510 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
June  11,  1903. 
Melon,  Paradise  Gem. 
With  such  a.  pletJiora  of  now  or  inocleni  raised  Melons,  some 
cf  the  older  and  still  valuable  kinds  are  being  neglected.  It 
does  not,  however,  matter  so  much  what  the  variety  or  varieties 
may  be,  so  long  as  cultivators  find  in  them  what  is  requisite  in 
all-round  excellence.  For  the  past  three  years  I  have  grown 
the  above  kind,  being  induced  to  do  so  by  the  claim  of  its 
quickness  to  ripen  and  its  other  good  qualities.  First  impres- 
•sions  of  the  stock  had  almost  gone  the  length  of  its  being  dis¬ 
carded  ;  but  its  good  flavour,  solid  flesh,  and  firm  skin  made  an 
impression  that  has  since  grown  in  its  favour.  Selection,  too, 
lias  much  improved  its  appearance  and  shape ;  some  of  the 
originals  were  extremely  rugged  in  outline,  and  even  iiow_  it 
cannot  by  any  means  claim  the  attribute  of  handsomenes-s.  The 
familiar  phrase,  “beauty  is  but  skin  deep,’'  may  yei*y  well  apply 
to  this  old  Melon,  for  its  external  loss  of  beauty  is  its  only  fail¬ 
ing,  because  there  is  concealed  beneath  its  skin  a  merit  that 
does  not  belong  to  some  more  handsome  Melons  I  have  seen  and 
grown.  I  have  already  alluded  to  its  early  trait  in  ripening. 
Among  several  .sorts  grown  in  our  first  batch,  the  race  for  fh© 
first  ripe  fruit  was  gained  by  Paradisei  Gem,  and  this  notwith¬ 
standing  that  some  had  a  gain  in  the  start  by  some  days  in 
seed  sowina:.  Both  for  travelling  and  keeping  a  firm  solid  flesh 
and  outer  skin  they  appeal  strongly  to  those  who  must  need 
send  long  distances  by  rail,  and  where,  too,  a  regular  succession 
of  ripe  fruits  have  to  be  provided.  Melons  having  large  open 
seed  cavities  and  soft  liquified  flesh  are  very  good  for  home  con¬ 
sumption  ;  but  if  necessity  require  that  they  be  kept  some  time 
after  they  are  cut  from  the  plant,  or  they  have  long  railway 
.iourneys  to  endure,  then  the  ordeal  overtaxes  them,  and  they 
are  reduced  to  a  low  standard  of  value.  This  one  has  a  deep 
scarlet  flesh  and  a  well  netted  rind,  points  that  are  duly  valued 
by  Melon  connoisseurs.  Quick  maturity  in  Melons  does  not  seem 
to  have  been  given  the  same  thought  as  that  of  Strawberries, 
Peaches,  or  Nectarines,  for  instance;  but  there  certainly  cannot 
be  a  less  value  in  the  first  Melon  than  there  cvould  be  in  the 
earlie.st  Peach.  Tho.se  of  your  readers  who  are  inspired  with  this 
desire  and  coincident  necessity  should  give  a  trial  to  Paradise 
Gem.— W.  S. 
Outdoor  Tomatoes. 
The  Tomato  (Lj’copersicum  esculentum)  is  a  native  of  South 
America,  and  was  introduced  into  this  country  in  1596.  It  is 
a  tender  annual,  requires  a  hot  summer  to  do  well  in  our  climate, 
and  the  plants  to  be  raised  in  heat  and  put  out  strong  and 
healthy  at  the  end  of  May  or  early  in  June. 
