Rocky Ford enterprise., 1898-04-28

cultivation Is the price of cantaloupes.
AS long as you cun keep the capillary
attraction ard sub-irrigation by culti-
walton and hoeing which brings about
the desired growth. do so by all means.
The vines will hold up longer, produce
a better crop in quantity and quality
and will resist drought when water Is
short much better. You should watch
your crop and land carefully, and II
possible not allow your crop to reach
that point where 1t will take great
deal of watering. If this Is allowed
you Will in all probability reduce your
crop one-,hlrd to one-half, but watch
your land and keep it In that loose.
friabie, vegetable mold condition and
watering will be an easy matter and
the crop good one.
The cultivation and care Of the crop
should be with the view of stimulat-
ing root growth as well as vine growth.
II this is done the root will grow to
about the same length rs the vine and
form innumerable rootlcts or feeders.
so fine that in many Instances they
cannot be seen with the naked eye.
More numerous these are the better
will the crop be in quantity and quail
ity.
There are times in the existence Of
the cantaloupe and watermelon when
II would appear that n watering would
be good thing when. in fact. 1t Is a
positive injury. \ very slight water
ing might be of benefit. but in almost
all cases too much is given. as the
want OF water is ovcrestimated. This,
as n rule. occurs near ripeninG time,
and is most noticeable with crops that
have been more or less neglected.
When mt this period an over supply Of
water Is given. or n heavy fall OF rain
occurs. 1t has the effect OF diluting the
sugars In the melon. and before the
water can he evaporatcd or thrown or
and another supply of sugar extract
ed from the soil. the melon ripens and
1t is tasteless and without quality. 1t
also has the effect OF producing melons
over size and smooth. The farther n
melon sets from the roots the larger 1t
is, the less quality 1t has and 1t Is new
er so perfectly netted. The cultivation
should be often and shallow, and con-
t!nued rs long rs possible. We have
often thrown back upon the hill half
the length Of the vine. cultivated the
ground and Strengthened out the vines
again. and In every instance the crop
was benefited. When the last culti-
walton Is given we draw our water
burrows about two feet from the hill
on each side the slNfoOt way. clean
probably m occasional watering.
Before picking or gathering time ar-
rivcs. u suitable shade or shed should
be built conveniently near the melon
patch. and ms fast as gathered should
be taken to the shed and out n the
sun. for after the ripening process bts.
: gins the sun has the effect OF soon
softenIng them. a melon left In the
morning will be unfit to ship nj night.
They should. II possible. be picked
twice day-very early In the morning
: and In the afternoon In time to get to
the ear of shipping station. The pick
Ing and Grating Is something that to
,lo well you must have experience. n
new man will. in many instances.
leave twice his wages In the field. To
do this well. as l have said. needs cX-
percncc. You should carry stick to
part the leaves and vines for the pur-
pose OF better examining. Don't
walk too fast. and he sure you get all
that is ready for market. Have u sack
strung over your shoulder In which to
deposit your melons. and when n con-
vcnicnt load has been pulled. take
them to the packing shed or empty
them along n drive made for that pur
pose when It Is too far to carry them
to the packing shed.
III you are going to ship your melons
east they should he taken quite green.
! Just ms soon ns they will possibly do;
! and at our place we take them when
, ever we can n day or two before they
{ are ripe They are then solid and will
ship splcndidly. and going TO n lower
! latitude will ripcn up TO the satisfac-
. ton OF the most fns;idious. But II
chipping tn the west or to higher nlti-
tude. they should he fully ripe. as go
ing to higher altitude the ripcning
: process is arrested and they ripen very
|, little II any. They should not he soft
. and mushy. hut firm and fully ripe.
A person who Is careful and Is desir-
ous OF doing his work well. will after
n time he able to tell when n melon
: should be picked. from Its outside ap-
! pcarancc. and from quite n little dis
| lance away. This kind of n man IL
= worth more In n can'aloupc patch than
!. two or three careless fellows who work
/ for the money only. There are n great
4 many who cannot find the melons. and
$ about half they bring In are over ripe
5 and should have been picked twenty
j four hours before. If the melon will
! part from the vine by gentle pull 1t
{ should be taken. or If by a slight tap
;. OF the stick on the stem 1t can he sep
u arated from the vine. all is well
I. The packing. to be properly done and
to make headway. should he In charge
of n man OF experience. IL not. he is
y likely to put in many over ripe and
i part OF the crate will he loosely and
= part tightly packed. Sometimes there
: Will be one or two melons tightly
y packed In crate. and when put into n
u car and other crates put upon them
they are mashed and the Juice runs
= down over the other melons In the
y crate and by the time they reach their
!, destination they are sticky dirty. look
u bad and are about unsulable: while, II
= !, loosely packed they jostlc about and
soon become badly bruised and unfit
for use. So you see the Importance of
II careful packing. Begin by putting In