GOURD FAMILY 



WATERMELON 



CitrHUus vulgaris. 



Citrullus refers to the color of the pulp, which is sometimes an or- 

 ange-red, hence citrus color. 



Stem. — Prostrate, eight to fifteen feet long; tendrils two to three- 

 forked. 



Leaves. — Deeply three to five-lobed, pale or bluish-green. 



Flowers. — Monoecious, pale-yellow, borne in the axils of the leaves. 



Calyx. — Bell-shaped, five-lobed. 



Corolla. — Pale-yellow, a spreading cup, five-lobed. 



Stamens. — Three, with short filaments; stigmas three, kidney-shaped. 



Fruit. — Usually an oblong spheroid, greenish-brown, mottled or 

 striped; with a firm rind and a juicy, edible core in which the seeds are 

 embedded. 



The Watermelon seems to have a social status. In Spain, Italy, 

 and our Southern States it is regarded as the especial luxury of the 

 poor. Murillo paints his beggar boys enjoying the fruit, and our 

 newspapers never tire of ringing the changes upon the negro and 

 the Watermelon. 



The wild plant has been discovered in tropical Africa on both 

 sides of the equator. Livingstone reported that he found large 

 districts literally covered with it and that the fruit was eagerly 

 devoured both by the savages and the wild beasts. This was 

 sometimes sweet and sometimes bitter, a characteristic that has 

 followed the cultivated Watermelon throughout all its history. De 

 CandoUe says that the ancient Egyptians cultivated the plant 

 and that it is represented in their paintings. He also gives 

 it to the ancient Hebrews, Arabians, and Berbers, but thinks it 

 came into the Roman world about the beginning of the Christian 

 era and did not reach China until the tenth century. 



The Citron of the gardens is a round and solid variety of the 

 species with almost tasteless flesh, which never softens and is 

 often used as a preserve. 



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