38 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
January  10,  1901 
Melons. 
The  Melon  (Cucumis  Melo),  Loudon  tells  us,  “has  been  cultivate  1 
in  England  since  1570  ;  but  the  precise  time  of  its  introduction  and 
the  native  country  of  the  plant  are  both  unknown. 
The  Melon  is  highly  appreciated  as  a  dessert  fruit  by  those  who 
can  afford  it  during  the  summer  and  autumn  months.  But  owing  to 
the  expense  incurred  in  its  cultivation  it  is  seldom  seen  on  the  tables 
of  any  but  the  rich  and  well-to-do  people  in  this  country. 
Some  fifty  or  sixty  years  ago  Melons  were  grown  entirely  in  pits 
heated  by  decomposing  stable  litter,  leaves  of  trees,  and  spent  bark 
from  the  tanyard,  and  in  frames  placed  on  hotbeds  of  these  materials. 
This  entailed  a  great  amount  of  labour  in  making  and  in  keeping  the 
heat  up  to  the  proper  temperature  by  adding  linings  of  hot  litter  to 
the  sides  of  the  beds  when  the  heat  declined.  But  since  the  advent  of 
cheap  glass,  and  the  introduction  of  the  system  of  heating  houses  by 
means  of  hot-water  pipes,  and  a  better  style  of  gardening  architecture, 
the  hotbed  system  of  growing  Melons  has  almost  disappeared  from 
our  gardens. 
My  first  experience  in  making  a  hotbed  for  Melons  takes  me  back 
more  than  fifty  years.  It  was  then  considered  an  important  matter  to  be 
able  to  make  a  good  hotbed  which  would  maintain  the  heat  till  the  crop 
of  fruit  was  ripened.  In  making  the  bed  the  litter,  leaves,  and  bark 
(as  the  case  may  be)  were  collected  in  large  heaps  close  to  where  the 
bed  was  to  be  made.  After  they  had  begun  to  heat  they  were  turned 
over  several  times  at  intervals  of  a  few  days  to  allow  the  rank  steam 
to  escape,  and  the  heat  to  mellow  down  to  the  desired  temperature 
before  making  the  bed.  The  heat  was  ascertained  by  means  of  trial 
stakes  thrust  into  the  heaps,  where  they  remained  until  the  materials 
were  in  proper  condition  to  put  together.  The  stakes  were  pulled  out 
daily,  and  the  heat  gauged  by  the  feel  of  the  hand.  I  do  not  renumber 
ever  seeing  a  theimometer  used  for  that  purpose.  The  bed,  which  had 
generally  a  southern  exposure,  was  made  from  2  to  3  feet  wider  than 
the  frame  on  all  sides,  and  was  raised  to  the  height  of  4  feet  at  the 
back  and  3  feet  at  the  front,  so  that  when  the  frame  was  placed  on  it 
it  would  slope  gently  to  the  front.  Stable  litter  was  used  to  form  the 
sides  to  make  them  firm  and  strong,  and  the  leaves,  litter,  and  bark 
were  put  in  the  interior  of  the  bed.  Sometimes  these  were  kept 
separate  and  put  on  in  layers,  and  sometimes  they  were  mixed  all 
together. 
As  the  building  of  the  bed  p  oceeded  the  materials  were  shaken 
out,  and  spread  evenly  over  the  surface,  and  trodden  at  short  intervals 
to  guard  against  the  bed  settling  down  more  in  one  place  than  in 
another  when  it  was  finished  and  the  frame  placed  on  it.  To  prevent 
the  heat  from  lising  too  rapidly  at  first  and  injuring  the  roots  of  the 
young  plants,  a  few  turves  with  the  grass  side  down  were  placed  in 
the  centre  of  each  light,  and  small  mounds  of  earth — loam  and  leaf 
mould — were  placed  on  the  turves,  and  when  these  were  warmed  to 
theprcper  temperature  the  plants  were  set  out — sometimes  one  plant 
and  sometimes  two  in  a  l:ght.  The  bed  was  not  earthed  all  over  at 
once,  but  by  degrees  as  the  plants  grew,  to  the  depth  of  a  foot  or 
more.  As  soon  as  the  plants  had  made  four  leaves  beyond  the 
cotyledons  the  tops  were  pinched  out  to  make  them  branch  out  and 
cover  the  bed.  The  leading  shoots  were  allowed  to  grow  to  near  the 
top  and  bottom  of  the  frame  before  being  stopped,  and  the  lateral 
shoots  from  them  were  stopped  a  few  leaves  beyond  the  fruit,  trained, 
and  thinned  out  as  occasion  required.  Care  was  taken  that  the 
female  flowers  were  fertilised  when  perfectly  dry,  and  as  early  in  the 
season  as  possible,  when  a  sufficient  number  were  open  at  the  same 
time  to  secure  a  crop. 
