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Wc know but one Species of this genns, viz. 



Melittis {Melyjfcphylhira,) Hort. Cliff. 309. Greater 

 Bead Nettle, MelilTIx. Fuchfii. 



This plant grows naturally in fome woods in the Weft 

 of England and in Wales, Germany and near Mont- 

 pelier. It hath a perennial root, which in thefpring 

 fends up three, four, or more ftalks, according to the 

 age and flrength, which rife a foot and a half high ; 

 thefe are fquare, and garnifhed with leaves like thofe 

 of the" common Dead Nettle, but are much larger, 

 rougher, and ftand on longer foot-ftalks, two being 

 placed oppofite at each joint. The flowers come out 



- at the joints of the ftalks, juft above the foot-ftalks 

 of the leaves ; they are in fhape like thofe of the 

 Dead Nettle, but are much larger, of a redder pur- 

 ple colour, and the upper lip grows ered. Thefe ap- 

 pear in May, when the plants make a handfome ap- 

 pearance, and if the feafon does not prove hot, the 

 flowers will continue in beauty upward of three weeks. 

 As the plants do rarely produce good feeds m the gar- 

 dens, fo they are ufually propagated by parting the 

 roots i but where the plants are intended for orna- 

 ment, the roots Ihould not be difturbed oftener than 

 every third year -, nor fliouldthey then be divided in- 

 to frhall parts, left thereby they lliould not flower 

 thefirft year. The beft time to remove and part the 

 roots is the beginning of06lober, that they may have 

 time to get root before the froft comes on. They 

 fliould have a loamy foil and an eaft expofure, where 

 the plants will thrive and produce flowers in plenty. 



MELO. Tourn. Inft. R. H. 104. tab. 32. Cucumis. 

 Lin. Gen. Plant. 969. [it takes its name of M^Aoi/, an 

 Apple, becaufe the fruit refembles an Apple.] The 

 Melon. 



The Characters are. 

 It hath male and female floijoers on the fame plant, ^he 

 ma^e flcwers have a belljhaped empakment of one leaf 



.i 



• .1 



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i; 



whofe border is terminated by five awl-fhaped hriflles 

 ihe flower ts of one petals which is bell-fhaped^ faftened 

 iV ite empalemeni^ and cut into five fegments at the brim ; 

 thefe^drt veined 'and rough. It hath three fhort ft amina 

 infer ted in the empakment^ and are joined together^ two 

 of which have btfid points. -, ^hefummits are linear ^ and 

 run up and down on the outftde of the ft'amind^ to which 

 they adhere, ^ne female flowers have no ft amina or 



• fummits, bfit have a^ large ovalgermen Jituated below the 

 flower^ fupporting a ftoort cylindrical ftyle^ crozvned by 

 three thick gibbous ftigmas, Thegermen afterward turns 

 to aft oval fruit with feveral cells^ filled zvith oval^ acute- 

 pointed^ ccmpreffed feeds ^ inclofed in a f oft pulp. 



. This genus of plants is by Dr. Linnaeus joined with 

 the Colccynthus and Anguria, to the Cucumis, mak- 

 ing them only fpecies of the fame genus, which, ac- 

 cording to his fyftem, may be allowable ; but who- 

 ever W^ill admit the fruit as a charafteriftic note to 

 diftingui/h the genera, wjll find marks to feparate 

 them \ and however properly thefe may be put toge- 

 ther in a fyftem of botany, yet in a work of this na- 

 ture it cannot be admitted. ' ;'-; r ---- ^-^ ''''"■ 

 There is a great variety of this fruit cultivated m the 

 different parts of the. world, and in this country there 

 are too many of them propagated, ^vhicll are of no va- 



. loe, efpecially By thofe who" fupply tfc markets. 



■ ,v 



-.where their fizc is phieflj regarded ; fo that Sy enSea- 

 '^/''.vouring to augnYent their bulk,lh6 fruit is rendered of I 

 \V -^6 value'; T mall therefore only mention a very few 

 *V'of the varieties, which ^re the moft deferving of care, 

 •■'excluding the common Melons, as being unworthy of 

 ' tine trouble and expence in cultivating. 



