Emerald Gem 
The favorite early variety 
Mary variety 
Muskmelons of this sort are susceptible to disease 
Cosmopolitan 
An excellent green-flesh melon 
The Whole Art of Growing Muskmelons 
HOW TO SELECT AND PLANT THE MOST LUSCIOUS MELONS FOR AN ADEQUATE FAMILY 
SUPPLY THROUGHOUT JULY, AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER—STARTING THE SEEDS INDOORS 
by Dr. C. D. Jarvis 
Of the Storrs Agricultural Experiment Station 
Photographs by the author 
T WENTY-FIVE square feet of ground will 
grow all the muskmelons the average 
family can eat. The amount of labor involved 
in their growth is small and the pleasure great. 
Melons commonly found on the market are 
green when they are picked and for this rea¬ 
son are often “dry” and lacking in flavor. 
The home-grown melon may be allowed to 
ripen on the vine, adding greatly to its quality, 
both in juiciness and flavor. Market melons, 
also, are usually of the more productive varie¬ 
ties, which, as a rule, are inferior in quality. 
The man who grows his own melons may 
select the kinds he likes best and he may 
have a succession of varieties so that he can 
go out to his garden any morning during 
July, August, or September, and find four or 
five fine, fresh, juicy melons. Those who have 
not waded through the dewy vines and scooped 
the inside out of an Emerald Gem muskmelon before the sun 
has warmed it up, have only a faint idea of real melon quality. 
In view of these facts, is it not remarkable that so few people 
grow their own melons? There are many people who believe 
that muskmelons are unfit to eat. The writer during the past 
summer convinced many such people that melons were not only 
good to eat, but that when the right kinds were chosen and taken 
at the proper time, they were among the most appetizing and 
delicious of fruits. These people had vivid recollections of once 
getting from the store some tasteless things called melons, of 
using a great deal of sugar or salt in their efforts to make them 
palatable and finally relegating them to the garbage barrel. 
To grow early melons and also to lengthen out the season for 
the later varieties, especially in the North, the plants must be 
started inside. The seed is started in plant-boxes or modified 
berry-boxes. These are made from veneer material which may 
be purchased cheaply in the “flat.” This material is partially 
cut so that with the necessary form, as shown in the illustration, 
they may be readily folded and tacked into shape. Two pieces, 
one for the sides and another for the bottom, are necessary for 
each box. The common berry-box will answer the purpose very 
well, but a larger box is better. One box is needed for every hill 
of melons that is required. 
The boxes are placed side by side on a table or bench and 
filled with stable manure that is just beginning to ferment or 
“heat.” The manure is then packed down, leaving the box 
about half full. Then the boxes are filled up with a moderately 
light soil, that is, one containing a large proportion of sand. 
After standing for a few days to give the manure time to heat up, 
the seeds may be sown by simply pushing them into the soil with 
the end of the finger. Although only two good plants are needed 
Tamping manure 
in the miniature 
hotbed 
Five-weeks-old plants, with box removed, 
ready for the garden 
Wood veneer material from which the boxes for starting 
muskmelons are made 
Seed-boxes are readily made on 
a block form 
(io8) 
