98 



GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



Origin and Varieties of Muskmelons 



Dl KlXli the past few years numerous iiKjuiries have 

 been received at the Missouri Botanical Ciarden 

 concerning- the origin and names of the many varie- 

 ties of muskmelons. and accordingly this article has Ijeen 

 prei>ared with the idea of clearing up the confusion which 

 seems to exist regarding the fruit. 



The terms muskmelon and cantaloup are used in differ- 

 ent parts of the countrj' to designate entirely different 

 kinds of melons. Jn the South the tenn cantaloup gener- 

 ally refers to all the varieties of muskmelons, whereas in 

 the North it is more narrowly restricted to the larger, 

 smooth, yellow-fleshed melon. In any case the use of 

 "cantaloup" in.stead of "uuvskmelon" as a general term is 

 incorrect, since all authorities agree that the cantaloup is 

 only one of the subdivisions of the muskmelon. It is the 

 general belief that man}- of the newer melons on the mar- 

 ket, such as the Casaba and Honey Dew, are h}'ibrids pro- 

 duced 'by a crossing of distinct species. This is not the 

 case, however, since all true muskmelons have originated 

 from a single botanical si)ecies Cucumis Melo, and there 

 is probably no other plant which has .iiroduced such a 

 \ariety of forms. 



One of the most widespread beliefs is that the musk- 

 melon and the cucnmiber readily cross and that it the two 

 are grown in close pro.ximity the jx)llen from the cucmn- 

 ber Hower will have a deleterious eitect ujxin the melon. 

 Strangely enough, there has never been any report of the 

 effect of the muskmelon pollen on the cucumber fruit, 

 althoug^h one would expect the eftect of crossing these 

 two plants to be manifested in both directions. As a mat- 

 ter of fact, while the muskmelon and the cucuml>er are 

 verj' closely related, both belonging to the genus Cucumis. 

 attempts to cross these two plants have never been success- 

 ful. It is not unlikely that various types of melons taste 

 like cucumbers. Ijut this is because they belong to the 

 cucumber family and not because they have been hybrid- 

 ized with the cucumber. 



Numerous attempts have been made to classify the 

 muskmelon. but the one generally accepted is that prq>ared 

 by Naudin. Naudin obtained material froan all over the 

 world and grew thousands of i>lants, and as a result of 

 his investigation came to the conclusion that Cucumis Melo 

 could be divided into ten groups. Among the edible are : 



Cantaloups (.Melon Cantaloups). — These are charac- 

 terized by hard and scaly or rough skins and are usuallx' 

 deeply furrowed. The name is derived from Cantahi]*])], 

 a former country seat of the Pope near Rome, w here the.se 

 melons were introfuiced froan Armenia. A considerable 

 difference of opinion seems to i>revail as to the si)elling 

 of this word, which appears as cantaloupe, cantaloup, can 

 taleup, canteloup. contelouiJC, cantalope, canteloix;, in 

 various ai tides (jn the subject both in this country anil 

 abroad. Naudin sj)elled it cantalou]), and the weight of 

 authority seems to be with this .sijelling. 



Netiici) Meioxs (Melons lirodes). — This .s^roup in- 

 cludes the nutme.gs and related forms which are grown so 

 cxtensivelv in the northern states. The so-called "Roi.-ky 

 Ford" which Ijelongs to the netted grcjup is not a distinct 

 variety, as is generally sui>]>osed. The "Xetted Cem" 

 melon was the original variety used to develop the Rocky 

 Ford cantaloup Years of selecting and crossing have 

 greatl\ improved this ty|)e. and the Rocky h'ord strains of 

 cantaUnii-s now ])ossess both the green and salmon-tinte^l 

 flesh. The so-callerl "f )sage" tyix; which ap])ears on the 

 market under the name Dsage IVIelon originated near ( )rd- 

 way, Colorado, adjacent to the Rocky I'-ord district, and 

 is sometimes confused with the true Rocky I'ord melon. 

