LESSON XXXII 

 MELONS, PUMPKINS, AND CUCUMBERS 



Cultivation. Watermelons, muskmelons, pumpkins, 

 squashes, cucumbers, and gourds belong to the gourd 

 family. All of them except gourds are cultivated as field 

 or garden crops, and in the ( same general way. These 

 vine crops are grown from seeds, planted in the spring, 

 after the weather becomes warm. They are planted 

 in hills from four to seven feet apart each way, and to 

 a depth of one inch or less. They like rich loam soils, 

 and long, hot seasons. The seeds of these vines retain 

 vitality longer than most seeds, and they germinate 

 better after two or three years than when fresh. 



Watermelons have been prized as human food for 

 more than four thousand years ; and no doubt the 

 ancient Egyptian farmer took pride in having large, 

 ripe melons to share with his friends just as we do to-day. 

 Watermelon seeds form quite an article of food in 

 China ; and in Africa there is a vine whose fruit has 

 large, flat seeds that are eaten as we eat nuts. While 

 watermelons grow in the northern part of the United 

 States, yet they do best in the warm, sandy loams of 

 the southern states. 



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