64 



THE VEGETABLES OF NEW YORK 



and until about 1901 the variety was well known. The 

 fruits were large often weighing up to 20 pounds, " oblong, 

 heavily netted, with green flesh, rather coarse in quality 

 but quite sweet." 



Bottomly. Refs. 58, 109. Syn. Schramm. 



This melon, which belongs in the Netted Gem group, 

 was a selection from Anne Arundel. First offered in 

 1918 by George Tait & Sons of Norfolk, Virginia, it has 

 seemed well suited to growing conditions as found in the 

 tri-state area and Virginia. Thos. F. Bcttomly of 

 Maryland made the original selection and the variety 

 bears his name. An earlier selection from the Bottomly 

 was made by the Schramm Brothers of Maryland and 

 this became known as the Schramm Melon. 



It is a moderately early variety, having reached 

 maturity at Geneva several days earlier than Acme, in 

 season with Anne Arundel, and about a week later than 

 Early Prolific Nutmeg. The fruits are similar in shape 

 to Anne Arundel, being less fusiform and more oval. 

 The netting is more profuse and more finely interlaced 

 while the flesh is darker green in color. 



Plant moderately vigorous; vines medium coarse and heavy. 



Fruit moderately small, 5J4/-6 x 4-4 J i inches; weight 1 J -_.-2 

 pounds. Shape oval, apex even and rounded; blossom scar moder- 

 ately conspicuous; base full and rounded, occasionally somewhat 

 tapered; ribs obscure, about 1 '4 inches broad at the medial, not very 

 uniform; furrows narrow, shallow, smooth, and extend from base to 

 apex. Netting abundant, finely interlaced, particularly at the apex; 

 cork heavy, distributed uniformly over the ribs, base and apex; 

 interstices moderately deep with skin rather profusely covered with 

 hair-like fuzz; skin color green, slightly mottled with dull orange 

 yellow. Flesh green, medium thick, l'| inches; texture medium 

 firm, rather juicy, slightly coarse and fibrous; sweet, rather sprightly, 

 highly flavored, pleasant aroma; quality good. Cavity small, 

 2)4 x 2 inches, somewhat triangular in crors-section. Rind medium 

 thick, J \ inch, strong and tough. 



BurrelTs Gem. Refs. 15, 54, 58, 64, 74, 75, 101, 105, 



109, 110, 129, 133, 136, 143. Syns. Benton 



Harbor Gem, Berry's Favorite, Burrell's Netted 



Gem, Defender, Earliest Gem, Early Wonder, 



Farthest North, Ferry's New Defender, Gem, 



Golden Treasure, Improved Burrell's Gem, Jumbo 



Pink, Jumbo Pink Meat, Mill's Famous, Ordway 



Cantaloupe, Ordway Gem, Ordway Pink, Ordway 



Pink Meat, Ordway Queen, Pink Flesh, Pink 



Meat, Red Rocky Ford, Salmon Fleshed. 



Defender was introduced by D. M. Ferry & Co. of 



Detroit in 1901 and probably came as a selection from 



the variety Paul Rose. Soon after its introduction a 



selection from it was introduced by D. V. Burrell, 



Rocky Ford, Colorado, and called Burrell's Gem. In 



the 1907 Burrell catalog this is stated to possess " a 



combination of the characteristics of the following 



varieties: Osage, Defender, Rocky Ford, and Acme, and 



more particularly the Defender and Acme." Since that 



time the names " Defender " and " Burrell's Gem " have 



been practically synonymous and while the latter is 



more frequently used, a qualifying statement is often 



made; " known also as ' Defender ' or ' Ordway Pink 



Meat.' ' The last represents merely a thicker-meated 



strain named for the town, Ordway, Colorado.) 



As a midseason shipping melon this variety has few 

 equals. It produced edible fruits 4 or 5 days earlier 

 than Pollock 10-25, in season with Hearts of Gold, and 

 a few days later than Bender's Surprise and Hale's Best. 

 The netting is much more streaked and the fruits more 

 fusiform than Hale's Best and are furrowed similarly to 

 Hearts of Gold. The netting is much like that of Hale's 

 Best, although often is not as finely interlaced. 



Plant vigorous; vines moderately coarse and heavy. 



Fruit moderately small, 6 l ^-7 x 4} £-4 ' 2 inches; weight 2 ] 2-3 

 pounds. Shape long oval, apex and base somewhat rounded to 

 slightly tapered; blossom scar obscure; ribs rather prominent, l'j 

 inches broad at the medial; furrows moderately narrow, shallow, 

 smooth and conspicuous. Netting abundant, moderately fine laced; 

 cork medium heavy, distributed uniformly over the ribs, base and 

 apex; interstices medium deep. Skin color dark green becoming 

 rather yellowish green at full maturity Flesh salmon-orange, 

 moderately thick, IJ2— 1 3 4 inches; texture fine, moderately firm, 

 moderately juicy, somewhat pulpy; sweet, rather sprightly, 

 highly flavored, pleasant aroma; quality very good. Cavity mod- 

 erately small, 4 x l'o inches, triangular in cross-section. Rind 

 medium thick, ' , inch, strong and tough. 



Bush. Refs. 74, 109. Syns. Henderson Bush, Vineless, 

 Vineless Jenny Lind. 

 This is the first muskmelon to be introduced, of all 

 the hundreds of special introductions, as a vineless or 

 bush variety. After several years of breeding and 

 selecting, Peter Henderson & Co. in 1912 offered it as 

 Henderson Bush. " Valuable and remarkable as a seed 

 novelty, a climax in plant breeding and vine curtail- 

 ment," its merit was especially extolled because of 

 the increased number of hills which might be planted on 

 a given acre. The bush character was obtained by a 

 shortening of the stem between the nodes. The fruits 

 were green-fleshed very similar to the popular Jenny 

 Lind. 



California Beauty. Refs. 133, 146. Syn. California 

 Large Nutmeg. 

 This was introduced by Johnson 85 Musser Seed Co., 

 Los Angeles, in 1898 as an extra early green-fleshed 

 melon similar to Hackensack. Judging from illustrations 

 which appeared in early catalogs the fruits seem to have 

 been slightly smaller and to have more closely meshed 

 netting. The variety was popular on the San Francisco 

 market and is in limited use in some sections today. 



Captain. Refs. 26, 53, 98, 99, 100. 



This melon, a green-fleshed sort, attracted attention 

 because of its earliness. It was somewhat like Hacken- 

 sack but smaller, and was pictured in the 1897 catalog 

 of Johnson & Stokes, Philadelphia. Popular for some 

 time on the markets of that city nevertheless it was 

 offered only for a few years. 



Casaba. Refs. 10, 14, 15, 22, 28, 29, 32, 39, 41, 45, 46, 



49, 58, 88, 90, 91, 92, 93, 95, 96, 98, 99, 100, 105, 



108, 109, 110, 120, 124, 127, 129, 133, 134, 136, 



142, 144, 146. 



The Casaba, native to Asia Minor, belongs to the 



winter melon group. The name itself is derived from the 



town Kassabah near Smyrna. Inasmuch as it is very late 



in maturing and requires a long growing season, it has 



