364 FORCING GARDEN. 



Fig. 49. 



perience of the Horticultural Society of London, has been 

 found " far superior to any other yet constructed." Trans., 

 vol. vi., p. 373. Sometimes the whole is formed of wood, 

 or sometimes only the part above ground. 



The extent of the melonry must depend upon the size 

 of the garden, and the amount of the demand. Where 

 there is a large family, and especially where pine-apples are 

 cultivated (to the forwarding of which some portion of the 

 melonry may frequently be auxiliary), sixty or seventy 

 sashes may be considered as a moderate complement. 



The MELON ( Cucumis Melo) has long been cultivated in 

 Britain, but the period of its introduction and its native 

 country are not well ascertained. The plant is a tender 

 annual, requiring considerable care and skill to rear it in 

 perfection ; but it repays the labors of the horticulturist 

 by affording a large, and to most persons a highly palata- 

 ble, fruit. The varieties are numerous, and, from their ten- 

 dency to sport or vary, are rather fugitive in their dura- 

 tion. Many of the old favorites have disappeared, and 

 those at present in vogue will doubtless take the same 

 course, or will at least assume new forms, while they retain 

 their old names. In these circumstances, it is deemed un- 

 necessary to enter into minute description, or to do more than 

 give a list of the sorts at present best deserving of cultiva- 

 tion. It may be premised that they all belong to the spe- 

 cies usually called the Musk Melon. The Water Melon, 



