Thomas Watkins

“ If the soil is strong, and of a binding nature, a bank may be made on the outside, at the back and front, about a foot or eighteen inches wide, which will prove a great support to the fruit, and cause them to grow much larger and finer; but if the soil is light and rich, by no means make a bank, nor ridge out the plants in it, as mould of that description is not at all adapted for the production of fine melons. The only one that will in any degree thrive in light rich [Pg 80] soil is the Early Cantaloupe; but any kind of the rock description will never come to perfection. ”

“ In watering the plants, as the season advances, you must be regulated by the composition of the soil, and the temperature of the weather. If the soil is stiff, it will not require half the quantity that should be applied to light mould. If the weather is warm, much water is necessary, but if cold very little should be given, as too much moisture at that time will create the canker. ”

“ An [Pg 77] insufficiency of moisture is an error too prevalent with many gardeners in the culture of the melon, and indeed the inferiority of their fruit, both in weight and flavour, may be greatly attributed to want of judgment in this particular; for if the plants are kept thin of vine, the necessity of which has been before stated, they are of course more open to the air, and the sun has greater power in drying up the soil, consequently the plants will become exhausted, and the fruit will ripen before its growth is properly matured. ”

“ Old tan is certainly more preferable than mould, though either will answer the purpose. Let it be put in the frame the day before the seed is sown, and cover the bed up with a single mat at night, taking care to shut it down until the morning, that the heat may be properly drawn up. Take some forty-eight size [Pg 7] pots, and mix a quantity of leaf mould with a sixth proportion of road sand, not sifted fine. The sifting mould to a fine degree is an error too prevalent in horticulture, and ought particularly to be avoided, from its great tendency to bind. ”

“ Many horticulturists experience much difficulty from the effects of the red spider and canker in melons; the former being caused by keeping them too dry, and the latter arising from too much moisture. In order to avoid these evils, the following directions should be particularly attended to. When the weather is hot, or there is a strong bottom heat, it is necessary to be free in the application of water, especially round the sides of the boxes; for when the plants cover the bed, it will not be requisite to give any in the centre over the stems. ”

“ As soon as the fruit becomes the size of your finger let no more than one be upon a plant at a time to swell off, and when beginning to grow crooked give the stalk end a twist, place them on their backs, put a peg to the side, and the heat of the bed will soon draw them down and make them straight. ”

“ If the weather is fine, from one to two gallons of water for each light will be necessary every two or three days.
Keep them pegged and laid about once a fortnight; and be particular also in having them thin of vine, topped at the first joint; then allowing them to run four, and afterwards topping them again at the first, as before mentioned in the January sown plants. By observing these directions, a good crop of fruit may be ensured, which will be ready to cut in about a month or five weeks after they have been ridged out. ”

“ By potting them low, and only just covering the roots at first, the stems of the plants become hardened, and strike very freely upwards: as the tap roots of a cucumber always decay when forced with a strong bottom heat. ”

“ Much attention should be paid to this method of putting in the mould, which experience has convinced the author is far superior to the usual practice of filling the pots in the first instance up to the seed-leaves of the plants. By the gradual mode of filling, the plant is prevented from shanking, and is certain in its growth of being dwarfish and strong, which cannot be insured by the common method, as it tends considerably to weaken the plant, and renders it very liable to fog off, before taking root. ”

“ If the weather is dull, a small quantity of water will be sufficient; and if very fine, more must be applied carefully without a rose, which will be found beneficial in causing them to set more freely. ”

“ If the lights are large, they may be suffered to run to eight joints; but if, on the contrary, the lights are confined, six will be sufficient; and all other breaks that come out at home, with the first break that issues from the runners, should be effectually taken away, in order that the others may derive strength and nourishment. As soon as they make the first breaks from the runners, which by some are denominated cross bars, top them at the first joint, and in most sorts they will generally show fruit ”

“ The proper time to set the fruit is in the morning, as it always comes in bloom at night, and if left until the afternoon the blossom of the fruit closes a little, in consequence of which it is doubtful whether fruition will be effected. ”

“ As the season advances, and the sun becomes powerful, it will be necessary to shade them from the extreme violence of the heat. Mats are generally made use of, but the Author considers evergreen boughs far preferable, as the former entirely precludes the sun, whereas the latter is beneficial to the plants, in admitting it partially. ”

“ Level the mould down, so that the bed will be about six feet wide, and nine or ten inches deep, taking care to leave it a little higher in the middle, where the dung is placed, in order that the mould may not settle, and become lower in the centre, which will have a tendency to injure the plants by absorbing the water, which is most required at the outsides. ”

“ If you require the fruit very fine, two plants will be sufficient in a light; but should there be no particular necessity in that respect, and the lights are sufficiently capacious, three may be matured extremely well. ”

“ My principal object in the different experiments I have tried, has always been to discover an easy, as well as a certain method of maturing these delicate plants, and, in consequence, have avoided, as much as possible, any artificial means that might be attended with difficulty or expense. ”

“ The plants should be uncovered in a morning by eight o'clock, or nine at farthest, in the winter, and six or seven as the season advances, unless the weather is very cold or windy, when they may remain an hour longer than usual. ”

“ This will cause a free circulation of the heat from one lining to the other, and prove not only of great service in regulating the temperature of the bed, but of equal advantage in draining off the surplus water. Take care when you add a fresh lining, to keep the holes open. ”

“ An experienced framer, however, can grow plants at any time of the year, and from those sown at the above time, he may expect to cut fruit by the twentieth of March or towards the latter end of that month, according to the weather ”

“ If they are impregnated in the same manner as prescribed in the directions for the cucumber, there will be no difficulty in setting the fruit, which will also show much bolder, and possess greater strength when topped in close. ”

“ It seldom occurs that plants require much covering until a fortnight before Christmas, when it will be found necessary, if the weather is moderate, to cover them from four to six inches. Instances have occurred, when the author has been obliged to increase the covering to a foot in thickness, from the intense cold ”

“ The result of these remarks has proved the compilation of the following treatise, undertaken at the request of several [Pg x] horticulturists, who have expressed their desire to become acquainted with the process of my mode of cultivation. ”