CUCURBITACEvE. 



201 



the common cucumber. Its original station has not 

 been accurately ascertained. It is the Ketimon or 

 Timon of the Indians, and is considered by many as 

 a native of Tartary and the East Indies, It was 

 introduced into this country in 1597, and is at present 

 in general cultivation everywhere. There are several 

 varieties of the plant, the most important of which 

 are, the green cucumber, the yellow, the white, the 

 variegated, and the peaked. 



The common rough green prickly cucumber pro- 

 duces fruit six or seven inches long, of a dark green 

 colour, and set with small prickles. It bears well, 

 but not early. The short green prickly bears a 

 smoother fruit, three or four inches long. It is one 

 of the hardiest and earliest of the varieties. The 

 long green prickly, the early green cluster, the long 

 smooth green and white Turkey, the large smooth 

 green Roman, and the long white prickly Dutch, are 

 well known to gardeners all over the country. 



Cucumber seeds are sown in hotbeds covered with 

 frames and glasses for early fruit, and in the open 

 ground for late crops. The earthy mould, which is 

 spread over the dung of the hotbed, ought to be light 

 and of a rich quality. The glasses should be covered 

 with mats or straw during the night, so as to protect 

 the plants from the cold. A regular supply of heat 

 2nd. a. due allowance of moisture are the circumstances 

 whii attention in their cultivation. There 



are generally three crops in the year : the first in 

 March and April, from the plants reared altogether 

 in the hotbed ; the second in May and June, from 

 those which are raised under hand-glasses ; and the 

 third in August and September, from those which 

 have grown on ridges in the open air without artificial 

 hear. The early short and long prickly sorts are 

 preferred for the first crops. In cultivation, those 

 with the smoothest rind and fewest seeds are most 

 esteemed. The cucumber has not the sweet tasle 

 and delightful perfume of the melon. When fresh, it 

 is insipid, watery, and even in some degree nauseous. 

 After its outer covering has been taken off, it is cut 

 into thin slices and eaten with vinegar, oil, and pepper. 

 It is not very nutritive, but is greatly relished by 

 many persons. The emperor Tiberius is said to have 

 been very fond of cucumbers, and by proper manage- 

 ment he was able to procure one every day at all 

 seasons of the year. 



The pulp of the cucumber when fresh is employed 

 as a cooling external application, and a pommade is 

 made from it which is used to soften the skin and 

 remove any slight scaly eruptions which may appear 

 on it. The seeds are made into an emulsion. When 

 in a young state, the cucumber is used for pickles 

 under the name of Girkins. 



Cucumbers are produced in great quantity in some 

 parts of England. It is stated, that the village of 

 Sandy in Bedfordshire has produced 10,000 bushels 

 of cucumbers fit for pickling in the course of one 

 week. 



Cucumis Melo, common or musk melon, is a plant 

 highly prized on account of the delicious fruit which 

 it produces. It was originally a native of the western 

 countries of Asia, and is called Retimou by the 

 Indians. It has been cultivated in our gardens since 

 the year 1570, and is extensively diffused all over 

 Europe. There are several varieties of the plant, 

 the chief of which are, the netted, the Cantalupe (so 

 called from, a place near Rome where it is much 

 cultivated), and the Maltese melon. By cultivation 



the varieties of melon have of late been greatly 

 multiplied. 



The melon is raised from seeds, and requires the 

 same apparatus and care as is necessary for the 

 cucumber. The frames and pits should be rather 

 deeper, and brick pits are in general preferred. For 

 the ^arly crops the seeds ought to be sown about the 

 middle of January or the beginning of February, and 

 sowings ought to take place again in March, so that 

 a succession of crops may be obtained. After five or 

 six weeks' growth in the first hotbeds, the plants may 

 be transferred to fruiting beds where there is more 

 space and a better supply of air. As the melons 

 approach to maturity, pieces of slate or tile should be 

 placed under each of them in order to prevent them 

 being injured by damp, or acquiring an earthy flavour. 

 Moisture ought not to be supplied in great quantity 

 until the fruit is perfectly set. 



The melon, on account of its luscious sweet taste, 

 is valued as a summer fruit, and is commonly pro- 

 duced on our tables as an article of dessert. Its flesh 

 is also preserved in vinegar and sugar. It is much 

 more refreshing than nutritive. In France it is eaten 

 in great quantity both before and during dinner. In 

 that country it is a common addition to boiled beef. 

 It is a fruit by no means well adapted for weak sto- 

 machs, inasmuch as it is digested with difficulty. It 

 is apt to produce affections of the bowels and stomach, 

 and as a good precaution ought always to be eaten 

 with pepper or some aromatic stimulant. It is said 

 to be beneficial in some chronic affections of the kid- 

 neys, bladder, and chest. The pulp of the fresh 

 melon is sometimes applied with advantage to burns 

 and contusions, and when boiled it forms a good 

 emollient poultice. The seeds contain mucilage and 

 fixed oil, and are known in France by the name of 

 Sentences froides. They are deprived of their outer 

 covering and triturated with water, so as to form an 

 emulsion, which has been administered in ischuria, 

 inflammations of the kidneys and bladder, and in 

 inflammatory fever. 



Cucumis colocynthis, colocynth or bitter cucumber, 

 is an annual plant which grows abundantly in Turkey, 

 Nubia, and the Islands of the Archipelago, and is 

 sometimes cultivated in other parts of Europe. The 

 fruit of the plant is a yellow globular berry, the size 

 of a small orange, containing a white spongy substance 

 in which numerous seeds are imbedded. The fruit, 

 is much used in medicine, and is imported into this 

 country from the Levant. It is gathered in autumn, 

 when it begins to turn yellow, and having been de- 

 prived of its outer coat is dried quickly in a stove or 

 in the sun. By this means the pulp is converted into 

 a white papery looking matter, and in this state is 

 commonly known by the name of Coloquintida apple. 

 The white spongy or medullary part of the fruit, de- 

 prived of its rind and seeds, is the only portion of the 

 plant which is employed medicinally. It is inodo- 

 rous, and has an intensely bitter and nauseous taste. 

 Alcohol extracts its bitterness, and acquires at the 

 same time a yellow colour. The alcoholic solution, 

 when evaporated, yields a resinous substance which, 

 from being considered the active principle of the 

 drug, has been denominated Colocynthine. It does 

 not, however, appear that the proper purgative prin- 

 ciple of colocynth has been discovered. 



Colocynth is a drastric purgative, and as such was 

 employed in ancient times by the Greeks and Romans 

 for the cure of dropsies, apoplexy, madness, and 



