The Bryan daily eagle. (Bryan, Tex.) 1895-1898, 1896-09-20

WiuteF Muahmalaaa
Prof. c. II. Bailey. IN Bullstin g.
the Cornell University Agriculinrsi
Experiment station. says:
The forcing Of melons for dslIvery n
midEinter IA practically unknoun.
The fruit IL often grown e. an early
winter crop. r!penlng IN ooiobsr ana
early In November. and the seeds are
often sown IN January and the melons
matured In May and June. Gardsneru
noS and then Fipen q few melons IN
midvinter. but the fruits are aimost
invariably very poor or even disagree
able IN quality. The writer has long
been convinced that Il IL possible 70
secure good melons IN December. Jann-
airy and February. and to grow them
nearly a. eheaply as the English or
frame eucumbe1. The attempt VI
FIRST made In the winter Of 1850. ard
Il has been reDeated moro OF less per-
Eistontly until the present time. Il
was only until last winter when, pro-
fting BY all the pitfalls Of our past en-
Derience and assisted By ne services
Of our gardener. Michael Barker, uo
hnally had a winter crop Of good
melons. In order 10 satisfy the read.
er's curiosity At the outset, / will say
that the essentials for growing mid
winter melons. az understand then.
are these: High temperature from he
start $50 20 So Al midday. and TO- a
nighD; the plants must never BE-
checked. even from the moment the
seeds germinate. either By Insects.
fungi. low temperature. or delay in
handling; dryneas AZ time Of Flpen-
Ing; soil containing plenty Of min
era elements. particularly. Of course.
potash and phosphoric acid: pollinlfsr-
Gus varieties: the selection Of varie-
ties adapted to the purpose All thess
re$ulrements seem 10 Be easy enough
OF attainment as one reads them. but
Il has taken us six years 10 learn them.
Others would no doubt have been more
expeditions; but Il should Be said that
no one Of these conditions will ensure
success. but all Of them must Be pa,
together
The house.-A house which h
adapted TO the growing Of English Gu
eumbers or tomatoes. should grow mel
onA TIE arst requisite h heat. Ths
capacity Of the Nesting system must Be
sufficient 10 maintain a high tsmpera-
ture In the coolest weather. The house
should be free from draughts and larEs
leaks. Our melon house opens into
sheds AZ both ends. 20 that no outside
air ever blows into Il: yet even here.
We lock up the house from the time
the melons begin to form. TO prevent
persons from passing through a. We
Ike 10 keep the room close. Il should
be capable Of being kept dry. there
should be ample room over the benches
for training the vines 70 feet. We
use benches. for melons must have
strong bottom heat For myself. par
ticulariy where such high tempera-
lures are wanted. prefer steam heat.
A melon house should receive direct
sunlight through an unshadsd roof. In
this respect melons differ from frame
cucumbers. which generally thrive best
under a shaded roof. The burning q
the foliage BY the sun Il avoided b.
the use OF glass which does not posses
waves or varying thlcknessess IA ne
panes The bubbles. haws and -teaI
drops" In glass are not the cause o.
burning.
The soil should b very fertile. W.
, have had good success with clay cod
which had not been manurcd. pulver'
lied and mixed thoroughly with ahoul
half the bulk Of well rotted stable man
ure. Such a mixture contains snousl
quickly available nitrogen 10 start n,
plants on strongly. whilst the mschani
cal condition Of II Il 20 friable that al
the mineral elements are easily Oh.
tained BY the plantA An occasional
light application Of potash and phos
phorle acid worked into the coil vii
Be found to be useful. veFy .nach o.
the ultimate behavior Of the plantl
viii depend upon the proper selection
and mixing OF the soil. and one uhC
has had no experience IN forclnk .hous.
work viii rarely obtain the hest re-.
suits for the hrst year or tee IN pre-.
pairing the earth. The mschanlcal Goa
diiion Of this soil IL really more I'm.
portant than Is fertilfla. a. nlan,