CUCURBITACEiE 617 



the number of flowers produced on each of six vines, from 

 June 27 to July 13, at which latter date the vines became 

 indistinguishable from each other. His data are as follows: 



Number of flowers 

 Date Staminate Pistillate 



June 27 203 I 



June 30 338 II 



July 3 474 28 



July 7 755 95 



July 10 660 87 



July 13 64s 31 



Total 3,075 253 



Average to each vine 512 42 



Vines continue to bloom profusely until late in August in 

 the locality (Rocky Ford, Colorado) where data were ob- 

 tained. Here, melons may ripen that are set as late as the 

 middle of August; it takes about six weeks for one to mature. 

 Twenty ripe melons per vine is a good crop. In all Cucumis 

 species, the staminate flowers are more numerous and appear 

 earHer than the pistillate ones. Pollination is carried on by 

 insects. Ordinarily, lack of fertilization causes a premature 

 dropping of the fruit, and incomplete fertiHzation results in 

 misshapen fruit. 



Geographical.— There are cldse to 30 species of Cucumis, most of them be- 

 longing to tropical Asia, Africa, and the East Indies. 



Key to Principal Species 



Fruit smooth, not spiny or tuberculate at maturity, Cucumis melo (musk- 

 melon, cantaloupe, melons). 

 Fruit spiny or tuberculate at maturity. 

 Stems (cultivated) 6 to 15 feet long; fruit 6 to 12 inches long, Cucumis 



sativus (cucumber). 

 Stems 3 to 6 feet long; fruit i to i>^ inches long, Cucumis anguria (prickly 

 cucumber. West Indian gherkin, Jerusalem cucumber, gooseberry gourd). 



