* 
16 ACCOUNT OF THE DILPASAND. 
floral leaves, and so to agree with ovary and stamens (for I believe the 
stamens in Cucurbitaceæ to be three, not five, in number, although this 
is masked in many cases by the halving of the filament), is worthy of 
notice. ; ; 
Ogs.2.—As a species this is recognized at once from its congeners, 
the Colocynth and Water-melon (C. Colocynthis and vulgaris), which 
are the only others I have to compare, by its much less divided 5- 
. nerved and 5-lobed leaves, not glaucous as in the Water-melon, or 
- hoary as in the Colocynth. Both these last have 3-nerved, 3-lobed 
leaves, cleft almost to the midrib, with the divisions also deeply 
lobulated. The tendrils in the Colocynth are generally undivided or 
rarely bifid, in the Water-melon they are bifid, but here they are gene- 
rally 3—4- rarely 5-cleft. The fistulous stem and petioles are an ab- 
solute distinction. The calyx is here much more flat than in the other - 
-two, where it is campanulate at the base. The very short style, the 
almost globose ovary, the depressed fruit of uniform colour, not striped 
or speckled in any stage of its growth, are fuller marks of distinction. 
The seeds differ from the smooth thin seeds of the Colocynth, and 
_ resemble more those of the Water-melon, in their surface as it were 
sculptured by a sharp elevated ridge marking off a centre and a rim, 
but the ridge is here more conspicuous and more within the margin, 
so that the rim is broader, Finally, the poisonous Colocynth * and 
the eatable Water-melon, have associated with them here a cookable 
vegetable. i 
Oxs. 3.—This species is known in Scinde by the name of Mého. 
In the Punjaub it is called Hindwana (the name of the Water-melon in 
Scinde), and in the Deccan is named Dilpasand, or “ Delicious," a very 
appropriate name. I believe it is not known in Bengal proper, and 
it does not grow in the Concans or on the Malabar coast, but is 
brought down (when there is a demand) from the more elevated, 
milder, and drier climate of the Deccan. In Seinde it is cultivated 
from April to September, generally in the same plot of ground with 
cat greedily the kernel of the seed, freed from the seed-skin by a i 
roasting.. They collect the s in large quantities by burying the apples in the 
sand, and allowing the pulp to rot away. : " 
