Bulletin No. 28. November, 1891. Agricultura1 Experiment Station -OF THE- AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE, AUBURN, :N, ALABAMA. ADWATERMELONS ADCANTALOUPES. By J. S. NEWMAN & CLAYTON. JAS. be sent free to any citizen of the ~The Bulletins of this Station will State on application to the Agricultural Experiment Station, Auburn, Ala. TlE F]ROWN PRINTING CO., PRINTERS1 MONTGOMERY 1 ALA,. WATERMELONS AND CANTALOUPES. J. S. NEWMAN AND JAS. CLAYTON. Productiveness of Seed from. different parts of the Melon, This has been a question of interest to melon growers for a half century, and a few individuals reject the seed grown near the ends of the melon. In order to test the matter by experiment, a melon, of the variety known as the sugar-loaf, was divided by cross sections into three parts, having each one-third of the longer axis of the melon. The seed were carefully picked from the three parts designated as the stem end, the middle and the blossom end. These were planted separately, under as nearly identical conditions as practicable, April 17th, 1891. The results are given below. While they are not conclusive they are suggestive. Seed have been saved from the ends and middle of melons from each plat for more elaborate inquiry. SHOWING PRODUCTION FROM SEED TAKEN FROM DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WATERMELON. PLANTED APRIL 17TH, 1891. from Seed from Seed from e Stem end. Middle. ossom August 11 August 4. August 7. 1-2 6-7 5-6 First ripe melons................... Proportion of melons ripe then in No.. Proportion of melons ripe by weight.. . 56 per ct. 88 per et. 82 per ct. Average weight of melons........... 23.2 lbs. 27.9 lbs. 24.4 lbs. Total weight per acre...............10.415 lbs. 14.076 lbs. 10.569 lbs. Average weight per plant............ 23.2 lbs. 32.2 lbs. 24.4 lbs. 4 Only the merchantable melons were gathered for the test. The largest weighed 36.6 lbs. and came from the seed of the middle section. The smallest, 18 lbs., from the blossom end. The seed from the ends each produced 435 merchantable melons per acre, while those from the middle produced 507 per acre-in number, 72 more than either end-and in weight more than two tons in excess of the ends. The variation in the time of maturity is even more marked than that in production, the middles maturing six-seventh of the melons seven days earlier than the stem end ripened half. The time of ripening ranged from one hundred and nine to one hundred and sixteen days from date of planting. By reference to the table of results of comparison of varieties, it will be seen that the number of days required for maturing this variety ranges from one hundred and to one hundred and nineteen days. The longest period required by the earlier planted-seventeen days earlier-exceeded that required by the stem end only three days. It seems, therefore, that late planted melons require less time for maturing than those planted in early spring. The seed for this experiment were saved from the melon when in good condition for eating. The seed towards the centre mature earlier than those at either end. Possibly the difference in results would be less marked if the melon was allowed to remain upon the vine until all of the seed were fully ripe. Further inquiry on this line is desirable. COMPARISON OF VARIETIES. The following tabulated statement of the characteristics of some popular varieties needs little comment. The season was unfavorable and hence none of the specimens attained to normal size. Seed of a number of varieties left over in 1888 failed to vegetate. These seed were purchased in 1888 from three of the most reliable Seedsmen, and it is presumed were grown in 1887 Melon seed are usually supposed to retain vitality for ten years under the above supposition these were only four years old. 5 It is worthy of notice that there was only an extreme varia tion of six days inthe time of ripening of the varieties. As a combination variety for home use and market the Jones melon ranks first. It is not so good for shipping as the Kolb Gem, but superior in quality. It answers well to " top off" a car of Kolb Gems, or for local markets. The sugarloaf gives great satisfaction for home consumption. COMPARISON OF VARIETIES OF WATER MELONS AND OF SEED OF DIFFERENT AGES. Names of Varieties. Seedsman. Color of Rind. Color of Flesh. Color of Seed. Cuba............ Cuban Queen....... Early Mountain Sprout Extra Early Johnson's Christmas Jones Melon......... Jones Melon...... Jordan's Gray Monarch . Kolb Gem. Mammoth Iron Clad.. Mountain Sweet.... New Gragg ......... Pride of Georgia.. Seminole Experiment Station. Thorburn,1888....... Thorburn,1883....... July 21. 18 14%2 7 dark green stripe red.. white with brown tips. Landieth,1888...... Alabama Dep't Sugar Loaf......... Sugar Loaf .......... Sugar Loaf......... Texas Melon ....... Texas ~Melon ....... -.ITI ......... .. Philip Jones Mark W. Johnson Seed Co. Thorburn, 1888 . .... Experiment Station.. Thorburn, 1888......... H. A. Dreer, 1883.. . Livingston. ...... Xlark W. Johnson Seed Co. Philip Jones .... _.. Philip Jones........ Experiment Station... ..... I. I. Moses .. W. A. Henderson.... .. I.1I. Moses. .. ...... Agr'l, 1888 July 21 30 121% 1032dark green stripe dark red.. with brown tips. July 23 30.6 14 10 dark green stripe n.ak red... white with brown tips. July 24 25 12 while white 934 gr'n stripe light red.. & black............. 9 rattle snake July 23 16 8 July 21. 6.1 10%2 s dark green strip( July 21 22 16 734 light gray .... July 23 6 6 19 7 light gray... July 27 24 5 23 8 light gray.. July 27 20 21 712 light gray ' July 21 20 15 13 (lark green strip( July 23 I~C 16 13 dark green strip ~1 23 red white with brown tips. white with brown tips dark red.. brown ligbt red... white with brown tips. dlark red.. brown ..... ...... pale red .. _.. black... . . . . . . white with brown tips. red,..... white.. ".......... salmon red.... -zalmon.. COMPARISON OF VARIETIES OF WATER MELONS AND OF SEED OF DIFFERENT AGES-CONTINUED. r i e 05 0 1 2 3 Names of varieties. Seedsman. Form. Cavity. Texture. Quality. none... long. Station. best.. Thorburn, 1888......... Failed to vegetate. Failed to vegetate. Early Mountain Sprout Thorburn, 1888. ... Failed to vegetate. Landreth, 1888. 4 Extra Early....... Failed to vegetate. ronds .nn... labama Dep't Agr'l, 1888 -5 Johnson's.Christmas. firm......... best...... Jones Melon......... Philip Jones.. roundish .none... firm......... best.. Mark W. Johnson Seed Co 7 Jones Melon. Failed to vegetate. 1888...... roundish . none .. 8 Jordan's Gray Monarch very firm... . good ... 9 Kolb Gem.......... . Experiment Station .. Failed to vegetate. 10 Mammoth Iron Clad... .Thorburn, 1888. ...... roundish..none Failed to vegetate. . El. A. Dreer, 1888....... 11 Mountain Sweet. coarse and firm very good. .... 12 New Gragg......... Livingston ....... good. Mlark W. Johnson Seed Co roundish . none. coarse ... 13 Pride of Georgia. . long ...... none .. very firm ...... very good. .Philip Jones .......... 14 Seminole ........ good... 15 Sugar Loaf......... Philip Jones........... long .... jnone .. coarse.... none... very firm.. best .. Experiment Station..I long .... 16 Sugar Loaf ........ . long .... medium Scoarse. .. 17 Sugar Loaf......... ' I. I. Moses .......... A. Henderson........ roundish .none ... coarse... very good. 18 ITexas Melon:..... . roundish . I_____ .. I . I LI.1.Moses ........... 