CHAPTER IV 



MUSKMELONS 



The first record of the muskmelon being grown 

 in the New World was made by Columbus in 1494 

 upon the return from his second voyage. Nothing is 

 known concerning the type of melons grown, but they 

 apparently gave rise to desirable sorts, for their dif- 

 fusion into other parts of America was quite rapid. 

 Cartier reported their presence in 1535 among the 

 Indians near the present city of Montreal, and they were 

 known to exist in Virginia in 1609. Similar reports 

 indicate that the Indians grew them in the vicinity of 

 Philadelphia prior to 1748. In M'Mahon's catalog of 

 1806, 13 sorts are listed all of which were direct importa- 

 tions from the Old World and accounts of which are 

 included in European literature. Of these Citron and 

 Nutmeg have apparently served as foundation stock for 

 the large number of green-fleshed melons which have 

 been developed. It is said that the Citron or Green 

 Fleshed melon was brought into France by a monk from 

 Africa in 1777, and that it spread from there to many 

 countries and gave rise to numerous varieties. From 

 one of these the variety Pineapple arose and was listed 

 by Thorburn at least as early as 1824. About ten years 

 later Skillman's Netted was introduced and continued 

 to be a favorite sort for many years. 



Orange-fleshed sorts were known to have been culti- 

 vated at the time of M'Mahon. Just when the common 

 muskmelon of Mawe and Abercrombie appeared is not 

 known, although Long Yellow, acknowledged to be the 

 same, was definitely known about 1846. Soon after 

 that date these highly colored sorts became more promi- 

 nent as evidenced by the introduction of Christiana about 

 1850, Sill's Hybrid in 1870 and Surprise in 1876. An 

 orange-fleshed melon introduced into this country some- 

 time after Perry's visit to Japan in 1853, later designated 

 as White Japan, may have had a decided influence in the 

 development of Surprise and others of its type. 



Although there are many instances in the literature 

 which emphasize the existence of extreme variation 

 among muskmelons, growers and seedsmen apparently 

 were not especially interested in the selection and further 

 development of them until after 1880. In the decade 

 1880 to 1890 no less than 17 new and distinct sorts were 

 cataloged, among them being Acme, Champion Market, 

 Emerald Gem, Hackensack, Irondequoit, Miller's Cream, 

 Netted Gem and Osage. The next decade saw the great- 

 est varietal development of any 10 -year period in the his- 

 tory of American muskmelons when nearly 30 distinct 

 sorts were introduced. At this time Bender, Cosmopoli- 

 tan, Gold Coin, Grand Rapids, Kinsman Queen, Long 

 Island Beauty, Paul Rose, Tip Top, and a host of others 

 were listed as new sorts. Interest receded slightly at 

 the beginning of the 20th century, the production of 

 the first 20 years merely equalling that of the preceding 

 10. This period saw the development of Defender, Ford- 



hook, Knight, Pollock No. 25, Hearts of Gold, Melodew 

 and Pollock No. 10-25. The last 15 years have shown a 

 marked increase in the development cf new varieties 

 during which period there have been 2 7 new introductions. 

 Most notable among these are Delicious, Edward's 

 Perfecto, Golden Champlain, Hale's Best, Honey Rock, 

 Peerless Pearl, Imperial Sunset and Weaver Special. 



Before the introduction of Netted Gem and the 

 consequent development of the Rocky Ford melons, the 

 area devoted to the culture of muskmelons extended 

 from the northeastern states south to Georgia and the 

 Carolinas and as far west as Missouri. As compared 

 to the present when some 35 states make commercial 

 shipments, one is impressed with the revolutionary 

 changes which occurred and which can be very largely 

 traced to the development of Netted Gem, coupled 

 with better shipping facilities. Obviously growers in 

 the melon shipping districts conducted variety trials 

 to determine the value of other sorts, and in so doing 

 undoubtedly brought about some hybridization. As a 

 result, the development of such varieties and strains as 

 Eden Gem, Pollock No. 25, Pollock 10-25, Edwards 

 Perfecto, Superfecto, Hale's Best, etc., present a rather 

 involved situation, the details of which can be read in 

 the discussion of the above mentioned varieties. 



1 Lindley, George, Guide to Orchard and Kitchen Garden. 



DISCUSSION OF CLASSIFICATIONS 



Although several early writers included lists of melon 

 varieties few of them made any attempt to classify the 

 existing sorts. The 9 varieties listed by Mawe and 

 Abercrombie in 1778 were the most comprehensive list 

 available at that time. Apparently each of the three 

 botanical varieties was represented, yet no distinction 

 was made between them. 



In 1831 Lindley 1 , an English writer, made a compre- 

 hensive study of the melons and published his classifica- 

 tion. The group was first divided into two divisions, 

 based on the season at which the melons were used, viz: 

 summer melons and winter melons. Each of these in 

 turn were further divided according to the color of the 

 flesh (red, green, or green and white) and thickness of 

 the rind (thick, moderately thick or thin). Apparently 

 all were known simply as melons, for there is no evidence 

 of a separation based on present day recognized botanical 

 varieties. 



Vilmorin-Andrieux in their first edition of Les 

 Plantes Potageres (1856), included a very comprehen- 

 sive discussion of varieties. In succeeding editions 

 additional information was included and in 1883, the 

 melons were divided into two major groups, netted 

 melons and cantaloupe or Rock melons. The former was 

 further divided into varieties of major importance on the 

 continent, other varieties of netted melons, and English 

 and American varieties. The last group was again 



London, England. 1831. 



60 



