CUCURBITACEJE. III. LAGENARIA. IV. CUCUMIS. 



O H. Native country unknown, but collected in the gardens 

 of India. Bonteng-suri of the Hindoos. Cucurbita vituita, 

 Blum, bijdr. p. 932. 

 Ribbed Gourd. PI. cl. 



3 L. ? HI'SPIDA (Ser. 1. c.) greyish, pilose ; leaves cordate, 

 5-angled, acuminated, denticulated, beset with pedicellate glands 

 beneath ; stem and petioles densely hispid ; flowers densely 

 clothed with ferruginous hairs. Q. F. Native of Japan and 

 the East Indies. Cucurbita hispida, Thunb. fl. jap p. 322. 

 and Willd. spec. 4. p. 608. Waluh of the Indians. Perhaps 

 only a variety of L. vulgaris. 



hispid Gourd. PI. trailing. 



4 L. ? IDOLA'TRICA (Ser. I.e.) leaves cordate, cuspidate, obso- 

 letely 3-lobed, pubescent, biglandular at the base ; lateral lobes 

 very short and cuspidate; fruit pear-shaped. Q. F. Native 

 of Guinea and the East Indies. Cucurbita Idolatrica, Willd. 

 spec. 4. p. 607. Blum, bijdr. p. 930. Labu-eyer and Kukuk 

 of the Hindoos. Perhaps only a variety of L, vulgaris. In 

 India the fruit of this plant is held in great veneration by the 

 Hindoos, in their religious ceremonies. 



Worshipped Gourd. PI. trailing. 



Cult. See Cucurbita, p. 41. for culture and propagation. 



IV. CU'CUMIS (said to be from KIKVOC or SIKUOC- Varro 

 says, " Cucumeres dicuntur a curvore, ut curvimeres dicti"). 

 Lin. gen. no. 1479. Juss. gen. p. 395. Gsertn. fruct. t. 88. 

 D. C. prod. 3. p. 299. Cucumis and Melo, Tourn. inst. p. 

 104. Colocinthis, Tourn, inst. p. 107. Rigocarpus, Neck. elem. 

 bot. no. 386. 



LIN. SVST. Dioecia, Polyadelphia. Calyx tubularly campa- 

 nulate ; segments subulate, hardly the length of the tube. 

 Petals hardly joined together or to the calyx. Male. Stamens 

 5, in 3 parcels. Female. Stigmas 3, thick, bipartite. Fruit 

 3-6-celled. Seeds ovate, compressed, not marginate. Flowers 

 monoecious or hermaphrodite, yellow. 



1 C. MK'LO (Lin. spec. 1436.) stem trailing, scabrous, cir- 

 rhiferous ; leaves roundish, angular, petiolate; male flowers 

 having the tube of the calyx rather ventricose at the base, and 

 rather dilated at the apex ; stamens inclosed ; anthers shorter 

 than their connectives ; the hermaphrodite flowers with the an- 

 thers as in the males; stigmas 3-4, shortly 2-lobed ; fruit ovate 

 or sub-globose, 8-1 2-furrowed; flesh sugary, yellow, red, or white. 

 G. F. Native of Asia. Called rhetimou by the Hindoos; 

 Melon, Engl. and Fr. ; Melone, Germ. ; Mellone, Ital. 



The melon is a tender annual, producing one of the richest 

 fruits brought to the dessert, and has been cultivated in England 

 since 1570, but the precise time of its introduction is unknown. 

 It was originally brought to this country from Jamaica, and was, 

 till within the last fifty years, called the musk-melon. The fruit, 

 to be grown to perfection, requires the aid of artificial heat and 

 glass throughout every stage of its culture. Its minimum tem- 

 perature may be estimated at 65, in which it will germinate 

 and grow ; but it requires a heat of from 75 to 80 to ripen its 

 fruit, which, in ordinary cases, it does in 4 months from the time 

 of sowing the seed. 