The fort tjf Melon which is in the greatell efleem 

 ■ among all the curious in every part of Europe, is the 

 ' '? Canjaleupe; which isfo called from a place about four- 

 , teen miles from Rome, where the pope has a country 

 fear, nn which place this fruit has been long culti- 

 vated j but It was brought thither from that part of 

 Armenia which borders on Perfia, where this fruit 

 is in fo great plenty, that a horfe-load is fold for a 

 French crown." The flefli of this Melon, when in 

 perfeftion, is delicious, and does not offend the moft 

 ^ tender ftoma'clisj fo may be eaten with fafety. The 



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Dutch are fo fond of this fruit, as to cultiwne 

 few other forts, and by way of pre-eminence* o^l^ 

 only by the appellation of Cantaleupc, and narj 

 join the title of Melon to it, which they apply ipr- 

 ferendy to all the other forts. The outer coat* of 

 this is very rough, and full of knobs and prott-bcr 

 ances like warts ; it is of a middling fi^e, r^ri,/ 

 round than long, and the flefn is for the moft n-'^T 

 of an Orange colour, though there are feme vvitir' 

 greenifli flefti, but I have never met with any of ^i^^ 

 Colour fo good as thofe of the other. 

 The Romana is by fome much eftccmed, and when 

 the fruit is well conditioned, the plants in perfect 

 health, and the feafon dry, it is a good Melon and 

 may be brought forwarder in the feafon than the Can 

 taleupe ; therefore thofe who are dcfitous of eadv Al- 

 iens may cultivate this fort. 



The Succado is alfo a good fort, and may alfo be cul- 

 tivated for early fruit, but thefe muft give way to the 

 Cantaleupe, v/!ien that is in feafon. 



The Zatte is alfo a very good Melon, but very fmall 

 The fruit of this " '' * ' 



Orange 



it is a little flatted at the two ends, and 



an 



IS leldom bigger than a larcre 



the 

 outer coat is warted like thfe Cantaleupe, but there 



is fo little flefti in one of thefe fruit, that they are 

 fcarce worthy the trouble of propagating^. 

 The fmall Portugal Melon, which is by'^fome called 

 the Dormer Melon, is a pretty good. fruit, and the 

 plants generally produce them in plenty, fo by many 

 people this is preferred to moft other, efpecially thofe 

 who love a plenty, and are not fo nice in diftinguifh- 

 ing the quality : this may alfo be cultivated for 

 early crop. 



But the beft Melon for this pui-pofe is the Black Gal- 

 loway, which was brought from Portugal by Lord 

 •Galloway many years fince, but of late years "is rarely 



- to be met with in England, it having been degene- 

 rated by growing among other lorts. ..The fruijt of 

 this fort will ripen in a morter time from its fjrft fet- 



- ting, than'ahy othex which I have*yet feen, and whea 

 fuftered_to ripen naturally, is not a bad fruit. 

 The few varieties fiere ^ mentioa<?d, are fufficient to 

 fatisfy the curious, 'who may be'fond of variety, for 

 there are fcarce'any other which deTerve the trouble ^ 

 and indeed thofe who have a true uR'c for this fruit, 

 feldom cultivate any but the Cantaleupe -, but as I be- 

 fore obferved, where this fruit is defired early in the 

 feafon, the Cantaleupe is nctfo proper as fome of the 

 other, therefore a fcv^ plants of one of the other forts 

 fhould be raifed earlier in the fpring, but fhould be in 

 a different part of the garden from the Cantaleupe 

 Melons ; for when two forts of Melons grow ricar, 

 they cannot be preferved perfectly right ; therefore 

 the Dutch and German gardeners are very careful in 

 this refpeft, and in order to keep the fort in perfec- 

 tion, do not plant any other fort of Melon, Cucum- 

 ber or G9urd, near thefe, lefl:, by the impregnation 



. ■ of the farina of thofe other, thefe fruit ihoiild be ren- 

 dered bad ; and in this particular, I am convinced, 

 frorri long experience, they are right ; and from the 



- not obferving this, many perlbns v/h6 are lovefr of 

 this fruit, hav9 gradually diminifhed their goodrefs, 

 without knowing th^. caufe, and have imputed it to 

 l^e lone cultivatinor from the feeds faved in the fame 



; garden,' ' believing it abfolutely neceflTary to procure 

 feeds frorri d diftant place frequendy to'preferve them 



. good: indeed,' where ai pcxnori can fecurely depend 

 on the care and fkill of thofe he procures the feeds 

 from, it is a very good method to exchange feeds 

 now and then •, but there are'fo few who are exaft 



. in making ctioice of the Fruits from which they fave 

 fhe feeds, or cdreful'enougli to do it thenifelves, but 



- often depend on others to clean the feed, that I fhould 

 advife every one to do it himfelf, which is the fure 

 way to have it good ; for I have frequently been de- 

 ceived myfelf, by depending on thelidelity and ikiH 

 of others; nor could L procure any of thefe feeds 



from Cantaleupe which were good, undl my much 



" Ten- 



I * 





^ 



hbnoured friend, the Chevalier Rathgeb, lent meplen- 

 ' tifully of it from thence > though I J>ad 'often L'c-n 



fupplied 



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