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Show I I HORTICULTURE This Department is Edited by Pr,of. R St Northrop, A. C. U. I RAISING, PICKING AND PACK- ING THE CANTALOUPE.' ' C. F. Mcintosh, Springvillc, Utah. H Written for the Dcscrct Farmer. H I will give a few of my ideas about H the raising picking' and packing of H the cantaloupe, and of my own free H will congratulate Utah County upon H the production of a cantaloupe wilier? H for quality, all good points consid 1 crcd, is unsurpassed if equalled by m those grown at any other place, Rocky M Ford, Colorado, not excepted. J B I" believe that this is the first rcert M attempt to 'faisc the cantaloupe iti H commercial quantities in this district1, H and while the crop isnot large this H year and with in exceptionally -cold H and backward- spring to start with, H those who raised a.fcw melons should H be pleased toknow that their land and H climate along with their labor, will H produce melons so' highly flavored H and of so great commercial value, r H While I amThcrc o inspect the- H present crop, which is being handled v H by the Wm. M. Roylancc Com. Co., 1 ' H will always be. pleased, when 1 have H leisure, to Talk with those people' who H arc interested in the development of H the cantaloupe industry in this state. H Going back to the beginning, wc H have first the preparation of the soil. H Clear the field well of all trash, such H as old weed stalks, etc., then plow to H a depth not to exceed six inches; har- H row well both Icnghtwisc and cross- M wise of the plowing, then level wed H with field drag harrow lightly and 1 you will have a very good seed-bed, if . your soil' is' the kind which should be H planted to cantaloupes, viz., a. sandy M loam or most of the good "bench M land." No one should attempt to H raise them on 'low, wet or gummy H soil. V ' H Next comes the seed proposition B and a very .'important' one it is too. I H have in mind now a field grown from H "grocer store seed," and in that field H arc melons looking very much like H the old-fashioned musk-melon. Some B even verge onto the cucumber as for M shape, Vhile there are a few fairly H good cantaloupes in the field. H So whenyou get your seed gefcfit H irom some one who knows where to get you some of the genuine seed of some of the good strains of cantaloupe. canta-loupe. v 4 , Wc arc now ready for the planting. This may be done m a number of dif-J i I fcrcnt ways. You may mark yourl field cross-ways, marks being five and one-half or six feet apart, then using a hoepplanting at top of the edge of the furrow, smoothing a nice hill where the mark crosses the furrow, planting an inch to an inch and a half deep; then when you irrigate make sure that the moisture gets to cverv hill. Another good way to plant, and especially where you, arc troubled v with the mice or other vermin,' is to" use an ordinary bcct-sccdcr. Rajsc the two inside rugncrsand tic them up with wire; put the outside runners run-ners or drills as far to the outer ends of the axle as they will work well, and you will have your rows about five and onc half feet apart; lengthen ' out your marker so you can drive ( leaving the rows uniform lu widtn , , apart;, this way of planting requires f some more seed than hill planting, but youarc more than repaid in time and , labor saved, and almost sure of a stand regardless of mice, etc. You may use your small furrowing shovels , if you wish, then enlarge with another anoth-er furrowing plow, being careful not to throw soil so as to cover the seed too deep. After the first irrigation or when the plants are up, tansfcr the , - furrows so they will be all on the V same side of each row. ' L When the plants arc about two or P three inches in height, if planted in 1j drills, cut out with hoes and then to one good healthy plant about every t eighteen inches to two feet apart. If planted in hills never leave more than two plants for the final stand. Al- ,1 ways remember when you are hoeing and cultivating that the root system of the cantaloupe is near the surface, and spreads out almost as fast as the , vines $:nd runners, and when tlie plants an. small hoe very shallow near the plants and do not in cultivating keep the soil torn up liko newly plowed ground. If you do , iu keep the pJants back and you arc losing on yourcrop by making it later. I notice in going over the fields this year Ahat a great many growers had furrowed out on both sides of the side all the time as the roots oiftlk ? sL one side lfavc becn.going outncar the v4 - surface, while those on the other have been trained under the original furs row- v i, 1 Ahyays c careful in irrigating to not let the water get around? or too near the plants or they will bccomci weak or diseased. Wc will pass on now to the picking.' Supposing . have the crop raised, although a gwat deal more could be said and perhaps someTprofitablc sugrf y r ( . i- ' gcstions made but wc arc not writing a book, and must not "take in too much territory," as wc say sometimes. Wc have the crop raised and the can-? taloupes look fine; they are commencing commenc-ing to ripen, for wc find a yellow one, then vc"yfind enough to fill a fevw crates, and wc take them down to loading station; the inspector is there in all his glory, and meets uswith a smile, (wliich is more like a- grinn) and says, "Dear Sir, your melons larc too ripc, and they are not packedi right." He takes an empty crate, commences and lays three uniform . melons sidcby side in the bottom at one end, then another three and another, an-other, till he has five threes, making fifteen melons in one layer all filled closely. He docs this three times and the crate is well packed with forty- five nice uniform melons, but all too ripe; so he tells "lis how the melons fhould look when they arc just right to pick for shipment. Wc-go back into the field again and all the yellow cantaloupes look ripe to us and all ' that are not yellow Jook green, but, we commenccjftoUry'topull off some of the best looking green ones and ; pretty soon wc find one that pulls off more easily than the others, yet it looks green, but when wc look very close wc sec it has a peculiar mellow green, so we go ahead picking and jfind more that look like that one; some pull off. easily and some more ,hard, but they a" look about alike to us, so we pack Jiem just as the inspector in-spector -did, but they don't fit just right for us, Ibut we get it done and down to the loading station again. Then we are met with, "Well, your pack is fair, and you are getting some of the right .melons, but say, you pulled off a lot of green ones." And ?now we feel like we'd cuss a little if Jpt wasn't for swearing, but wc change ur mind and are determined to get the tilings rigtit, so we'gcTinto thi (field andi'look again for thS 'right kind, just that one stage when the I melon is bidding farewell to the vine. It is fully matured, has all the sweet- I ncss it needs, but has not turned ycl- low, which color indicates the first m stage of decay. Wc pack up again, and down to the loading station. The in- H spector's smile is there in earnest this time. "You have the real things this H time; that's O. K. Its blue ribbon I stuff, just keep it up." So wc arc hap- H py now; we whistle on the way home H and from thatVunc on cantaloupes arc H if- n H a nice crop to raise, and like other things, "its easy when you know , j, 'i n? tU i how. |