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WISCONSIN HORTICULTURE 
November 1910 
HOW CAN BETTER RESULTS BE OBTAINED 
  IN A DRY SEASON, BY IRRIGATION 
    OR BY CONSTANT CULTIVATION? 
  With the former I have had little 
experience so I will speak of the lat- 
ter method and relate my experience 
with a pat(h of melons containing 
about two acres. 
  With an early and otherwise excep- 
tionally favorable spring and with 
very thorough exaniinatfion of the 
seeds and (lecided it would be of no 
use to delay longer. On the morn- 
ing of June 13 the disc was put into 
the melon patch. The land was thor- 
oughly disced, in.xt came the spring 
tooth harrow going over the land 
both ways, this was followed by the 
fine tooth harrow; next in turn camne 
the crusher and last of all the mark- 
                    Muskmelon Field, Rasmussen Fruit Farm, 1910 
the land in fie(, .ondition, I phlited er going both wa 
this field May 16, this being some-    now  in excellent 
what earlier than usual. Moon after    all thiis work was 
this, cold, dlamp weather set in and   tin,1 seed. I visit 
continued, and about ten days latrr    in  )sikkoshi, tole 
I feared my seed was spoiled; so t, 
lys. '1 In' lnide was 
  V,,ditiio i.  While 
  goi ruz  oil  I  wve.t t!ý 
ted 'vviry s'ed store 
,-ralphed the neigh- 
sun had set June 14 the field was 
planted once more. 
   The weather was now more favor- 
 able and six days later the rows could 
 plainly be seen. Large strong plants 
 had appeared. As soon as the plants 
 had a good start they were hoed and 
 thinned to six or eight plants to the 
 hill and when the danger from the 
 striped melon   hug  was over we 
 thinned them to three plants to the 
 hill. 
   The fine tooth cultivator, a great 
friend of the melon and garden in 
general, was kept in constant use 
from the time of first planting until 
July 23 when the vines covered the 
ground so as to prohibit cultivating. 
That night a good shower of rain fell 
which, by the way, was the first rain 
the melons had had since planting 
June 11. 
  July :30 another light shower fell 
and today the vines entirely cover 
the ground and are in as fine condi- 
tion as one could wish. There is 
plenty of fruit set and a great many 
are full grown and I think if we 
should have no more rain this fall 
we would still have a fair (cropI of 
melons.       N. A. RAsMtUSSEN, 
                            Oshkosh. 
  Paper read at recent meeting of 
the Oshkosh ][orticultural Society, 
one of the "live" ones. 
make sure of a good stand I replant- 
ed about ,Xi'ne 1. This time' f planted 
from ten to fifteen seeds beside the 
first hills and I now felt sure I was 
safe, and continued to cultivate, wait 
for warm weather and watch results. 
I had also stirred the hills frequently 
with a garden rake. 
  Of the first seeds I planted but few 
came up and these looked yellow aini( 
weak, while the rest were just below 
the surface ready to break through 
the ground and reniaii d in that con- 
dition until June 10 with practically 
no change. The seeds pldnited June 1 
were in about the same condition and 
showed no signs of improvement. 
  ihat was to be done?       It was 
twenty days late for plinting and I 
had no seed left as I had saved only   boring towns and 
enough for twice planting and I do     no seed could te 
not, for various reasons, like to use  a telegram  to a 
melon seed bought from seed houses.    brought the seed 
  I waited three days more, made a     early next morni 
           A Load Ready for Market 
 large growers but      The above pictures, recently re- 
obtained. 11owever,   ceived, show something of the final 
neighboring   state   results.                      ED. 
to Oshkosh by mail      Apples to sell, not to keel). This 
ng and before the     is our battle-cry. 
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