Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1908-07-09

crates. In Philadelphia and Balti-
more the price ranges from $50 30
IS for the best. As a rule l ship
all the larger sizes to Baltimore,
and l have found that the smaller or
third grades melons sell best in
Philadelphia.
Is there any way for q purcha-
ser TO tell q good melon without cut
Ting and tasting 10? Thas in exact
~ wnat an expert melon grader is
expected 10 do. 10 Judge the flavor
OF the melon as viii al the sise,
The best external indication In q
Melted Gem and melons OF similar
type Is q golden greenish color, the
melon being deeply ribbed and
thickly overlaid with rather coarse
gray netting, the edges of which
rise perpendicularly from the sur
face. The melon should be heavy.
There should be no ragged or brok-
en- stem TO indicate that the melon
was torn from the vine before Ii was
ripe enough TO part freely.
IF one follows these pointers thew
are pretty sure TO get the perfec-
tion OF melon produced by the quail
ty OF the seed planted. IL the seed
has come from q tasteless melon the
result will be disappointing, even
with thorough culture and the bes,
care in picking and shipping.
ITO produce good melons for the
home garden should advise warm,
sandy land heavily enriched. II
such is not to be had the gardener
may readily grow them on much
colder and heavier soil by digging
broad deep hills and filling them
with well rotted stable manure mix
cd with as loamy earth as is to be
had. These hills should have an
elevation of few inches above the
surrounding surface soil when the
seeds are planted.
THE most serious menace 10 sue.
cessful melon growing is the foliage
blight. Even though the foliage is
only slightly affected the fruit is Of
ten seriously damaged both in size
and taste. At times this blight win
ruin an entire patch In only q few
days.
The best preventive SO far as
know is spraying with Bordeaux
mixture at intervals OF from ten to
fifteen days, beginning as soon as
the plants are well started. For a
small garden there is no need TO 90
to the expense OF buying q pumping
apparatus. as the Bordeaux mixture
can readily be applied with O whisk
broom.
with the land and culture right
there are three causes for poor quail
ty in melons. Either they have
been picked prematurely or the seed
has been poor or else there are un-
healthy vines caused by blight.
The only way TO distinguish between
bad and good seed is by having a
test patch for the purpose OF trying
new seeds and varieties. Nobody
so far as have heard has ever been
able to tell what q melon seed would
bring forth.
After a cantaloupe becomes fully
grown there seems 10 come a period
OF several days when it remains
semi dormant. Then you will no
tice that the stem where it is attach
ed to the melon will begin to swell
and have a shiny and, greasy ap-
pearance. The next symptom will
be little cracking away Of the stem
from the melon and when by just
touching the melon the stem parts
from it you may be sure you have
the fruit in its perfection of develop
ment. -
For home gardens I would re-
commend besides the Melted Gem,
of the green varieties the Extra
Hackensack and the Jenny Lind. OF
the salmon flesh varieties the Emer-
aid, Gem, the Paul Rose and the
Usage.
Personally | look upon the Emer-
aid Gem as the finest favored OF all
small cantaloupes. 1t is a smooth
skinned melon with salmon flesh
but il is too tender for shipment.
1t is rather smaller than the stand =
ard Melted Gem. though il is just the
right size TO serve in halves and 70
furnish q sufficient receptacle for
finely cracked ice that should always
go with a melon.
Where it is desirable to start
melons early seeds may be planted
in cold frame. greenhouse or hot
bed, in pots, old berry baskets or
on pieces Of inverted sod. When
plants started in this manner are
four or five inches high they must
be carefully set in place in the open
ground.
Though the sod is most conven-
lent. / have found that baskets and
pots produce better plants. The
roots Of plants started on sod spread
near the surface while those started
in pots and baskets lead down ward