THE WATERMELON. 285 



rieties. The small varieties are, however, very desirable 

 for home use. 



The Winter Melons. One of the most interesting and 

 promising phases of melon growing in California is the ad- 

 vancement of the "winter melon," comprising several 

 types, of which the first to reach California was the Cas- 

 saba or pineapple melon which was introduced in two va- 

 rieties : one by the late General Bidwell, of Chico, in 1869, 

 and another by the late Dr. J. D. B. Stillman in 1878. Of 

 these the latter has secured the greater popularity. Later 

 introductions and selections and probably hybridizations 

 also, have brought half a dozen quite distinct varieties into 

 notice and a considerable product has been secured both 

 for local sale and distant shipment during the late autumn 

 and early winter. Which varieties will survive cannot be 

 told and in this line California seedsmen 's catalogues must 

 be consulted each year. On irrigated lands these melons 

 can be sown in mid-summer and find ample autumn heat 

 and freedom from frost to reach perfection. The ripe 

 fruit remains in good condition for months without cold 

 storage. 



THE WATERMELON. 



The watermelon is more strictly a warm region plant 

 than the muskmelon. It reaches great size and sweetness 

 in interior regions of highest heat, coming nearer to the 

 coast in southern California than in the upper part of the 

 State. The heat is, however, high enough in some of the 

 coast valleys and foothills, which are in some part sepa- 

 rated from the coast by high ranges, -to produce a very 

 good watermelon. 



The gratefulness of the interior climate of California to 

 the watermelon is seen in the way the plants volunteer 

 wherever on cultivated land a melon may have gone to 

 decay. In cultivated orchard they may almost be called 

 weeds, though sometimes the volunteer crop is turned to 

 account. A case is cited where watermelons were planted 

 between the trees in a young orchard. After the melons 



