February  21,  1901. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
151 
and  liquid  manure  fromiuhe  cow  house.  Thomson’s  manure  and 
Clay’s  fertiliser  are  spread  on  the  surface  of  the  border  in  a  dry 
state  and  watered  in,  and  the  liquid  manure  from  the  cow  house  is 
diluted  with  water.  The  borders  are  lightly  top-dressed  with  sifted 
loam  and  leaf  mould  two  or  three  times  during  the  season  to  cover  the 
young  tender  roots  which  mat  the  surface  and  are  exposed  to  too 
much  light  and  air.  Tne  plants  are  gently  syringed  once  a  day — early 
in  the  afternoon  when  the  houses  are  shut  up — but  the  paths  in  hot 
weather  are  damp  d  down  several  times  during  the  day,  and  a  moist 
growing  atmosphere  maintained,  which  accelerates  the  swelling  of  the 
fruits  and  keeps  the  foliage  cleau  and  healthy.  Plants  treated  in  this 
way  are  seldom  injured  by  red  spider  or  other  insects.  Whenever  any 
after  a  fruit  has  grown  to  a  certain  stage — some  weeks  before  it  ripens 
— it  does  not  absorb  much  nutriment  from  the  plant,  and  I  have  often 
had  plants  set  a  second  crop  of  fruit  before  the  first  was  all  ripened. 
Directly  after  the  crop  has  been  gathered  the  plants  are  gone  over  and 
the  useless  growths  cut  out,  the  borders  top-dressed,  and  the  house 
kept  a  little  closer,  and  the  atmosphere  a  little  moister  than  it  was 
when  the  fruit  was  ripening  to  encourage  new  growth.  In  a  short 
time  the  plants  respond  to  this  treatment,  and  produce  healthy  growths 
with  plenty  of  female  flowers,  which  set  much  better  than  they  did  in 
the  early  part  of  the  season.  The  plants  receive  the  same  treatment  as 
that  described  for  the  first  crop,  and  by  careful  attention  the  foliage  is 
kept  clean  and  healthy  till  the  last  fruit  has  been  thoroughly  ripened. 
CCELOGYNE  CRISTATA.  (See  page  149.) 
of  the  leaves  have  finished  their  functions  and  assumed  a  yellow 
colour  they  are  cut  off  close  to  the  stem,  or  branch,  with  a  sharp 
knife,  and  a  pinch  of  slacked  lime  put  on  the  wound,  which  dries  up 
immediately.  When  thinning  out  superfluous  branches  they  are 
treated  in  the  same  way  to  prevent  bleeding. 
As  the  fruits  advance  towards  maturity  the  atmosphere  is  kept 
drier  and  more  buoyant,  but  the  plants  are  watered  at  the  root  the 
same  as  before,  and  the  borders  are  never  allowed  to  approach  to 
dryness.  If  the  weather  is  warm  and  genial  at  this  time  a  little  air  is 
left  on  the  house  during  the  night,  which  thickens  and  strengthens 
the  foliage  and  invigorates  the  whole  plant. 
With  strong,  healthy  plants  there  is  no  difficulty  in  getting  them 
to  produce  a  second  crop,  and  in  much  less  time  than  would  be  the 
case  if  young  plants  were  employed.  I  find  from  experience  that 
The  names  of  the  varieties  of  Melons  that  have  been  cultivated 
since  I  can  remember  are  legion,  and  still  they  go  on  increasing.  New 
varieties,  with  first-class  certificates  from  the  Royal  Horticultural 
Society,  are  sent  out  every  year  by  our  enterprising  seedsmen,  but  very 
few  indeed  of  the  Melons  that  were  in  vogue  forty  or  fifty  years  ago 
are  grown  now. 
It  is  some  twenty  years  since  Mr.  Crump  of  Madresfield  Court, 
raised  Blenheim  Orange  Melon,  and,  in  my  opinion,  it  is  the  Dest 
scarlet  fleshed  variety  in  cultivation  at  the  present  time.  And  for  a 
white  fleshed  Melon  Carter’s  Holborn  Favourite  has  few  equals.  The 
plant  is  strong  and  vigorous,  a  free  setter  and  a  sure  bearer.  The  fruit 
is  of  the  largest  size,  sweet,  melting,  and  juicy,  and  finely  netted. 
Little  &  Ballantyne’s  Golden  Orange  does  not  seem  to  be  so  well 
known  in  the  south  as  it  should  be.  It  is  one  of  the  most  handsome 
