Bogalusa enterprise and American. (Bogalusa, La.) 1918-19??, 1922-04-20
GROW, THIN, TREAT,
GRADE AND PACK MEL ONS

,.,meIons are one Of the easiest
,nroduce of any grown in the
e0Ps . RS KIN Is probably the reason
~, many many Southern farmers pre-
- ]. = low them. However they are
b 2 , ~ profitable, which cause
y sr ICED TO various sources.
y first place great care should
y in selecting suitable soils,
n should be rich sandy loam' wen
sp p.,,u,ing and Thinning
.LonId be planted in hills ten
.psrt each way. Four plants
~ allowed to come up, about
a.I = apart. When the plants
= run. three of these should
M leaving but one, selecting
ost thrifty plant to be left.
vou will see, leaves but one
~ y the hill, which is as should
Pruning
~, The fruit has formed and at
VI tbs size of an eggplant, all
IN with the exception of the
'i W. shaped and largest ones,
Ia be clipped off with a sharp
N leaving but two to the vine.
= ,sn best be accomplished by
..,in0 the blade of an old butcher
~ h the end of a broom stick.
,bs method one can accomplish
more with less fatigue. Dur
M growing season this thinning
-, should be done at intervals
ts-ies each week until harvest time,
,ano off all new melons, leaving
tbe two original melons, unless
n them have developed into an
glar shape, such as bottle-neck,
~ or coret shape, when they
g8 be clipped off, allowing the
best melon to grow.
following these instructions it
y possible for you to grow 800
.ns to the acre, none of which
.sB be less than 80 pounds each.
will make one carload of this
melons, for which you will real
!. bree times as much money as if
Melons formed were allowed to
many Of which would not be
than Is pounds, and which
would require about 100 to fill
However, if you do half this
it will be most remarkable.
n
0Be man should do all the picking,
asbly yourself, as no two men in
ame field could agree as to which
ons we're ripe and which were rot.
ripeness can best be ascertained
humping with the finger before
iss although after a little you
Be able to walk through a field
tell by the looks 70 a melon if
ready to be picked. In picking
melons a very sharp knife should
used, cutting the stem as close to
plant as possible. NEVER pull
nslOn from the vine. When picked,
b over, white side up, carry to
Of field or roadway and lay in
b, NOT piled one on top of an
a, when they can be loaded in
CONS or trucks to be taken TO the
Do not pick any melons which
mot be loaded the day they are
lea
Care in Handling
Great care should be taken in hand
At all times. If you should drop (
naOn, right then is the time to
/ or feed it to the hogs. Do not /
Il in the car. Never allow the |
q help to sit on a melon at any .
DE side Of wagons and trucks
I'D be padded with a double thick |
Of burlap, an old quilt or blan-
would be better, and the bottom .
ne conveyance should contain at /
four inches of straw or pine
is
Preparation of Car
ahen ordering a car for the load |
'f melons, specify to your local
pad agent that you desire a car !
ventilated side doors and two
aated openings in each end. Do
use any which are not thus ven
e without filing a written pro-
VIA your local railroad agent.
y cars should be papered clear
aaO both sides with heavy build
aper to within four inches of
iloor, nailed on through lath /
the top of the paper, Ends Of
should be padded by taking !
ourlap on each side of the ven
opening, allowing enough slack
permit Of stuffing about four
q straw between the burlap
sd Of car. Some straw should
-sged IN the ventilated opening, /
l@ enough to obstruct the circu-
q ar. The floor Of the car
i. contain straw or pine needles |
thickness Of six inches.
Loading and Packing
'9rtlng the load for four deep, /,
for melons weighing 26 !
ana up, from four to six mel
would be placed end to end
NHe across the end and pushed
~ 70 the padding. Then COM
ss On one side, about 4 inches
~ M SIDE Of the car, the melons
Se placed lengthwise of the
IN wa ends butting up closely to
icons placed crosswise. On the
VI enc Of the tier the same
n0ald be left from the side of
Y Then start your second
'l0Wlng the end Of the melons
wen the ones placed cross
u ne car with ends butting up
sgalnst the padded end. The
aver Should he y,I,,oJ -. -