16 Texas Melon...... I TY1 , 1._1 none coarse. .. very good. Cuba ..... ICuban Queen...... Experiment I [ firm........ fThorburn, wT. 11 ,, CANTALOUPES. More than ordinary attention has been given this delicious fruit with the hope of inducing its more general cultivation in the State. In order to still further encourage it seed were distributed to every section of the State last winter. Unlike the watermelon, the cantaloupe is most productive upon highly fertilized soil. While the watermelon grows to perfection only upon soils containing a large percentage of sand, the cantaloupe will produce well upon any character of soil which is fertile and in good mechanical condition. Unlike the watermelon also it will thrive and produce best when planted thickly. Instead of planting in hills six feet apart, plant in rows four feet apart and two feet in the drill. Cultivate shallow in advance of the growth of the vines which should be disturbed as little as practicable. The secret of success rests in : (a) Thorough preparation and fertilization of the soil. (b) Planting as early as the season will allow. To secure an early stand it is well to replant between the hills ten days after the first seed are planted. If the first come the replanted may be chopped out. If the first are killed the replants replace them promptly. (c) Cultivate early, frequently and shallow. Deep cultivation so mutilates the roots as to prevent fruitfulness. Watermelons bear upon the main stem of the vine. Cantaloupes bear upon the laterals. The best quality usually accompanies thorough netting and green flesh. Thorough netting enables the melon to withstand the effects of the sun and escape "sun scald" to which all smooth surfaced varieties are subject in this climate. Varieties having yellow flesh are often sweet but invariably deficient in flavor. High flavor usually accompanies more or less coarseness of texture. Cantaloupes should not be allowed to ripen fully upon the vines. For shipment they should be plucked, with stem attached, just long enough before ripening to reach their destination becoming mellow, but not green enough to cause wilting. For home use pluck when the stem readily separates from the melon under gentle pressure, and store in a cool place to mellow. If plucked at the proper stage of ripeness the desirable state of mellowness will be reached in twenty-four hours. Both watermelons and cantaloupes for home consumption should be plucked early in the morning, while freshened by the dew and the cool atmosphere of the night. The tabulated statement which follows gives in condensed form observations made upon twenty-five varieties during the past summer. The classification adopted by the American Pomological Society, the highest authority on such matters, has been retained instead of the usual grading from one to ten as giving, in connection with other observations, a clearer idea of the comparative merits of the varieties. The observations are made upon a large number of fully developed, typical melons of each variety from day to day during the season of ripening. From these daily records the summary is tabulated. "Good," "very good" and "best" in the last column is easily understood and taken in connection with the information conveyed in other columns should furnish sufficient guide for selection even to the novice. COMPARISON OF VARIETIES OF CANTALOUPES. z 0 Names of Varieties. Planted March 30th. Seedsman. Time ripe Form 3tNetting. S Cavity. 1 2 3 4. 5 6 7 Acme........................... Atlantic City ..................... Landreth Banquet.........................Livingston. Delmonico........................J. A. Everett Extra Early Cape May...... .Landreth. Landreth.. July 4. 3.2 oblong,..........perfect... June 29. 3 6 July 10. 3 roundish........perfect. oblong.........medium... flat............ perfect. 7Y4 512 medium. . Extra Early Hackensack.......... Extra Early June. .Landreth Landreth.... June 29. 4.2 flt. imperfect. June 29. 4.2 olong.........imperfect.. July 1.. 6 roundish......perfect. July 3. 734 4k 2 217Y2 512 medium.. smal~l.. 5 5r4 53 'small... 734 large .. 