Soon  after  the  fruit  began  to  swell  they  were  placed  on  pieces  of 
slate,  or  inverted  flower  pots,  to  keep  them  off  the  damp  earth,  and  to 
expose  them  to  as  much  light  and  air  as  possible.  The  cultivation 
after  this  consisted  chiefly  in  watering  the  beds,  giving  air  to  the  pits 
or  frames,  and  keeping  the  temperature  as  near  70°  as  possible  at  all 
times,  allowing  a  rise  of  10°  or  15°  with  sun  heat  during  bright 
weather,  syringing  the  plants  with  tepid  water  early  in  the  afternoon, 
and  closing  the  lights  immediately  after  to  secure  as  much  sun  heat  as 
possible.  As  the  fruits  advanced  towards  maturity  less  water  was 
given  to  the  plants,  and  in  some  cases  it  was  withheld  altogether. 
This  was  done  with  the  idea  that  drying-off  the  plants  would  impart 
flavour  to  the  fruits.  One  can  scarcely  credit  intell  gent  men 
practising  a  system  so  repugnant  to  nature.  I  think  no  one  ever 
dries  off  the  plants  now  to  impart  flavour  to  the  fruits.  On  the 
contrary,  they  try  if  possible  to  keep  the  foliage  good,  and  the  plants 
clean  and  healthy  to  the  last. — {Paper  wad  by  Me.  A.  Pettigrew 
before  the  Boyal  Horticultural  Society.') 
(To  be  continued.) 
Oxen  pnlcliella. 
One  of  the  handsomest  warm  greenhouse  or  cool  stove  climbers 
with  which  I  am  acquainted  is  Oxera  pulchella.  The  leaves  are  very 
smooth,  bright  green,  and  the  flowers  white,  producing  when  grown 
and  flowered  to  perfection  a  most  charming  sight.  This  Oxera  is  an 
extremely  free-growing  shrubby  climber,  producing  immense  cymes  of 
white  flowers  during  the  winter.  They  are  freely  produced,  both 
axillary  and  terminally,  on  the  ripened  wood,  therefore  to  secure  the 
proper  ripening  of  the  wood  the  plant  must  be  afforded  plenty  of 
light  ;  indeed,  it  cannot  have  too  much,  even  full  exposure  to  the  sun 
will  not  injure  it.  Train  it  on  the  glass  end  of  a  house,  up  a  rafter,  or 
along  the  ridge  of  a  roof,  say  where  there  -is  a  lantern  top,  as  these  are 
the  positions  which  would  suit  it  best. 
By  far  the  finest  plant,  and  carrying  the  most  flowers  I  have  ever 
seen,  was  trained  up  the  glass  end  of  a  cool  stove,  where  the  temperature 
during  the  winter  was  kept  at  about  55°  to  60°.  A  moderate  degree  of 
temperature,  such  as  that  mentioned,  is  necessary  to  flower  this  plant 
properly,  although  it  will  live  through  the  winter  in  an  ordinary 
greenhouse ;  but  under  such  treatment  I  failed  to  flower  it,  and  it  was 
not  until  it  was  moved  to  its  present  position  two  years  ago  that 
anything  satisfactory  was  done  with  it.  It  flowered  the  following  year 
and  again  last  year  about  the  same  time — Christmas.  It  is  by  no 
means  particular  as  to  soil,  but  a  good  friable  loam  seems  to  suit  it  best. 
