6 MELON CULTURE 



limited, for the most part, to the countries border- 

 ing on the Mediterranean Sea. 



The Watermelon belongs to the genus Citrullus, 

 the name coming from the Latin word Citrus, mean- 

 ing an orange or citron. Its specific name is vul- 

 garis, signifying the common melon; hence, Citrullus 

 vulgaris is its botanical name. The edible pulp of 

 the fruit, in which the dark seeds are imbedded, 

 consists of the large and juicy placentae, which are 

 usually reddish in color. The so-called citron of the 

 garden is a variety of the above species with a hard 

 and firm flesh, which is used for making preserves. 



Fertilization of the Flowers. — By referring again 

 to the description of the flowers, it will be seen that 

 plants belonging to either of these groups must de- 

 pend upon some outside agency for pollination, as 

 the pollen must necessarily be carried some dis- 

 tance before it can come in contact with the pistil. 

 In nature this is amply provided for by bees and 

 other insects, which visit the flowers for the pur- 

 pose of gathering the nectar or pollen, and also by 

 the wind, which carries the pollen for a considerable 

 distance and deposits it upon the pistils. It is not a 

 good plan, however, to depend upon the wind en- 

 tirely for pollination, as experiments have proven 

 that in many instances where the insects were ex- 

 cluded from the blossoms, no fertilization took place 

 and the crop was a failure, although the wind had 

 free access to the flowers. It is a good plan, there- 

 fore, for the melon grower to combine bee keeping 

 with his melon growing, as this will nearly always 

 insure a good stand of fruit. 



It sometimes happens that ju.st as the blossoms 

 are beginning to appear and are nearly ready for 