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24, 25 Golden Jenney (same as Jenney Lind) July 3 9 Grower's Pride..........J.AEvrt ...Julyi1.. Montreal Market..........J. A. Everett r.AImproved June 29. Improved Pine Apple. ............. July 4.. Newman Livingston's Market Nutmeg..........Livingston... July 7. Vialta Winter Red Flesh .......... N. B. & G. CcS. July21 July 1 Netted Gem ..... ... Landreth Netted Nutmeg...... .. ..... Landreth. June 28. July 7. New Giant.......................... Livingston Nixon.......................... Philip S. Jon(es July 4 n. July 2. Bolgiano &-S Nutmeg............. .............. Osage .................... J. A. Everett. July 4.. rt July 6. Landreth... imperfect... 6.1 flat. .......... none. .. 5 3 roundish.......imperfect... 2.1 oblong and pointed perfect. 3.7 roundish ........ imperfect... 6.4roundish......none. 1.3 roundish.......perfect.... 2.1 roundish ... .... perfect ... . 5 5.1 flat.......... 1.5 5.5 oblong. ..... perfect .. 4 roundish....perfect .... 2 6 roundish. ...... 3 6 roundish..... medium.. medium. . large.. 6 62 814 large. 5 medium.. 7 medium ... 512 6 6%4 large.. 8 medium.. 434 4 4j' 518 small.. 5%4 7 34 414 8 none.. P e m a aay 'ss Gia nn. . . .. . . . rt. July u sm y Gi t. w .. .. . . .B.. . .H J . A . E v ere t t .eShJuly 10 9 ... u ueSh u 10. Washington Market .......... .Hal Buist. I Wilson Winter Pine Apple... .. Tours Sugar V U......... lock Hallook roundish....... flat:. .......... July 10 .5 6 roundish........ July 21. 6 4 roundish ...... July 16- 1 3 round..........none 7 none. . 3 round none. . none.. imperfect.. none._ perfect.. 614 8%~ 734 534 5%4 734 6%4 %lre.. large., large.. 612 medium.. 512 6 814 large... medium. . .. ,.... large.. 6~4 6%' 6%. large. 8 4 small.. 8%4 large.... COMPiA RISON OF VARIETIES OF CANTALOUPES-CONTINUED. ci NAMES OF VARIETIES. 0 G Seedsman. Color of Flesh. T exture. C CorruSgations . Flavor. 1 Acme.. ......................... Land eth.. light green. medium .. -if, .1 d A 11- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1I J 12 13 14 Atlantic City........................LandY . ... Banquet ... ............... Delmonico... .. . Extra Early Cape May Extra Early Hackensack .............. Extra Early June. Golden Jenney (same as Jenney Lind) Grower's Pride........J. Improved Montreal Market ........... .. Improved Pine Apple Livingston's Market Nuitmeg ........... h. Livingston . J. A. Exeret Landreth. Landreth. ndreth. Landreth A .. . J. A. Everett... light green leep green whiteish green Livingston. Everett.. .. green with red tin t yellow......... yellow......... light green. green.......... reen.......... green yellow.. coarse and soft. fine and firm fine and firm coarse and coarse and soft. coarse and firm coarse and soft soft 14 /8 J,18 1 Newman. 1 Malta Winter Red Flesh ........ vletted 15 16 17 Genm Netted Nutmeg.............. New Giant Nixon........... .. ............. B. & U. Landreth Co.. ....... .................. ............. ............. Landreth... Livingston .... Bolgiano & Son J. A. E~verett 18 19 r r Nutmeg .............................. Philip S. Jones Osage.,..... c i i G L 20 21 22 23 24 25 ..................... Persian.... Shumway's Giant...........Book Snumway's Giant...........J .. VWashingt n Market Wilson Winter Pine Apple........... Tours Sugar n .1 .. ,.. Bonk & Hupert H upert. Everett . uist. .... Hallok .. allw k I, A & fine and firm. coarse and firm. fine and soft fine and firm yellow . . fine and soft deep green.. coarse and soft :reen. ..... medium yellow.. .. green with red tiniicoarse and soft coarse and solt. livht green . fine and firm yellow . fine and firm yellow ......... medium yellow...... ine and firm yellow .. light green ... . tine and firm fine'anid firm .ellow.. ... fine and firm yellow. tine and fim.. (114 w% 14 ~ none. none..... very good. good. very good. Sshallow. best. 114 medium good .. deep . . good. 1 medium best 114 shallow. very good. 11 deep none . s shallow. best...... 118 shallow. best .. 114 deep.., none. 112 medium very good. shallow.. very good. medium none... 1 shallow. r~ one.. .. 1%4 deep.. good. . 112 -hallow.,good . very good. 114 ,eep. 11% deep.. none.. Snone... none. 1 %shallow. 1j shallow. 112 deep 114 deep 114 deep .. . 1%8 medium best.. medium very good. 4 112 I "-M) I -