It  is  easily  propagated  in  the  usual  way,  either  by  cuttings  or  seeds* 
which  are  produced  rather  freely ;  but  cuttings  inserted  round  the 
edges  of  a  pot  in  sandy  soil  and  placed  in  a  propagating  frame  root  in 
a  few  weeks,  and  if  potted  and  liberally  treated  may  be  expected  to 
flower  in  about  a  year,  much  depending  on  the  time  of  year  at  which 
the  cuttings  were  rooted. — R.  H. 
Tl(e  Gooseberry. 
The  Gooseberry  is  a  native  of  the  north  of  Europe.  In  a  wild 
state  the  berries  are  no  larger  than  a  Red  Currant,  but  when  the 
bushes  are  properly  cultivated  immense  crops  of  large  fruit  are 
produced.  The  Gooseberry  is  one  of  the  few  fruits  which  succeed  in 
any  soil  or  situation,  consequently  it  is  grown,  but  not  cultivated,  in 
every  garden.  Owing  to  the  bushes  producing  fruit  without  any 
attention  they  are  frequently  never  touched,  except,  perhaps,  with 
the  garden  shears.  Even  when  thus  neglected  they  produce  plenty  of 
fruit,  but  it  is  of  very  inferior  description. 
The  Gooseberry  is  one  of  the  easiest  of  all  fruits  to  propagate. 
When  pruning  the  bushes  select  all  the  strongest  shoots  made  during 
the  summer,  cut  them  1  foot  long  each.  Begin  at  the  bottom,  and 
rub  all  ihe  buds  off  except  four  at  the  top  ;  leave  the  spines  on,  as 
they  assist  greatly  in  keeping  the  cuttings  in  their  places  when  they 
are  inserted  in  the  ground.  A  quantity  of  leaf  soil  or  well-decayed 
manure  must  be  spread  over  the  surface.  Insert  the  rows  of  cuttings 
as  the  digging  proceeds.  A  space  of  15  inches  should  be  allowed 
between  the  rows,  and  4  inches  between  the  cuttings.  Let  the 
cuttings  be  4  inches  below  the  soil,  which  will  leave  5  inches  of  clear 
stem  between  the  ground  and  the  first  branch.  We  have  raised  many 
Gooseberries  in  this  way  without  losing  a  cutting.  They  must  not  be 
disturbed  at  the  root  until  the  following  spring. 
Throughout  the  summer  hoe  between  the  rows  frequently,  and 
never  allow  them  to  become  choked  with  weeds.  They  should  make 
shoots  from  4  to  6  inches  long  the  first  season.  Where  the  cuttings 
were  all  disbudded  except  3  inches  at  t^e  top  each  plant  will  produce 
from  four  to  six  shoots.  When  pruning  these,  as  soon  as  the  leaves 
have  fallen  only  cut  about  1  inch  from  the  point  of  each  shoot.  After 
this,  if  it  is  desired  to  make  large  bushes  quickly,  lift  every  other 
plant  in  the  row,  and  plant  them  in  a  fresh  piece  of  ground  18  inches 
between  the  rows  and  10  inches  or  a  foot  between  the  plants.  The 
ground  on  which  these  are  planted  should  be  well  enriched  with 
manure.  During  the  second  year’s  growth  hoe  between  the  rows  as 
formerly,  and  by  pruning  time  the  second  season  you  will  have  good 
sized  bushes.  When  the  shoots  are  clustered  together  in  the  centre 
they  must  be  thinned  out  to  at  least  2  inches  from  each  other ;  but  do 
not  cut  off  any  that  are  spreading  outwards,  as  this  is  just  what  is 
wanted  to  form  a  well-shaped  bush.  All  the  shoots  left  on  at  this 
time  may  be  cut  back  to  6  or  8  inches  whence  they  started. 
After  their  third  season’s  growth  they  may  be  pruned  as  before,  and 
then  they  will  be  ready  for  planting  in  their  permanent  fruiting  quarters. 
They  may  either  be  planted  in  a  single  or  double  row  along  the  sides 
