

HAND BOOK FOR THE GARDEN 15 
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MELON, MUSK 
Musk Melon prefers a moderately rich, light, warm soil. It 
requires a long season to develop and is easily injured by frost or 
even by cool weather. Sow one ounce of seed to thirty hills; four 
to five pounds in hills per acre; three hills per consumer. Plant May 
15th in hills five feet apart each way, three inches apart in hills, one 
inch deep, eight seeds per hill. Before planting, mix well with the 
soil in each hill a couple shovelfuls of thoroughly rotted manure. 
When in the third leaf, thin to four plants per hill. Train the vines 
in different directions and cultivate until the vines prevent, On 
moist soil it is sometimes necessary to use shingles or some other 
method of holding the Melons up off the ground to prevent them 
from rotting. For an early crop, Melons may be started in hotbeds 
in berry boxes, transplanting after the soil becomes warm. 
Cassaba and Honey Dew Melons. Sow the seed in the north- 
ern states in pots or cold frames after April 15th, so that established 
plants may be ready for setting in the open ground June 10th to 20th. 
MELON, WATER 
The cultivation of Water Melon is practically the same as for the 
Musk Melon, except that the plants grow larger and require more 
room for developing than those of the Musk Melon and prefer 
sandier soil. Sow one ounce for thirty hills; four to five pounds in 
hills for an acre. Plant Water Melon ten feet apart each way 
between the hills. Protect the young seedlings from the Cucumber 
beetle the same way as suggested for Cucumbers. 
MUSHROOM 
These require special treatment. A leaflet describing cultural 
methods will be mailed free upon application. 
ONION 
This crop does best on old land, very fertile, free from weeds, 
fall plowed and thoroughly fertilized. Sow one ounce of seed per one 
hundred feet of row; five to six pounds per acre; twenty-five feet 
per consumer. Sow the seed about April 25th, about one-half inch 
deep in rows one and a half feet apart, one-half inch apart in the 
row. Thin out to two inches apart in the row when plants are large 
enough. Remove the weeds in row by hand. Cultivate and hand weed 
the crop every two weeks throughout the Summer. If the land is 
likely to be weedy, it is well to sow some radish with the Onion 
seed to mark the row. 
Onion Sets may be used instead of seed and will produce earlier 
crops of green Onions or large bulbs. Place the sets three to four 
inches apart, according to size; three inches deep, in rows one foot 
apart. It is customary to furrow out the soil with a small hand 
plow early in the Spring. Set the onion in this furrow right side up 
and cover with a garden rake. If the soil is dry, it should be well 
firmed over the sets. 380 to 400 pounds of sets are required per acre, 
OKRA OR GUMBO 
This is a hot weather and very tender plant grown for its seed 
