ts 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.

The Early Cantaloupe melon, if left to its full time, will be five weeks
from the period of setting before it ripens; the Stroud about six; the
Scarlet seven; and the Black Rock upwards of seven; there will, however,
be some difference between those forced early with bottom heat, and
those grown late; the early ones coming to perfection three or four
days, or even a week before the other.

The proper time to sow for under-ground melons, that is, such as are
grown without linings, is from the twenty-fifth of March to the
twentieth of June; observing, at the same time, that those which are
sown in March will require stronger beds than those that are set three
weeks or a month later.

The beds for the first should be formed of good dung, well worked, and
three feet in height; whereas the latter will only require two feet. Dig
a trench the size of the frame, about eighteen inches deep; and if the
soil is a strong good holding loam, it will answer the purpose for any
description of rock melon; they requiring a strong soil to bring them to
perfection; a light loam, however, may be used for the Early Cantaloupe.

As soon as the bed is formed, tread it down well, make it even, and let
it have about six inches fall from the back to the front; then put on
the boxes and lights, and when the heat rises to its proper height,
which will be in the course of three or four days, put the mould in for
the hills, in the proportion of two barrows-full to a light, levelling
it about an inch all over the bed, for the purpose of preventing the
rank steam from injuring the plants. On the following day they may be
ridged out, and watered, being very particular in sprinkling the bed
regularly over. Admit air freely both night and day at first, until the
bed is purified, and becomes perfectly sweet; this will be the case in
about a week, when they may be shut down at night. Let the topping and
training be the same as directed for the early ones.

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