s, great harm is done by
stepping on the ends of vines. No one should be allowed among melons but
the one who hoes or picks them. Many are lost by drought, after great
care. We have often used an effectual remedy; it consists in turning up
the vines, if they have begun to run before the drought, and putting
around each hill from a peck to half a bushel of wet, well rotted
manure; that from a spent hotbed is excellent for this purpose; and hoe
from a distance between the hills, and cover the manure an inch or two
deep with fine mould, lay down the vines, and saturate the hill with
water, and they will hardly get dry again during the season. A little
judicious watering will give you a great crop in the most severe
drought.

_Varieties of the Musk-melon._--These are numerous, and the nomenclature
uncertain. The London Horticultural Society's catalogue enumerates
seventy. Most of them are of no use to any one. Two or three of the best
are sufficient. There are three general classes of musk-melons--the
_green-fleshed_, as the citron and nutmeg; _yellow-fleshed_, as the
cantelope, or long yellow; and _Persian melon_. The last is the finest
of all, but is too tender for general cultivation with us, requiring
much care and very warm seasons. The yellow-fleshed are very large, but
much inferior in quality to either of the others. The green-fleshed are
_the_ musk-melons for this whole country. The nutmeg has long been
celebrated; but, it being much smaller than the citron, and in no way
superior in quality, we think the latter the best for all American
gardens.

The following are enumerated in "White's Gardening for the South," as
adapted to the latitude of the Southern states: _Christiana_,
_Beechwood_, _Hoosainee_, _Sweet Ispahan_, _Pineapple_, _Cassabar_,
_Netted Citron_, and _Rock_. These are doubtless all fine, and would do
well at the North, with suitable care and protection. Downing's
catalogue is nearly the same, with a very few additions.

_Varieties of Water-melons_--are also numerous, and names uncertain. The
best varieties, however, are well known. The most choice are the
following: _Imperial_, _Carolina_, _Black Spanish_, _Mountain-Sprout_,
_Mountain-Sweet_, _Apple-seeded_, and _Ice-cream_. The following
excellent water-melons all originated in South Carolina: _Souter_;
_Clarendon_, or _dark-speckled_; _Bradford_, very dark-green, with
stripes mottled and streaked with green; _Ravenscroft_, and _Odell's
large whi