Seeds  intended  for  raising  plants  for  the  open  air  are  sown 
at  the  end  of  February  or  during  March,  in  pots  or  i^ans  filled 
with  light  soil  and  placed  in  a  temperature  of  55deg  to  60deg 
by  artificial  means,  lOdeg  to  lodeg  or  more  being  secured  from 
sun  heat  on  those  figures,  either  in  a  heated  structure  or  on 
a  hotbed.  As  the  seedlings  come  up  they  are  exposed  to  all  the 
light  ijossible  to  prevent  them  from  becoming  drawn,  and  a 
sturdy  habit  induced  by  having  the  plants  thin,  either  from  thin 
seeding  or  thinning  the  plants  when  up,  not  giving  more  water 
than  to  prevent  flagging,  and  thus  promoting  a  hard,  thoroughly 
solidified  growth  from  the  start,  which  is  the  essence  of  health 
and  early  fruitfulness.  When  the  second  leaves  appear  they  are 
potted  off  singly  into  25in  or  Sin  pots,  and  still  kept  in  heat 
iintil  re-established,  when  they  are  grown  on  in  a  light  house  or 
frame,  with  more  air,  until  gradually  they  are  hardened  off  for 
placing  outside,  towards  the  end  of  May  or  early  in  June.  In 
order  to  secure  plants  of  good  size,  large  enough  to  begin  flower¬ 
ing,  or  even  setting  fruit,  before  being  put  out  into  their 
permanent  quarters,  the  plants  are  shifted  into  5in  or  6in  pots 
some  time  during  April.  Such  plants  are  those  usually  prepared 
by  growers  of  them  for  sale  and  disposed  of  in  their  thousands 
or  millions  to  suburban  dwellers,  or  even  urban,  as  well  as  rural 
occupiers  of  small  plots  of  ground  or  garden  bounded  by  walls 
or  wooden  fences,  most,  if  not  all,  of  whorn  utilise  some  portion 
of  the  sunny  wall  or  fence  surface  for  training  Tomatoes.  Thus 
the  amateur  grows  his  two  or  three,  half-dozen,  dozen,  or  score 
of  plants,  and  the  gardener  his  hundreds,  for  the  procedure  is^ 
older  than  I  can  remember,  whicb  is  over  half  a  century,  the 
j  principle  being  to  have  strong  plants  coming  into  bearing  for 
planting  out,  and  thus  having  a  manifest  advantage  over  others 
which  are  not  so  prepared  in  perfecting  a  crop  afterwards. 
In  this  country  it  is  only  in  warm  .situations  and  in  favour¬ 
able  localities  that  a  Tomato  crop  can  be  depended  upon  in  the 
open  air.  In  1893  and  1896  I  noticed  plants  .spring  up  from 
self-sown  seeds,  and  the.se  plants  flowered  and  formed  fruits  of 
good  size  by  October,  wholly  as  hardy  annuals.  In  these  years 
Tomatoes  grown  in  the  open  ground  were  mostly  very  successful 
in  crop,  and  the  plants,  not  more  than  5in  or  6in  high  when 
planted,  young  and  vigorous  and  well-rooted,  turned  out  of 
thumb  (2^in)  pots,  into  which  they  had  recently  been  placed. 
That  such  are  better  than  stunted  plants  in  3in  pots  or  larger 
size,  starved  into  bearing  early,  there  is  no  question;  but  of  the 
young,  strong  plants  not  showing  flower  being  as  good  as  the 
large  plant  in  a  6in  pot  in  flower,  or  with  fruit  already  set  upon 
it,  I  cannot  see  my  way  clear,  except  for  economy  of  production. 
Young,  strong  plants  in  small  pots  are  much  more  readily 
handled  than  plants  in  6in  pots,  but  how  they  can  take  to  the 
soil  more  quickly  than  larger  plants  is  rather  delusive,  only  the 
roots  being  in  a  larger  ball  more  water  will  be  required  at  the 
onset  than  for  the  smaller  and  younger  plants,  the.se  having  a 
less  ball  and  mere  roots  relatively  obtaining  a  speedier  grip  ofl 
the  soil.  Thus  the  young  plant  has  the  advantage  economically 
over  the  larger  and  older;  but  what  if  both  are  equally  well 
attended  to?  Surely  the  plant  with  fruit  set,  or  about  setting, 
is  most  likely  to  be  profitably  productive,  though  often  the 
reverse  is  the  case,  for  neglected  for  water  after  planting  the 
plants  often  become  .stunted,  and  the  flowers  drop  off  from  the 
first  bunch,  or  the  fruit  becomes  “  deaf.”  I  know  in  .such  case 
the  younger  plant  is  the  better.  Its  vigour  su.stains  it  against 
drought,  and  it  lays  hold  of  the  surrounding  soil,  so  that  when 
the  first  flowers  show  it  is  growing  sturdily  they  do  not  drop  off 
prematurely,  but  are  followed  by  fruit.  Thus  circuni-stances 
alter  cases,  and  for  the  grower  of  thousands  of  plants  in  the 
open  the  young,  healthy,  sturdy  plant  from  the  small  pot  i.'j 
preferable  to  the  large  plant  from  a  6in  pot.  On  the  other  hand, 
for  walls  or  fences,  the  larger  plant  is  preferable,  water  being 
handy,  and  this  daily,  but  not  needlessly,  applied,  for  over- 
Avatering  is  just  as  prejudicial  as  allowing  stuntedness  to  re.sult 
from  neglect  of  its  application. 
