156 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



Buttercup. Bright chrome yellow in color, very beau- 

 tiful: tender and desirable. A popular new sort. 



Insects and Diseases. There are few insects or diseases that 

 seriously affect the lettuce when grown outdoors. In the 

 greenhouse and occasionally in the hotbeds, it is sometimes 

 attacked by the aphis and mildew. For remedies for aphis, 

 see chapter on insects. Mildew is most abundant where the 

 conditions for healthy growth are wanting. 



M ART YNI A . ( Marty nia p robosidea, ) 



Nativeof Southwestern United States. — Annual. — A coarse- 

 growing, spreading plant, having a 

 peculiar shaped fruit that is used for 

 pickles. The flowers are large, ir- 

 regular and rather pretty. The fruit 

 is tender when young but is nearly as 

 hard as horn when ripe. The seeds- 

 are black with a rough surface. 



Culture. This is a plant of the easi- 

 est culture. The seed should be sown 



as soon as the soil settles in the spring, 

 Fig. I .-Martynia. ^ hmg abQut three feet apart eacll 



way. Where seed are allowed to ripen, plants usually ap- 

 pear the following spring. There is only one variety. 



MUSKMELON. ( Cucumis melo. ) 



Native of the warm parts of Asia. — Annual. — Cultivated 

 from a very remote period of antiquity. It resembles the cu- 

 cumber in habit of growth, and. like it and the squash, the 

 different sexes of flowers are separate on the same plant and 

 in nature require the agency of insects to pollenize them; 

 however, they may be pollenized by hand, and the directions 

 given for pollenizing cucumber flowers apply here. In quite 

 a few cases the flowers of the muskmelon are perfect, that is, 

 have both stamens and pistils; but it is likely that even in 

 these cases cross-fertilization is necessary. The seed re- 

 sembles cucumber seed in size and form. The fruit varies in 

 shape but is commonly round or oval. The flesh varies in 

 color from nearly white to deep orange. This is one of the 



