1050 MUSKMELON 



Two important strains of the netted melon type which iV River A clu 

 have come into great prominence in recent years are the in shape and : 

 Osage, developed in southwestern Michigan, and the yeli-'wish 1:11 t 

 Rocky Ford, developed in Colorado. Another important ijikiIih f.ir n- 

 strainof the same class is the Montreal Market, which has "rii. r^> m. ; 



developed in Canada. These three melons are grown on f)r Ii.<,v, si .-ili 

 a very large scale for the market, and there are middle- 

 men who now make a specialty of the melon crop in its 

 season. 



Some of the forms of the Muskmelon species are very 

 tinlike the ordinary Muskmelons. Some of them are 

 scarcely edible in their raw state, but are used for 



MUSKMELON 



nch. It is variable 

 pyriforni and clear 

 lurous flesh of fair 



1443 The Orange or Chito Melon -Cucumis Melo 



pickles and conserves. Of these are the so-called Snake 

 Cucumber (Plate XIX) and the Orange or Chito melon 

 (Pig. 1448). The latter has been much advertised in 

 recent years as a preserving or mango melon (for mak- 

 ing " mangoes" or mixed pickles). It is a small-leaved 

 slender vine as compared with the common Muskmelon, 

 and it bears an abundance of yellow or orange fruits the 

 size of a hen's egg or lemon. It requires no special 

 culture. The Snake Cucumber is grown mostly as a 

 curiosity in this country, but it may be used for pickles 

 and preserves. 



Another type of Muskmelon is the winter melon. 

 These are described as follows in an Experiment Sta- 

 tion publication (Bailey, Bull. 95, Cornell Exp. Sta.) : 



"There is an interesting class of melons, little known 

 in this country, which gives fruits of long-keeping 

 qualities. These are known as the winter or scentless 

 melons. They are mostly of an oblong shape, with 

 green or grayish hard rinds and commonly a white or 

 green flesh, which often lacks almost entirely the char- 

 acteristic aroma of the Muskmelon. The leaves are 

 generally longer and greener than those of the common 

 melons. The fruits are picked just before frost, when 

 they appear to be as inedible as squashes, and are stored 

 in a fruit-room to ripen. The true winter melons re- 

 quire a long season. We have planted them upon good 

 soil on the flrst day of June, and they have barely come 

 to maturity before frost. There is" little difficulty in 

 keeping some of the varieties until Christmas, if they 

 do not get too ripe in the field, if the fruits are not al- 

 lowed to become frost-bitten, and if the room is cool 

 and rather dry. 



"There are two general types amongst the winter 

 melons which we have grown. One type has a solid 

 interior, like a cucumber, and the seeds are imbedded 

 firmly in the structure of the fruit. The other class 

 has a soft interior and the loose seeds of ordinary mel- 

 ons. To the flrst class belongs the Winter Pineapple, 

 a variety which seems to me to be indistinguishable 

 from the Green-fleshed Maltese melon (Melon de Malte 



Chito 



■•'I'll. ri> III-.' ;i iiiniili.r i>f L-iiu.l vnrii'ties in the second, 

 f,r IiKiv, -SI i-ili li i-l.iss. 'I'll,. .,[1,: wliich we have liked 

 best is the French Winter Climbing Nutmeg {iielon 

 Brodi vert grim pant). It has a sweet and good green 

 flesh. The seeds are very small. The fi-uit is small, 

 ribbed and very dark green with yellow furrows. It 

 keeps well until December. Another good melon is the 

 White Antibes of the French [Melon Brodi d' Antibes 

 hlanc d' Hiiet A chair verte). 

 It IS an egg shaped melqp of 

 good size, bright green un- 

 til full maturity, and hard 

 shelled It is a verv long 

 keepei The Redfleshed Mal- 

 tese ni I n excels other mel- 

 I t tl !s class in quality, 

 tl 11 1 1 ing aromatic and 

 1 I I t IS not so good a 

 1 I the green-fleshed 



I I \\, these winter 



1 « orth growing for 



1 rhe quality is not 



1 th It of the summer 

 1 h)ns hut this defect is 

 % er balanced bv their long- 

 k eping qualities. Amongst 



I 1 mment varieties are the 

 \\ inter t limbing Nutmeg, the 

 Wliitp \ntihes and perhaps 

 tl ^\ mtei Pineapple. These 



II Ions aie also useful for the 

 nuking of conserves." 



For other melon types and 

 for a sketch of the botany of 

 them, see the article in Vol. I 

 on Cuciimt!, l, h. B. 



The Muskmelon, a fruit of 

 much commercial value, is 

 grown in ditferent localities under varied methods. 

 Where they are grown in largest quantities, as in the 

 South, the simplest methods are employed. There the 

 seed is dropped in hills of well-enriched soil, three to 

 five to each hill, and covered with about 2 in. of soil; 

 when there is danger of chilly weather after iil:iiiting, 

 they are covered with litter. n- -imw iin.il il,. ,.i] :,n,\ 

 temperature become warm. \ . < is 



throughout the country, ami \' li i ■ 1 ill 



admit, melon-growing is tolli- ■ n; .i.ii ..1: 



care and trouble, mainly b«-.:.i. '.■ . . iii.h iliey 

 require to produce a fair pe 

 not be allotted them, and c 

 best cultivation are required 



vide a frame or pit, in which, ;ii 1. r n -li.sl' li.itbed 

 been made, and upon which the s.iil to the thickness of 

 about 2 in. has been placed, the sash will be only 12 in. 

 from the soil. Then place pieces of evenly cut sod 2 

 in. thick by 4 in. square, with the grass side down, on 

 the soil, laying them close together, the edges touch- 

 ing, and with a sharp-pointed trowel dig out the center 

 of each piece of sod, barely penetrating through, and 

 fill up the space dug out with ir.'o.l soil, somewhat 



sandy. In each of these plac. ; .Ir i. t"- . .. . <ls, either 

 of Musk- or Watermelon ; k. . , ' _' •' • t and also 

 well protected during night i.' 1 , , - .nul when 



there is no sunshine. Aftt r ::, . -]..ial care 



must be exercised to keep thum ,^i.j\\ m;,-, I'Ut not too 

 fast, as the roots will penetrate the sod, and the plants 

 will wilt when transferred to the open ground. The 

 matter of ventilating and other care is easily given, and 

 they can be transfen-t-d at will when the weather per- 

 mits, as they will ln'iu- tl..' 1 r:in-|.|:ii,; m.' •,, iili.iM 111 HILT 

 injured. Thetransti- _ nt 



each piece of sod wii I .11 



ground where waute.l, m iii.mil' i !;•■ ini:- -i v ir.-i m, j..iis 

 6 ft. apart each way ami the .Muskiiuioiis .i it. jm iho 

 rows and 6 ft. between the rows. 



Another excellent operation employed by gardeners 

 for the quick growing and full development of the finest 



pro- 



