OCR Text |
Show Italians call it Milo, as tho’ ofJ L houfand, becaufe {carce one of a thoufand found to be ] A Melon. The C be Fl evaporate; and thefe are what promotes ian are therefore the m it-muft be obferv’d, th s will retain their growin g duc’d { tothe Earlinefs or Latenefs of the Seafon ; and is the general Crop of Melons which are commonly ripe in Fuly or Auguft: But I fhall firft begin with Directions for Raifing and Ma- naging the early Crop for Frames. About feven or eight Days before you intend to fow the Seeds, you muft prepare a Parcel of new Horfe-Dung from the Stable, which fhould be caft up (together with the Litter) into around Heap, mixing therewith a few Sea-Coal Afhes, which will help to preferve the Heat of the Dung. After it haslain inthe Heap a Week, it will have acquir’d Heat enough for the Purpofe: Musk Melon. 2 M Meto; us. C. B. P. Small round Musk Me/ d, The Por- tugal or Pocket as good as if it had been kept t een experienc d MeEto; magnus, ». F. By Greater Melon, with ereen Skin, and a {mall Seed 6. Meo; « Green-flefh’d / T il] be carry'd off, and the Seed p : y accidental Va- ymmonly great tht into Lng a 6.2 A 5 which often tempts t expecting fomethi roves good, the re n to knowfrom whence maybe Climate, inue to produce the ain, fo it would be to ate theminthis Place, y Plant cultivated in the Kitchen-Garden, which the Gardeners near London have a greater Ambition to produce 7; fo there is a great Number thods nowpractis’d in the raifing and refling of the Vines, in order to obtain them 1 greater t erfect on: ; But to in this Place, wou } D 3 } intencedad Bour as, ther ion may depend on us whenever the enumerate them reatly exceed my e I fhall only fet Method, wherebya havi { od Crop of ol ly good You mutt therefore dig a Trench the Length and Width of the Frame you intend for the Bed, and about a Foot deep, (provided the Ground be dry, but if it be wet, the Trench fhould not be above three or four Inches deep); into this Trench you muft lay the Dung, obferving to fhake and work it well with the Fork, fo that every Part of it may be equally ftirr’d, wherebyit will fettle all alike; and it fhould be beaten down with the Fork, to prevent the Heat from going off too foon: This Dung fhould be laid three Feet thick; and after having made it exadtly level on the Top, you fhould lay fome fine light Earth thereon, about three Inches thick, on which the Seeds fhould be fown two Days after the Bed is made, cover- the Glafs well with Mats or Strawevery Night, and in bad Weather, which will foon bring it toa Heat. In about five Daysafter the Seed is fown, the Plants will appear above-ground ; fettles upon theGlafs; and ifthe Weather fhould not admit of the Light lying the wrong Side upwards to dry, then you muft only turnit, and Wipe off all the Moifture with a woollen-Cloth, for if the Moifture which is collected upon the Underfide of the Glafs be fuffer'd to fall uponthe Plants, it will occafion their changing yellow, and caufe them to be very weak; for this proceeds from the Steam of the Dung and Earth, and the ation of the Plants, which being confin'd and mix’d togother, becomes ofa rancid and Vature, and fo proves deftructive to whatever Plants it lodges upon, or that imbibe any Part OF it, Youfhould alf0, {0 fon as the Plants appear, caft up a freth Heap of new Dung,as before ; and after having Jain in the Heap about fix Days, you muft makea new Bed in the Manner ‘tive of Fruit, at cby keeping thefe of their Weight; watery Parts dofirft the rough) Leaf; at which time you muft be dig out a Trench in Proportion to the Length and Breadth of your Frames, and about a Foot deep, if the Soil be dry, but if wet, four or five Inches will be fufficient: ‘Then wheel the Dung therein, obferving to fhake and workit equallyin every Part of the Bed, that when you muft carefully give them Air, to prevent their being fuffocated by the Steam of the Heat may be equal ; and after having laid the Bed, as alfo turn the Light every Day, when it even and level, you fhould lay on the Earth the Weatheris fair, to dryoff the Damp which (obferving to break it very fine) about three and turn the Light again; e for Root, after which you muft be very careful to give them Air in Proportion to the Heat of the Bed, otherwife they will draw up very weak, and change yellow: You mutt alfo, as the Stems of the Plants advance in Height, put in fome dry frefh Earth between them, to earth the Shanks, which will greatly increafe their Strength ; and be very careful to wipe the Moifture off from the Glaffes, as was before direéted, for the Reafons already laid down ; and proportion your Covering of Mats every Night to the Heat of the Bed. In about a Fortnight after the Plants are prick’d out, they will begin to thew the third (or what, in the Gardeners Language, is call’d ing it about half an Inch with the fame light provided with a frefh Parcel of new Dung in Earth. If after the Seed be fown, the Bed Proportion to the Quantity of Lights you infhould prove very hot, you muft raife the tend to plant, allowing a full Load (which Light with a Stone about an Inch high, which commonly contains fourteen good Wheelwill make Wayfor the Steam of the Bed to barrows) to each Light: When the Dung has pafs off: But if it thould prove cool, you muft Jain in the Heaps fix or eight Days, you muft lay fome Litter about the Sides, and cover But the beft yto p from, is Languedoc in the S where the Gardeners emulat i fineft Mf rom ther Bed may be of a moderate Temper, otherwife the Roots of the Plants will burn: When you find your Bed of a proper Temperfor Heat, which you may eafily know, by thrufting your Finger down in the Earth, letting it remain a {mall time, and if you feel no violent Heat, then you maybe fure there will be no Danger of injuring them thereby: Therefore you fhould take up the Plants carefully out of the Seed-bed, (raifing them with your Finger, that the Roots maynot be injur’d) and prick them into the new Bed, about three Inches Diftance each Way, covering the Glaffes with Mats, if the Sun fhould be warm, till they have taken before direéted, covering the Dung three Inches thick with good frefh light Earth; then puton the Frame and Glaffes, and let it remain two or three Days for the great Heat off before you fet the Plants therein, to pafs that the Inches thick, laying it exaétly even; then put on the Frames, and in the Middle of each Light, where the Plants are to be planted, you fhould put a good Basket full offreth, light, rich Earth, raifing it into alittle Hill; then cover the Beds with the Lights, lettingit remaintwo or three Days,till you perceive it is of a proper Temper for Heat; when you mutt take the Plants carefully out of the former Bed, and after having levell’d the Hills in the Middle of each Light on the Top, and made it a little hollow, to contain a fmall Quantity of Water, you fhould fet twoftrong Plants into each, obferving to give them little Water if the Earth be dry, as alfo to fhade them from the Sun until they have taken Root; after which you muft be careful to give them Air, according to the Proportion of the Heat of the Bed, as alfo to turn the Glaffes to dry them: And whenthe Plants have put out the fourth Leaf, Cwhich is what the Gardeners term having two Joints) you fhould pinch off the extreme Part of the Shoot, in order to force out lateral Branches or Runners; 50 which when |