Chapter IV. 



pulpy fruits borne by herbaceous plants. — 

 melon; cucumber; gourds; love-apple; egg- 

 plant. 



The pulpy fruits that are borne by herbaceous plants 

 principally belong to three genera. They are all 

 annuals, and some of them grow to an immense 

 size. Each of the genera, besides the esculent spe- 

 cies, contains many that are merely curiosities ; and 

 among them there are some that have powerful me- 

 dicinal qualities, and otiiers that are poisonous. The 

 melon and cucumber belong to the genus Cucumis ; to 

 which also belongs the Cucjtmis Colocynthis, a native 

 of Turkey, which yields the cwlocynth of medicine. 

 To the genus Cucurbita belong the water-melon, the 

 pumpkin, the succada, or vegetable marrow, the 

 squash, and the calabash; and to the genus Solanum 

 the varieties of love-apple and egg-plant. Of these, 

 several are not used as food in England, though all 

 of them bear fruit, and many of them in the open 

 air ; but in regions more favourable to their growth, 

 or where other esculent substances are less abundant, 

 they are all more or less used as food. 



The Melon — Cucumis melo. 



The melon is the richest and most highly flavoured 

 of all the fleshy fruits. It is often said to be a native 

 of the central parts of Asia, and to have been first 

 brought into Europe from Persia ; but the date of 

 its first culture is so remote, that there is no certain 

 knowledge on the subject. Pliny and Columella 

 describe the fondness of the Emperor Tiberius for 

 melons, and detail the contrivances by which they 



