The Rocky Ford Cantaloupe Seed Breeders Ass'n 
ntroductions 
Last season we told you that we would have the Old 
Ironsides ready for sale this season. We now have harvested 
a limited quantity of seed of this variety and offer it to you 
this season for the first time. 
The Old Ironsides is all that its name implies—a solid 
firm melon that holds its firmness and quality over a long 
period after being picked on a full slip. It is a white-skinned, 
orange-fleshed cantaloupe, oblong in shape with a heavy dis¬ 
tinctive netting. Old Ironsides is a melon with smooth, sweet 
flesh of exceptional quality. 
For several years the white-skinned, orange-fleshed 
melons have been gaining in popularity and have practically displaced the white¬ 
skinned, green-fleshed melons on the markets. There has been one feature, however, 
that has prevented their full success in some districts—most white-skinned, orange- 
fleshed cantaloupes have a tendency to crack in wet weather. We have recognized 
this limitation and have directed our experiments toward the elimination of this 
cracking. Because of the high sugar content of this type, this cracking is very 
difficult to overcome, but in the Old Ironsides we have made considerable advance¬ 
ment in this direction. The high sugar content has been retained, but with the tough 
rind and the heavy net we have eliminated a large part of the cracking that takes 
place in the white melons when grown in humid areas. 
We have long felt that the white melons are a distinct contribution to the can¬ 
taloupe industry and that they fill a place that cannot be taken by any other type 
of melon. In the Old Ironsides we have a splendid new white-skinned melon. 
The market and home gardener should give the Old Ironsides a trial this season. 
Prices postpaid: Ounce, 20c; Yi pound, 60c; '/z pound, $1.00; 1 pound, $1.75; 
2 pounds, $3.00; 5 pounds, $7.00. 
OLD 
IRONSIDES 
Chief 
Use: Market 
and 
Shipping 
Matures: 95-100 days 
Skin Color: White 
Flesh 
Color: Oi’ange 
Shape 
Oblong 
Netting: Heavy 
Size: 
61/^x5% inches 
This picture clearly portrays one of the outstanding characteristics of Old Ironsides, 
namely, its heavy netting. On the chart on the inside back paga you will note that 
the Old Ironsides cantaloupe is the only white skinned melon listed as 
having a heavy net. 
Page Seven 
