
saying applies particularly in the case of Btttercups. 
Some leaves and cut flowers of the species under no¬ 
tice was exhibited at the Drill Hall, Westminster, on 
the 22nd ult., by Mr. Charles Wood, gardener to the 
Right Hon. Lord Hylton, Merstham House, Mers- 
tham, Surrey, when a considerable amount of public 
interest was created by their handsome appearance. 
We are now in a position to give an illustation of it 
taken from living specimens. The species was origi¬ 
nally introduced to this country in 1826, and was 
figured in the Botanical Magazine, t. 4625. Its native 
country is the Canary Islands and the Madeira, con¬ 
sequently we can hardly expect it to be perfectly 
hardy in this country, as the plants coming from 
those islands usually require greenhouse treatment 
to bring them safely through our changeable and 
sometimes severe winters. In warm soils and shel¬ 
tered positions some growers may however be able to 
keep it alive in the open air. It would be well, how¬ 
ever, to preserve seeds, if any are matured upon the 
plants, so as to provide against contingencies. Those 
shown by Mr. M ood had been grown in pots and 
kept in a greenhouse temperature. The lower leaves 
are of large size, handsome, nearly orbicular, shal¬ 
lowly lobed, toothed, and like the stems thinly hairy. 
The large, bright yellow flowers measure 2 in. to 2$in. 
across, and are borne in branching, terminal cymes. 
--*■- 
TOMATOS. 
When good strong 
plants fully six inches 
in height can be pur¬ 
chased at one penny 
each, it hardly seems 
worth while to wait 
fully a month, if not 
longer, before such 
plants can be now 
obtained from seed; 
of course those who 
have special prefer¬ 
ence for certain kinds 
or strains must raise 
their own, as there is 
little dependence to 
be placed on cheap 
market or hawkers’ 
plants being true to 
name. Still these are 
Tomatos, possibly 
very good ones, and 
the amateur grower 
who wishes to cultivate 
some in a greenhouse 
during the summer or 
to plant them out 
against a south wall, a 
fence, or on a warm 
border, will find his 
chances of getting a 
good crop greatly en¬ 
hanced by starting 
early, with strong 
plants. 
Under glass, where 
the temperature may 
be regulated even with¬ 
out artificial heat, it 
is very easy to accom¬ 
modate the atmo¬ 
sphere to the require¬ 
ments of the plants. 
Outdoors the plants 
must be accommodat¬ 
ed to the temperature, 
and a good method of 
doing so is to have them 
s trong, stout, not at all 
drawn, but fully 12 in. high, well established in 6 in. 
pots, ready to turn out the moment the weather will 
admit of their being exposed safely. That may very' 
well be about the middle of May, provided the 
plants have protection till the end of the month at 
night. The more thoroughly the plants have been 
seasoned or hardened, the better for them, and it is 
obvious that the needful exposure in a cool frame 
can only be given when they' are raised early from 
seed. It is very difficult to impress upon amateur 
growers the importance of pinching out all side 
shoots from the plants and keeping them rigidly to 
single stems. That method of treatment, however, 
constitutes the primary cause of success in cropping, 
indeed ordinarily' a plant so severely' pinched will 
then produce more fruit than it can properly' finish. 
Excessive w-atering should also be scrupulously- 
avoided, and nothing in the shape of stimulants 
should be given until the fruits are commencing to 
swell.— D. 
