MEL 



[ 531 ] 



MEN 



forcing rhubarb, &c., in the winter." 

 Gardeners' Chronicle. 



Culture of the Persian kinds. These 

 are much more tender than the ordinary 

 green-fleshed melons ; they will not en- 

 dure so low a temperature, and neither 

 will they thrive in so moist an atmosphere. 

 A high authority, speaking of the Persian 

 melons, has thus observed : " They are 

 found to require a very high temperature, 

 a dry atmosphere, and an extremely 

 bumid soil, while they are at the same 

 time impatient of an undue supply of 

 moisture, which causes spottings and 

 decay long before the fruit is ripe." 



We are informed that in Persia, where 

 the melon grows in the open fields, that 

 the ground where they are cultivated is 

 crossed in various ways by streams, be- 

 tween which the melons are placed on 

 raised beds highly manured. It would 

 seem, therefore, that in order to excel in 

 their culture, the following may be taken 

 as maxims : 1st. The brightest of glass 

 is requisite, to admit every ray possible 

 of the sunlight. 2nd. A very high at- 

 mospheric temperature must be sus- 

 tained, and especially in order that the 

 cultivator may be enabled to ventilate 

 freely, to prevent the accumulation of 

 damp. 3rd. A rich soil, dry in its upper 

 surface, but rather moist beneath. It is 

 urged by those who have been successful 

 in their culture, that they should be 

 trained on trellises ; and there is no 

 doubt the opinion is correct. They may, 

 however, be trained against the back 

 walls of stoves, or grown in large pots, 

 to which in due time a dish of water 

 may be affixed, and the shoots trained 

 on portable trellises. 



We will conclude with a few general 

 remarks. The foliage of melons, of 

 whatever kind, should never be ruffled or 

 disturbed ; training and stopping, there- 

 fore, must be attended to in due time. 

 Melons should not be encouraged to be- 

 come luxuriant until a crop of fruit com- 

 mences swelling ; after this it is almost 

 impossible to encourage them too much. 

 Again, they should never be watered in- 

 discriminately overhead, after the man- 

 ner of cucumbers, unless it be some of 

 the ordinary green-flesh kinds, during 

 periods of continued heat and a dry at- 

 mosphere. 



Diseases. These are few properly so 

 called except the gum and canker, and 

 those are mostly engendered by wounds 



or bruises on gross subjects, producing a 

 sort of vegetable gangrene. When such 

 occurs, it is a good plan to place a slate, 

 tile, or piece of glass beneath the affected 

 part, and to pile a mixture of quick-lime 

 three parts, and charcoal-dust one part, in 

 a hillock around and above the wound, 

 changing the same whenit becomes damp. 



Insects. See ACAEUS, APHIS, and 

 THRIPS. 



MELON PUMPKIN. Curcu'bita metope' po. 



MELON THISTLE. Meloca'ctus. 



MELON TUBK'S-CAP. Meloca'ctus com- 

 mu'nis. 



MEME'CYLON. (Dioscorides' name for 

 the fruit of the Arbutus. Nat. ord., 

 Melastomads [Melastomacese]. Linn., 

 S-Octandria \-Monogynia. AlKed to 

 Mouriria.) 



The berries of M. edu'le are eatable, but not 

 very good. Stove evergreens. Cuttings of shoot 

 in sand, under a glass, in heat ; loam and peat, 

 with a good portion of sand, and pieces of char- 

 coal. Winter temp., 50 to 55; summer, 60 

 to 85. 



M. angula'tum (angled). 3. Purple. May. 

 Mauritius. 1 826. 



capitella'tum (small-headed). 4. July. E. 



Ind. 1796. 



edu'le (eatable). 10. Purple. Ceylon. 1820. 



gra'nde (large). Blue. May. E. Ind. 1824. 



MENASTE'LMA. (From mene, the moon, 

 and stelma, a crown ; referring to the 

 shape of the heads of flowers. Nat. 

 ord., Asclepiads [AsclepiadaceseJ. Linn., 

 5-Pentandria 2-Digynia. 



Stove evergreen twiner. Cuttings of the young 

 shoots when three inches long, taken off close to 

 the stem, in sand, under a glass, and in bottom- 

 heat ; peat and loam. Winter temp., 55 to 60 ; 

 summer, 60 to 80. 



M. parvifln'rum (small-flowered). 6. Green, 

 white. W. Ind. 



MENIO'CUS. (From mene, the moon, 

 and okkos, the eye; referring to the shape 

 of the seed-pod. Nat. ord., Crudfers 

 [BrassicaceseJ. Linn., 15-Tetradynamia. 

 Allied to Aubretia.) 



A hardy annual. Seed in April, in common soil. 

 M. linifo'lius (flax-leaved). . White. June. 

 Caucasus. 181 Q. 



MENI'SCIUM. (From meniskos, a cres- 

 cent; referring to the shape of the spore, 

 or seed-cases. Nat. ord., Ferns [Poly- 

 podiacese]. Linn., %-L-Cryptoya.inia 1- 

 Filices.) 



Stove Ferns, with brown spores. See FKRNS. 

 M. cuspida'tum (sharp-poiuted). May. Isle of 

 Luzon. 



patu'stre (marsh). 4. May. W. Ind. 



proli'ferum (proliferous). May. E. Ii,d. 1820. 



ret icula' turn (netted). J. May. Martinique. 



1793. 



