SECTION XXVII 

 Melons 



The Melon (Cucumis Melo), although never found in a wild state, 

 seems to have been cultivated for centuries in Asia Minor, Persia, Afghani- 

 stan, &c., and for many generations has been a favourite fruit in British 

 gardens. It is an annual like the Cucumber, and is also monoecious; that 

 is, it bears male and female flowers on the same plant, quite distinct from 

 each other. The leaves are somewhat thicker, and of a greyer green than 

 those of the Cucumber, and the fruits vary in shape from round to elliptic, 

 flattish, and elongated, according to the different sections or varieties, of 

 which there are many. 



Of late years Melon growing for market has become a big business, and 

 in Guernsey especially large quantities of fruit are ripened each year for 

 the English markets. The methods of culture differ somewhat from that 

 practised in private establishments, in some of which there is almost as 

 much importance attached to producing a new Melon as to the discovery 

 of the North Pole. 



Market growers in the Channel Islands and England prefer the roundish 

 netted varieties with green, scarlet, or white flesh, while French cultivators 

 prefer the Canteloupe varieties. 



Melons for market are grown in small span-roofed houses in the same 

 way as Cucumbers in many places, being planted out in beds or borders of 

 rich soil. In Guernsey, growers have large houses about 200 ft. long, 40 ft. 

 wide, and 15 to 20 ft. high, strongly built, and the Melons are grown in 

 large pots, the stems being trained vertically up string, or tied to long 

 bamboo stakes. As a rule two crops of fruit can be produced easily in one 

 year, between February and the end of August, but some of the Guernsey 

 growers try a third crop after this, having raised the plants, of course, in 

 good time. 



Sowing 1 . It is best to sow melon seed singly in 3-in. pots, about an 

 inch below the surface, in rich loam with a little well-rotted manure or 

 leaf soil, and a little sand. The first sowing is made about the first week 

 in February, and in a temperature of 75 to 85 F. the young plants are 

 well through the soil in less than a week. The atmosphere should be 



VOL. III. 209 44 