Varieties. There are numerous varieties, many of which, 

 especially those raised from seeds brought from Italy and Spain, 

 are not worth cultivating. The best sorts are included under 

 the name of Cantaloups, an appellation bestowed on them from 

 a seat of the Pope near Rome, where this variety is supposed 

 to have been originally produced. The general character of 

 the Cantaloups is a roundish form, rough, warty, or netted outer 

 rind ; neither very large in fruit or leaves. The Romanas, an 

 Italian sort, is next in esteem, are generally oval-shaped, regu- 

 larly netted ; the fruit and leaves middle-sized, and the plants 

 great bearers. Many varieties of both these sorts, however, 



that were formerly in esteem, are now lost, degenerated, or sup- 

 planted by others of Spanish or Persian origin. The following 

 is a descriptive list of the sorts. 



List of Melons. 



Var. a, reticulatus (Ser. in D. C. prod. 3. p. 300.) fruit 

 roundish or oblong, with a grey reticulated rind. Blackw. herb, 

 t. 329. The following sorts of melons belong to this variety : 



1 Beechmood melon. This is an excellent, early, greenish 

 yellow kind, with a netted rind and a greenish-white flesh, of a 

 middle size. 



2 Melon maraicher. The flesh of this sort is very thick and 

 watery ; hardly sweet-scented. 



3 Melon de L'onfleur. A late melon, with a thin yellow rind, 

 and pale red sugary flesh. It is of inferior quality but large 

 in size. 



4 Melon des Carmes. A well-flavoured large fruit, with a 

 thick orange rind, and juicy sugary pulp. 



5 Melon de Langeais. A middle-sized, ribbed fruit, with 

 orange-coloured, sugary, sweet-scented flesh. 



6 Melon sucrin de Tours. Fruit large, with firm, sugary, 

 orange-coloured flesh. 



7 Sucrin a chair blanche. 



8 Sucrin a chassis. 



9 Sucrin vert. 



10 Sucrin a petits grains. 



11 Succada. A late green middle-sized netted melon. 



Var. /3, Cantalupo (Ser. in D. C. prod. 3. p. 300.) fruit large, 

 with broadly ribbed, and furrowed, warted, thick rind. The fol- 

 lowing sorts belong to this variety. 



1 Early Cantaloup. A deep-furrowed, early, middle-sized 

 kind, with white, deeply-furrowed, thin skin ; and orange-coloured 

 flesh, not very highly flavoured. It sets well, and is a great 

 bearer. 



2 Silver cantaloup. Cantaloup argente. A shallow-fur- 

 rowed, middle-sized fruit, and before it is full grown is mixed 

 with silver and green. 



3 Large black Holland cantaloup. Cantaloup gros noir de 

 Hollande. A large fruit, with green, furrowed, thin rind : and 

 red rather coarse flesh. 



4 Hybrid cantaloup. A small good early fruit, with a 

 whitish rind and red pulp. 



5 Montagu cantaloup. This is a variety produced from the 

 Italian green-fleshed and the smooth scarlet-fleshed cantaloup. 

 A middle-sized, early good fruit, but with a thick, yellow, fur- 

 rowed rind and pale red flesh, which is soft and juicy, and com- 

 pletely melting in the mouth. 



6 Netted cantaloup, or White-seeded cantaloup. This is a 

 very juicy, highly-flavoured, small fruit, with a thin, netted, 

 yellow rind. 



7 Orange cantaloup. A small, round, pale yellow, netted 

 fruit. The flesh, when just fit for cutting, is orange ; but when 

 riper it is more red. In respect to flavour, it is excelled by 

 none of the melon tribe, being juicy, sugary, and rich. The 

 plant is a free grower, an early setter, and a great bearer. 



8 Black rock cantaloup. A large late melon, with a thick dark 

 green rind, and salmon-coloured flesh. It is juicy, but not very 

 high flavoured. 



9 Carbuncled rock cantaloup. Very like the black rock, as 

 to colour and flavour, but differs in being cheese-shaped. 

 There are a small and a large kind of this ; the smaller kind is 

 the best. 



1 Lee's rock cantaloup. Rather long than round, and more 

 green than black. Much the same in flavour as the preceding. 



11 Scarlet-fleshed cantaloup. A middle-sized early good 

 fruit, with a thick yellow rind and red sweet flesh. It is par- 

 ticularly high flavoured. 



