10.30 



MUSKMELON 



MUSKMELON 



Two important strains of the netted iinr-lnn typo which. 

 have come into great prominence In recent years are the 

 <.)sage, developed in southwestern Michigan, and the 

 Rocky Ford, developed in Colorado. Another imjtoTtant 

 strain of the same class is the Montreal Market, which lias 

 developed in Canada. These three melons are i^rrowii <m 

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

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

 season. 



Some of the forms of the Muskmelon species are very 

 unlike the ordinary Muskmelons. Some of them ;ire 

 s<'arcelv edible in tlieir raw state. t)ut are nsed for 



1443. 1 he Orange or Chito ^lcl..^ Cucumis Melo. var. C 



piidvles and conserves. ( )f these are the so-called Snake 

 <'ucumber (Plate XIX) and the Orange or Chito melon 

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

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

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

 slender vine as compared with tlie ccunmon IMnskmelon, 

 a7id it bears an abundance of yellow or orange fruits the 

 .size of a hen's egg or lemon. It ref|uires no special 

 i'lilture. The Snake Cucum)>er is gr<")wn mostly as a 

 • •iiriosity in this country, luit it may lie used for jiiitkles 

 and preserves. 



Another type of IMusk melon is the winter melon. 

 These are described as follows in an Exjieriment Sta- 

 tion pnblicati(m (Bailey, Bull. 95, Cornell Ex]». Sta. ) : 



"There is an interesting class of meh)ns, little known 

 in this country, which gives fruits of long-kee])iM;i' 

 (pialities. 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, wiiich often lacks almost entirely the char- 

 acteristic aroina of tlie Musknielon. The leaves are 

 getiHrally longer and greener than those of the common 

 mehms. The fruits are picked just before frost. wIxmi 

 they appear to be as inedible as s<.iuashes, and are stored 

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

 <iuire a long season. We have planted them upon good 

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

 to maturity before frost. There is little dilliculty in 

 keejdng 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 

 linnly in the structure of the fruit. The other class 

 has u soft interior and the lof>se seeds of ordinary mel- 

 ons. To the first class belongs the Winter Pineapph.', 

 a \'ariety which seems to nie to Ije indistingnislial)le 

 from tlie Green-fleshed Maltese juelon { M<'loii <h' Mallr 



<r IlivfT a rhair cerfe) of the French. It is variable 

 in shape and size, but is commonly pyriform and (dear 

 yellowish green, with a green inodorous tiesh uf fair 

 (juality for its class. 



"There are a number of good varieties in the second, 

 or loose-seeded class. The one which we have liked 

 l)est is the French Winter Climbing Nutmeg (JiJelon 

 J>r<>de vrrt fjrhnpant). It has a sweet and good green 

 tlesh. The seeds are very small. The fruit is small, 

 ril»bed and very dark green with yellow furrows. It 

 keeps well until December. Another good melon is the 

 White Antibes of the French (Melon Erode c7' A-ntibes 

 hlanc d' Hiver d chair verte). 

 It is an egg-shaped melon of 

 good size, bright green un- 

 til full maturity, and hard 

 shelled. It is a very long 

 keeper. The Redtleshed Mal- 

 tese melon excels other mel- 

 ons of this class in quality, 

 the flesh being aromatic and 

 rich, but is not so good a 

 keeper as the green-fleshed 

 sorts. 



"In general, these winter 

 melons are worth growing for 

 home use. The quality is not 

 so good as that of the summer 

 melons, but this defect is 

 over balanced by their long- 

 keeping qualities. Amongst 

 prominent varieties are the 

 Winter Climbing Nutmeg, the 

 White Antibes and perhaps 

 the Winter Pineapple. These 

 melons are also useful for the 

 making of conserves." 



For other melon types and 

 for a sketch of the botanj' of 

 them, see the article in Vol. I 

 on Cucumis. l_ jj^ g_ 



The Muskmelon, a fruit of 

 much commercial value, is 

 Li Town in different 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 planting, 

 they are covei'ed with litter or straw until the soil and 

 temperature become warm. Among private gardeners 

 throughout the country, and where climate and soil will 

 admit, melon-growing is followed with a great deal of 

 care and trouble, mainly because the area which they 

 re(inire to produce a fair percentage of good fruit can- 

 not be allotted them, and consequently close care and 

 best cultivation are required. The first thing is to pro- 

 vide a frame or pit, in which, after a slight hotbed has 

 been made, and upon which the soil 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 

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

 the soil, laying then\ 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 good soil, somewhat 

 sandy. In each of these places drop two seeds, either 

 of Musk- or Watermelon ; keep slightly moist and also 

 well protected during night and cool days and when 

 there is no sunshine. After they start special care 

 must be exercised to keep them growing, but 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 transferred at will when the weather per- 

 mits, as they will be:ir the transplanting without being 

 injured. The transferring must be done by taking out 

 each piece of sod wilh a trowel and setting in the open 

 ground where wanteil, nmking the hills of "Watermelons 

 G ft. apart each way and the Muskmelons .3 ft. in the 

 rows and fi ft. between the rows. 



ATiother excellent operation CTnidoyed bv gnrdenei-a 

 for tlie quick growing and full develo])m.'Ut of the flnest 



