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Jooked over at kail twice every day ; and if thofe 

 fruit which are intended for the table, are cut early 

 in the morning, before the fun has warnned them, 

 they will be much better flavoured ; but if any (hould 

 require to be cut afterward, they fhould be put into 

 cold fpring water, or ice, to cool them, before they 

 are brought to the table : and thofe cut in the morn- 

 ing, fhould be kept in the cooleft place till they are 

 ferved up to table. The fign of this fruit's maturity 

 is, that of its beginning to crack near the foot-ftalk, 

 and its beginning to fmell, which never fail ^ for as 

 thefe Cantaleupe Melons feldom change their colour 

 until they are too ripe, that fhould never be waited for. 

 The direftions here given for the management of the 

 Cantaleupe Melons, will be found equally good for 

 all the other forts, as I have fully experienced -, for 

 in the common method of managing them, where the 

 earth is laid but three or four inches thick, the plants 

 are very apt to decay before the fruit is ripe ; for 

 their roots foon reach the dung, and are extended to 

 the fides of the bed, where their tender fibres are 

 'cxpofed to the air and fun, which caufe the leaves 

 of the plants to hang down in the heat of the day, fo 

 ij is neceflTary to fhade them with mats, to pre- 

 vent their decay ; and this alfo occafions the water- 

 ing of the plants often to keep them alive, which is 

 alfo prejudicial to their roots j whereas when the Beds 

 are made of a proper width, and earthed of a fuffici- 

 ent thicknefs, the plants will bear the ftrongeft heat 

 of the fun in this clmiate, without Ihewing the leaft 

 want of moifture, or their leaves 3r6o|)ihg, and they 

 will continue in health till th^ autumn cold deftroys 

 them. 



M E L 



4. MelochIa iConcatenata) raccmis confertis tern\ina- 

 libus, capfulis- globofis fefllllbus. Flor. Zeyl. 247- 



' Je-j^s Mallow -j:ith rhJJered /pikes terminating the Jialks^ 

 and glohular capfules fittivg clofe, ' ' 



5. Melochia {Siipina) flcribus capititatis, foliis ovatis 

 ferratis, caulibus procumbentibus. Lin. Sp. 944. 

 Je-jcs Mallow vAth f ewers in heads ^ oval fa-wed leaves, 

 and trailing Jlalks, Alcea fupina pufiUa, geranii exi- 

 gui maritirni folio & facie, maderafpacenfis, fruftu 

 in fummo caulc glomerato, pericarpio duro. Pluk. 

 Phyt. tab. "132. f. 4. 



The firft fort grows naturally in the Brazils as a com- 

 mon weed, having a ftalk fomewhat flirubby, which 

 rifes four or five feet high ^ the flowers are produced 

 in umbels from the fide of the Ilalk, oppofite to the 

 leaves-, they are of a pale fiefh colour, and are fuc- 

 ceeded by pyramidal capfules with five corners having 

 five cells, each containing one angular feed. 

 The fecond fort grows naturally in Jamaica, and other 

 warm parts of America. This has a trailing herba- 

 ceous ftalk, garniflicd with woolly leaves fhaped like 

 Betony. The flowers arc produced in umbels at the 

 wings of the ftalk j they are of a purple colour, and 

 afe fucceeded by pyramidal capfules, having five 

 corners. \ ' . 

 The third fort was difcovered growing naturally at 



^the Havannah, by the late Dr. Houftoun, This 



■; rifes wjth'a ftirubby ftalk five or fix feet high, gar- 



"niftied with angular leaves refemblinff thofe of the 



Currant bum -, the flowers are produced fingly from 



the fide' of the ftalk : they aire of a flefti colour, and 



in fliape like thofe of the fmall flowering Mallow ; 



thefe are fucceeded by rough five-cornered capfules, 

 " InTaving of the feeds I need not repeat here, that'only I "rlnclofing five Mallow-ftiaped feeds.^'V'"- ■ '.* , ;•;'! 

 \ '_ fuch fhould "beregarded, which are taken from the | The fourth fort grows naturally in both Indie's j"^^ this 



hath an herbaceous ftalk, 'which is terminated by fe- 

 veral oblong bunches of flowers, which are fucceeded 

 by globular capfules with five cellsj in each of which 

 is lodged a fingle feed. ' ' ' ' 



The fifth fort grows naturally in India ; this is an an* 

 nual plant with trailing ftalks which fpread on the: 

 ground, garniflied with fmall Betony-fhaped leaves -, 

 the flowers and fruit are produced in clufters at the 

 ■ end of the branches. 



