Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-01-16

which make the heavy yields. 1t is bet
ter to build up soils before planting than
try TO grow cantaloupes with a heavy
| application of commercial fertilizer
fresh manure at time of planting.
Besides the different strains of the
Melted Gem tRocky Ford, all of which
are good commercial varieties for Geor-
gia. variety called Pink Meat, or
Pink Queen, has been successfully
grown for the last three years. Unless
future development indicates otherwise,
theer is little preference to be given
among these varieties. 1t is usually de-
sirable to plant only one variety in
section, and this is certainly good prac-
tice for the individual farmer.
Before the season of 1915 ii was con-
sidered necessary to use commercial
fertilizer containing al least per cent
| of potash, but the experience of 1916
has indicated that cantaloupes can be
produced with little or no potash. Wheth-
er they Will be as good as those produced
with heavy applications of potash can
-only be accurately determined by care
full experiments in the south Georgia
section. None of such experiments has
yet been reported. The use of potash
therefore should not be too hastily dis
credited and wherever possible COM
mercial fertilizer containing some pot
ash is recommended. 1t is suggested that
| on good soils, from 400 to 500 pounds of
d commercial fertilizer Analysing 10 per
cent phosphoric acid, per cent nitro
gen and to per cent potash, if OBJ
tainable. be used. Nitrogen from an or
ganic source such as tankage, cotton
seed meal, etc, is preferable. Nitrogen
can, of course, be economically obtained
through growing cowpeas or other legu-
minous plants or by the use of stable
| manure 1t is suggested here that no
variety of the cowpea be used other than
| the Brabham and Iron, both of which
are resistant to the nematode. Com
mercial fertilizer applied in the row and
as side applications, will give better re-
! suits than where broadcasted.
! Two methods of laying off the field
are used, the hill and the drill With
! the first method the hills are laid off
four to five feet both ways, thus per-
hitting of cultivation in both direc-
! tions. From eight to ten seed are plant
| ed i'm each hill and after they have de-
| veloped the second pair of leaves they
| are thinned to two in hill. With the
drill method the seed are scattered at
intervals of three to four inches and
thinned so as to have a single plant
every fifteen to eighteen. The rows are
five to six feet apart. The latter is the
better method on all easily Guilt
waited soils. 1t takes about pound of
| seed to SOW an acre.
| The essential points in cultivating
| are to keep down the weeds and grass,
| and to conserve moisture. This means
that the cultivator should be run once
a week from the time the plants come
| through until the vines cover the
| ground At the last cultivation it is
| good practice to SOW rows of cowpeas
| or peanuts between lows of canta-
| loupeS. Thus a crop of hay can be
| produced later in the summer without
any additional work.
| Leaf blight, a fungus disease OF the
| foliage, will destroy entire fields of can
| taloupes during a few days of wet
| weather Fortunately this disease can
be controlled by spraying the vines
| with Bordeaux mixtures. A test made
| during season of 1916, at Fitzgerald,
| Ga, demonstrated beyond doubt, that
| this disease can be prevented by spray
| ing the vines, that the vines can be
| kept healthy and the cantaloupe pro-
duction increased. Two spraying were
| made: one on June 2 and the other on
| June 10. The material was applied
with a barrel pump, the foliage being
covered thoroughly each time. About
| fifty gallons to the acre was used. For
| a patch of ten to twenty acres, oarrel
| spray pump will answer, but such Tor
| larger areas it will be necessary to nave
| a power spray outfit such as is used
| i'm spraying peach, apple and pecan or
chards.
The formula used in making TINS
Bordeaux mixture is as follows:
Copper sulphate (bluestone) 800. lbs.
| Lime unslaked ................ IDS
| Water .........,........o 90 gal
| dissolve the bluestone in % gallons
of water Slack the lime and mix it
| with the other 25 gallons of water ana
| pour the two together at the same tlhe'
preferably through some KIND OF
strainer. It is then ready for use.
Sometimes cantaloupes are pulled too
green or too ripe. Experienced pick
ers Judge when to pull them by the way
| the melon looks. This, of course re-
| ouires a great deal of practice Until
| the meat of the cantaloupe turns sweet
| they are too green and as soon as Tue
blossom end softens they are too ripe:
| BY noticing the general appearance Cl
| the cantaloupes especially the under
color. then by pulling and cutting
| few. the relationship between the gen
| araI appearance and the time to pun Ihe
| fruit can be established. For distant
markets, pull as soon as the meat
| sweetens and for nearby markets, allow
| a day or two longer.
i A tendency has developed CURING
/ cent wears in this state to use a nat
/ instead of a crate for shipping canta-
llcupes. The standard fiat is l-2xISXzS
inches and the special 4 l-2xlZXzz
| inches. Nine, twelve and hfteen are
nut i'm these flats and are considered
standard packs. Sometimes irregular
hacks of six, seven and eight to the
fat are made, the cantaloupes belns
usually wrapped in paper. The nat Is
especially suited for shipping canta-
lloupes of exceptional merit. To PUT an
ordinary cantaloupe into fat and wrap
ping il in paper, however, does not de-
ceive any one into thinking 1t a nigh
class and exceptionally fine fruit.
From field to breakfast table canta-
loupes pass through many hands. The
farmer packs and loads them In re-
frigerator cars often he sells to
buyer and the buyer in turn sends them
to a distributor or commission house.
The distributor sells to a retailer and
he in turn to the consumer. In pass
ing through this cycle of trade, speed
is desired. and. therefore. organization.
Well organized trade means that the
word of the buyer is sufficient for a
distributor in another state, and the
word OF the distributor to the retailer