4 MELON CULTURE 



leaves differ somewhat from those of the water- 

 melon in that they are roundish, heart-shaped or 

 kidney-shaped, the lobes being rounded, while those 

 of the watermelon are deeply three to five-lobed, 

 and the divisions again lobed or sinuate pinnatifid, 

 pale or bluish. The fruit is of varying size, with a 

 more or less hard rind and sweet flesh, the edible 

 part being the inner portion of the pericarp, the thin 

 and watery placentae being discarded with the 

 seeds. 



There are a number of more or less distinct 

 botanical varieties, which are classified according to 

 the shape, size and character of the fruits, some of 

 which are cultivated more for ornament or as curi- 

 osities than for domestic use. The first two of these 

 varieties mentioned below include the greater por- 

 tion of our commonly cultivated muskmelons, and 

 formerly served to separate them into two groups ; 

 viz., cantaloupes and nutmegs, but these names are 

 now often misapplied by the general public, and the 

 two groups have become so confused that it is now 

 scarcely possible to separate them; in fact, the 

 strictly pure cantaloupe is not grown much in this 

 country. Our cultivated varieties, which com- 

 monly go by the name of cantaloupes, are really 

 nutmegs; but if one wishes to be perfectly proper 

 in speaking of them, he should call them all musk- 

 melons, and let that suffice. 



BOTANICAL VARIETIES 



Variety Cantalonpensis is the cantaloupe. The 

 fruits are usually hard-rined, more or less rough- 

 ened or warty and often with deep furrows running 