As  for  the  preparation  of  the  .soil,  which  should  have  an  open, 
warm,  and  sheltered  position,  and  be  of  a  light  gravelly  nature, 
rather  than  heaA^y  and  cold,  no  more  is  needed  than  for  growing 
Potatoes.  Against  walls  and  Avooden  fences  a  feAv  shoA^elfuls 
of  good  fibrous  loam  Avith  a  sprinkling  of  a  mixture  of  three  parts 
bonemeal  and  tAAo  parts  double  .sulphate  of  potash  and  magnesia 
(refined  kainit),  may  be  pro  Added  for  each  plant.  In  other  cases 
fork  in  Avell  decayed  and  sweetened  stable  or  farmyard  manure 
freely  and  deeply,  and  this  done  some  time  in  advance  of  plant¬ 
ing  is  important,  so  that  the  manurial  elements  may  be  in  a 
state  aA-ailable  as  plant  food,  and  Avell  diffused  through  the  soil. 
If  the  ground  is  occupied  AAith  early  (Ashleaf  or  other  small  top) 
Potatoes,  and  these  manured  for  at  setting  at  3ft  di.stance  apart, 
the  Tomatoes  can  be  ijlanted  midAA-ay  of  the  roAvs,  and  no  special 
manuring  is  necessary  for  them  unless  the  ground  be  poor,  then 
apply  the  well  rotted  manure,  and  ju.st  before  setting  out  the 
plants  apply  a  top-dres.sing  of  advertised  fertiliser,  pointing  in. 
In  the  matter  of  varietie.s,  the  old  Large  Red,  though  someAvhat 
coarsely  ribbed,  is  still  one  of  the  best  for  outdoor  culture. 
Early  Ruby  is  much  less  corrugated,  early,  and  Avonderfully 
prolific.  Frogmore  Selected,  of  medium  size,  smooth  in  out¬ 
line,  and  almost  round  in  shape,  is  excellent,  yet  it  cracks  in 
wet  Aveather.  Laxton’s  Prolific  and  Open  Air  are  hardy  and 
prolific.  Commend  me,  however,  to  Chemin  Rouge  for  merit  of 
bearing  and  quality,  but  it  cracks  in  shoAA'ery  Aveather. 
The  plants  may  be  planted  in  rows  3ft  apart  and  15in  to  16in 
asunder  in  the  roAv.  Each  plant  AA'ill  need  support.  This  is 
readily  provided  by  straining  a  No.  6  galvanised  wire  between 
tAvo  end-row  posts  at  3ft  from  the  ground,  and  stapled  to  stake.s 
at  that  height  placed  about  10ft  apart.  A  small  Bamboo  cane  is 
needed  for  each  plant,  thrust  into  the  soil  by'  its  side  and  secured 
to  the  Avire  at  the  top.  Plant  firmly,  and  if  the  ground  is  light 
and  open  firm  it  also,  for  sturdy  growth  and  free  fruiting  is  all- 
important,  not  rampant  groAvth,  large  leaA’es,  and  a  quantity  of 
side  shoots.  Secure  each  plant  as  it  groAA's  to  the  upright  stake, 
and  rub  off  all  side  shoots  as  they  appear.  Top  the  plants  if 
need  be  Avhen  nearing  the  horizontal  Aidre,  and  at  a  joint  above 
the  truss  of  floAvers  or  fruit.  Do  not  be  in  a  hurry  about  mulch¬ 
ing  ;  first  let  the  .sun  A\-arm  the  soil,  and  then  in  the  dog  days, 
or  before  if  hot  and  droughty,  mulch  Avith  short  SAveetened 
manure,  and  this,  with  due  supplies  of  AA-ater,  Avill  help  SAvell  off 
the  fruit  present  and  profit  that  shoAving.  The  plants  are  the' 
better  for  a  feAv  tAviggy  branches  thrust  into  the  ground  on  the 
north  side  after  planting,  as  the  AA'inds  are  often  cold  and  sharp 
from  that  point  at  the  end  of  May  or  early  in  June.  But  the 
shelter  must  be  removed  early,  as  the  plants  cannot  have  too 
much  light  and  air.  The  greatest  eA'il  in  respect  of  outdoor 
Tomatoes  is  that  of  the  fruit  cracking.  The  smooth,  round- 
fruited  A’arieties  are  the  Avorst  in  that  matter,  and  Iioav  to  protect 