Thefe plants are preferved in botanic gardens for va- 

 riety, but having little beauty they are rarely culti- 

 vated in other places j they are propagated by feeds 

 which inuft be fown oh a hot-bed, and wnen the 





/' 



^ *- ^ 



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■firmeft fruit, and thofe which have the higheft flavour j 

 " and if thefe arc taken out with the pulp entire, with- 

 *■. out difplacing the feeds, and fuffered to remain in 

 ; fte pulp two or three days before it is waflied out, the 

 ^■^1)etter; and then to preferve only the heayj feeds, 

 ^ - which fink in the water. . \ . ..^ .^': ' ti. •f;.:,,.^ 



MELOCACTUS. 7 o,, r.ni^c 



MELOCARDUUS. j ^ee v^actus. 



MELOCHIA, Jews Mallow; 

 "The Characters are. 



^ '^ It hath a permanent empalement of one leafy cut half way 



''I'^^jnto five fegmnts\ the flower hath five large fpreading 



'^petals \ thejtamna are involved in tb^^iubeof tbeger- 



v tnen^ and have Jive fummits. li has a romdito z^TmenX "plants come up, theyftiould be treated in the fame 



._witb Jive awl'fbaped erect JtyleSy which are permanent ^ 



^ir&wned by Jingle Jiigmas. . fi>e flower is fucceeded by 



y five-cojrnered roundijh capfulesy having five cells with two 



^_ homSi in each cell // lodged ^ne angular compreffed feed^. 



Z This genus of plants is ranged in the firft feftion of 



."^Linhjeus's fixteenth clafs, intitled Monadelphia Pen- 



' '.tandria; the flowers of this clafs have their ftamina 



way as is direded for Sida, to which the reader is 

 defired to turn to avoid repetition. The firft and third 



forts are ftirubbyV fo' may with care be preferved thro* 

 the winter in a ftove, whereby good feecjs may be 

 obtained; for thefe feldom ripen their feeds ^ell 

 the firft year, unlefs the plants are brought forward 

 early in the Ipringi and the fummer proxies 'warm. 



and ftyles conhefted in one houfe, and thofe of jhis The other three fprts. generally ripen, f heir feeds the 



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feftion havp buf five Itamlna. 



i The Species arc. 



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l^^MzibcHiA(Pyrdmdata) floribus umbellatis oppofi- 

 ' 1 jds foliis, capfulis pyi*amidatis " pentagonis, 'langulis 

 acuti§, foliis nudis. Hort.^ Cljff. ^43. Jews^dal- 

 ' fcty with umbellated flowers placed oppofite to the leaves^ 

 .: find five-cornered pyraraidal capfules. Althasa Brafilia- 

 ' na frutefcens, incarhato flore, fagopyri femine.Pluk. 



2. Melochia (fomentofa) floribus umbellatis axjllari- 

 ^,. ous, capfuh? pyramidaus pentagonis,^ ^"S^V-^ mucro- 



natis, foliis tomentofis. Lin. Sp, 943. Jews' Mallow 

 , Wtb umbellated fiowers at the wings of the ftalk, five- 



<9^ered pyramidal capfules^ and woolly leaves. Abutilon 

 ..herbaceum procumbens, betonicae folio, flore pur- 



pureo. Sloan. Hift. Sp. 220. ' '^. :';^,. 



3. Melochia (Deprejfa) floribus folitariis capfulis de- 

 , preflis pentagonis, anguftis obtufis ciliatis. Flor. 



L^d, Prod. 348. Jews Mallow with flowers growing 

 ^^gby and five-cornered depreffed capfules. Abutilon 

 . Americanum, ribefii foliis, flo.recaraep, fru6tu pen- 





fame year they are fown. 

 MELON. SeeM£LO.' 



MELONGENA. Tourh. Inft. R. H/ 151 . tab. 

 d^. Solanurri, Lin. Ge'ii, Plant. 224. Mad Apple, 

 ; by fpme called Egg Plant ; in French,, Mzyw^f. , 



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togono afpero. Houft. MSS. 



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'.-. -' Tbc Characters are, 



*Tte flower has a permanent empalement ofone^eaf^ which 

 \\ is deeply' ciit into five acule fegments^ which fpread open. 

 "The flower hath but otic petaL which is cut into five 



. parts, which fpread opefi and are reflexed^ ' It hath five 

 awl-Jhaped ftamina^ terminated h/ oblong fummits which ^ 

 converge together? tn the center is fituated an oblojig 

 girmen fupporting' a flendef ftyle, cro!wned^ by an cbtufe 



ftigmd i the germen afterward becomes an oval or ollong 



.fruit %vith one celU which hath a flepy pulpy filled with 



comprejfed roundifb feeds y\^^^ ■ - ... 



This genus of plant's Is ranged in the feventh feftion 



of Tournefort's fecond clafs, which includes the 



herbs with a wheel-lhaped flov/er of one leaf, whofe 



. poip^al changes to a foft fruit. Dr. Linnseus has 



.• joined this genus, and the Lycoperficon of Tourne- 



fortV'to the Solanum,' making them only fpecies of'> 



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