 The former, however, is characterized by an f)range-col- 



ored riesh an<l is entirelv distinct from the Rocky Ford 

 type. -Another iniiiortant type belonging in this groiip 

 is the Montreal Market, or ]\Iontreal, which was developed 

 in Canada. Tliis melon, because of its fine flavor and 

 I'cecping qualities, is in great demand. 



\\Tnter Melons (Les Melons d'Hiver ou Melons sans 

 Odeur). — It is to this group that the Casalba and Honey 

 Dew melons belong. Until comparatively recently the 

 so-called AVinter or scentless melons were seldom, if ever, 

 grown in this country. They were regarded as being of 

 inferior quality, and practically their only adv'antage was 

 their keeping quality. For this reason they have been a 

 favorite variety in S]>ain and Southern France, where 

 they are grown for the Scandinavian. Russian, and other 

 northern markets. The Casaba melon, also spelled Kas- 

 saba, Cassaba, Cassabad, and Casba, was named for the 

 town of Kassaba, some t\^■enty miles from Smyrna. Aibout 

 1878 seeds were sent to California by travelers who had 

 tasted tlie melons in the hotels of Smyrna. From this 

 beginning hundreds of acres of this variety are now grown 

 each year, principally in the San I-'ernando \ alley of 

 southern California. They come into the market after the 

 ordinary- cantaloup has disappeared and are frequeiitlx' 

 shipped as late as Decemiber or January. The Honey 

 Dew melon is an old south-of-France variety and it is 

 listed by the French seedsmen under the name of \\'hite 

 Antilles Winter Melon. At the present time it is most 

 extensively grown in California. The Winter melons are 

 characterized by their lack of odor and greenish or pale 

 pink, rather than reddish orange, flesh. 



While the classification of Naudin is still the standard 

 for students of the species Cuamiis Melo, for purposes of 

 convenience it has become customary to divide the com- 

 mercial muskmelons into two groups — namely, the netted 

 and the scaly-skinned varieties. The netted group, known 

 as nutmeg or netted melons, comprises those usually 

 grown in the North for the home garden and early mar- 

 ket. The scaly or furrowed group contains the ionger- 

 .season varieties, and the term cantaloup is correctly ap- 

 plied here, — Missouri Bolaiiical Garden BiiUctii:. 



DAPHNE CNEORUM 



A LTHOUtiii a little tender in the .Xortli. Daphne cneo- 

 •'*■ rum is one of the best low growing shrubs. There is a 

 great difference in strains, however, some blooming much 

 more freely than others. It is well worth while learning 

 somethin.g about the strain your nurseryman sells. The 

 dark green foliage and ternnnal heads of this daphne, 

 ^muthered with bright rose-colored flowers with a ])ower- 

 liil fragrance, attract the attention of everyone when the 

 plant is in blonm. Xothing is nmre beautiful in the rock 

 garden; it is equally .good when grown in a i)i>riler. Vet 

 it is very jjarticular about soil. .Xo plant 1 know dislikes 

 chalk or lime more. \\ hen the ])lants get aged and worn 

 lay the tops of the young shoots in sandv soil, leaving 

 them for two or three years, when llicy will make line 

 young specimens. I always found when the plants had 

 attained a.ge they transjilanted unsuccessfully, whereas 

 young ones soon established themselves after re ]>l;uiting. 

 — Horliciilfiirr. 



Do ynu llnd ihe columns of the CiAKDEXKks' Ciikox ui.i-; 

 interesting? ( ertainly vou do, or you would not be ])e- 

 rusing them. > Hur gardening neighbor, were be f.uniiiar 

 with them, would become e(|nallv interested. Why nut 

 recommend the ( l.\i<i)i';.\i:i<s' tit konici i-: to hint as :i gui<le 

 to his garden work? lie vvoulil rq)preoiate it — and so 

 would we. 



