om 
AMERICAN BEAUTY DUSTER 
Carried like a 
knapsack and oper- 
ated by one man, the 
600 - cubic - inch bel- 
1 lows, operated by 
/:/\\ right hand, develops 
| largest cloud and 
most powerful blast 
of any one man dust- 
er; power to drive 
cloud over 25-foot 
tree, or entirely 
through large citrus 
tree; volume to cover full grown, bush-type grape- 
vine at one blast; cloud under complete con- 
trol so no dust is wasted between plants or rows. 
A 30-inch, wire-inserted, flexible rubber hose per- 
mits direction of cloud with ease and at will; two 
18-inch lengths of tubing permit operator to reach 
low-growing plants without stooping; a spreader, 
when attached to the end of tubing, directs cloud 
up underneath low-growing plants. Entire top 
lifts off for easy filling and accessibility for repairs; 
all parts being interchangeable, worn or broken 
parts may easily be replaced by operator. Al- 
though we do not carry a complete stock of parts, 
we will be pleased to order parts for your machine 
if you will send us the number of the broken or 
wom out part with the model number of your 
machine. This Duster has a hopper capacity, 15 
pounds; net weight, 17/2 pounds; shipping weight, 
23 pounds. We have them at standard price, 
$30.00, prepaid. 
FERTILIZER 
If you use Commercial fertilizer, use from 100 to 
125 pounds per acre under the row, distributing 
from one end to the other by the use of a Fertilizer 
distributor or if you do not have a distributor con- 
venient, good results may be had by using a one- 
row corn planter with a two hole corn plate. Be 
sure to place your fertilizer deep enough in 
the ground that you will not plant directly in the 
fertilizer as very often this will kill the germination 
of your melon seed. If your soil is inclined to be 
rather tight natured it is possible to put your fer- 
tilizer out fairly early, however, we do not advise 
placing your commercial fertilizer in the ground 
more than ten to fifteen days prior to planting time. 
Often then in the coarser sandy soils you run 
the risk of your fertilizer leaching after heavy 
rains, thereby losing a great percentage of the 
benefit to be derived from your fertilizer. If BARN- 
YARD MANURE is used, get it out just as soon as 
possible, using well rotted manure, distribute it 
from one end of the row to the other and not just 
under the hills. Whether you use barnyard ma- 
nure or some good brand of commercial fertilizer, 
you may increase your crop yield by side dress- 
ing with about 50 pounds of commercial fertilizer 
to the acre. If you have a side dresser attachment 
for your tractor, well and qood, if not this fertilizer 
may be sprinkled on top of the ground and plowed 
38 WILLHITE MELON SEED FARMS, Poolville, Texas 
under. The use of more than the indicated amount 
of fertilizer depends greatly upon the nature and 
fertility of your soil and the amount of rainfall re- 
ceived in your particular vicinity. 
CONTROL OF THE MELON APHIS 
OR HONEY DEW 
The melon aphid is by far the most abundant 
and destructive aphid affecting watermelons, 
cantaloupes and cucumbers that we have and 
very often will be present on some vines far in 
advance of the grower’s knowledge. However the 
presence of ladybugs or lady beetles and ants 
about the melon plants is almost a sure sign that 
the melon aphid is present also. The lady beetles 
feed on the aphids themselves and the ants upon 
the honeydew excreted by them. When your 
vines become badly infested the leaves and 
young fruit become covered with a sticky coat of 
this excretion. When this has developed to such a 
degree that the leaves begin to curl up, the plant 
rarely recovers enough to make normal growth 
even if the insects are controlled. 
The attack of the melon aphid may occur in the 
early spring or later, depending upon climatic 
conditions and may continue throughout the en- 
tire growing period. In the South, very often a few 
of these insects appear almost as soon as the mel- 
ons are up. From these few great multitudes will 
develop as soon as the weather becomes warmer. 
To control the melon aphid it is necessary to 
employ a contact insecticide, what is meant by 
that is some substance that kills when it touches 
the body of the insect. The effectiveness of a con- 
tact dust or spray depends upon the thoroughness 
of its application. That is the reason that in spray- 
ing or dusting for the melon aphid, the underside 
of the leaf must be dusted as this is where during 
the day that you will find this insect, only coming 
out on top of the leaf in the cool of the night hours. 
Our method of control for the melon aphid is the 
use of Black Leaf 40 and lime, applied to the 
underside of the leaves. This dusting should be 
done very early in the morning, while the dew 
is still on your vines, as the dust will have a tend- 
ency to cling to the leaf longer when applied at 
this time. It is very important that you spray early 
before your plants begin to vine, by killing the 
very first aphids that appear, you can control this 
insect much easier. If you begin in time two or 
three dustings are usually sufficient to hold them 
in check until the melons mature. This mixture of 
Black Leaf 40 and lime costs very little, one two- 
pound can of Black Leaf 40 costs only $4.50 and 
when added to 36 pounds of lime will make you 
38 pounds of dust that is very deadly to the aphid 
when applied in the right manner. Let us again 
caution you to begin dusting for the melon aphid 
very early and do not wait until your vines be- 
come large and well covered with honeydew, at 
which period very little can be done. 
Weatherford, Texas 
