192 PLANTS AND MAN 



gia; in the West, most of the melons are raised in California, 

 Arizona and Colorado. Of the cultivated varieties, the most 

 familiar are the winter melons (Casaba and honey-dew) with 

 smooth hard rind and spherical shape, and the netted melons 

 with the yellow or green flesh (cantaloupe). 



The w^ATERMELON (fig. 130) is an African plant, cultivated 

 centuries ago by the Egyptians and Chinese. Watermelons re- 

 quire fertile sandy soil with an abundance of sunshine, and find 

 these requirements best fulfilled in our southeastern states. 





