MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 21 
white and slightly acid. It is never eaten raw but has been 
used in pickles and preserves. 
(8) Dudaim Melons (Les Melons Dudaims).—Melons be- 
longing to this group have likewise been regarded as a dis- 
tinct species, but most authorities include them under the 
original species, Cucumis Melo. It is popularly known as gar- 
den pomegranate or Queen Anne’s pocket melon and is chiefly 
characterized by its powerful muskmelon odor. The fruit is 
about the size and shape of an orange, marked with alternate 
longitudinal bands of orange and mottled streaks of brown. 
It is not edible on account of the disagreeable after-taste. 
(9) Red Persia Melon (Le Melon Rouge de Perse).—This 
type of melon is not grown in this country except as a curios- 
ity. It was obtained by Naudin indirectly from Lindley, who 
designated it the small apple melon from Persia. The fruit 
is round, about the size of a small orange, dark green when 
young but becoming dull as it matures. It has practically no 
odor and is apparently not eaten even in Persia. Its chief 
claim to distinction is the red color of the flesh, and accord- 
ing to Naudin it is ‘‘an object simply of curiosity.’’ 
(10) Wild Melons (Les Melons Sauvages).—This group in- 
cludes those melons which have never been cultivated and are 
of no economic importance. They occur in various parts of 
India and Africa, but should not be regarded as the parents 
of any melon at present on the market. According to some 
authorities, the original species was indigenous to southern 
Asia from the foot of the Himalayas to Cape Comorin. Others, 
however, believe that the original C. Melo was once wild from 
the west coast of Africa as far east as India. It has been eulti- 
vated from a very remote period, having been grown by the 
Egyptians, while the Greeks and Romans were familiar with 
several varieties. Gerarde, in his ‘‘Herball,’’ 1597, described 
and figured several kinds of melons (see plate 4). That he 
was aware of the great number of varieties of this species is 
indicated by the following statement: ‘‘There be found di- 
verse kinds which differ in bigness or form; it shall be there- 
fore sufficient to describe some one or two of them and refer 
the rest unto the view of their figures, which most likely do 
express their differences, especially because this volume wax- 
eth great, the description of no moment, and 1 hasten to an 
end.’’ Some of the most prized commercial varieties had their 
immediate origin in Persia and the near-by Caucasian regions. 
From here they were introduced into Italy, France, and 
