70 



THE VEGETABLES OF NEW YORK 



than Early Bird and usually more coarsely and much less 

 uniformly netted. 



Plant medium in vigor; vines moderately slender; branches 

 moderately few. 



Fruit small, 4 ! _>-5 x 5-5 '_> inches; weight 2-2 } i pounds. 

 Shape oblate, often somewhat lopsided; blossom scar moderately 

 conspicuous; ribs moderately prominent, irregular in width; furrows 

 medium broad, irregular in depth, often netted. Netting medium 

 in amount, rather coarsely and irregularly interlaced over the ribs; 

 cork moderately heavy, irregularly distributed; interstices medium 

 deep. Skin color brownish yellow, sparsely mottled with green. 

 Flesh light green, blending to greenish yellow toward the cavity, 

 thin, : ! 4~1 inch; texture moderately coarse and slightly fibrous, 

 soft and juicy; slightly sweet, poorly flavored, aroma lacking, 

 quality poor. Cavity moderately small, 3 x 2 ] 4 inches, circular in 

 cross-section. Rind thick, J 4 inch, rather weak and tender. 



Extra Early Osage. Refs. 37, 58, 79, 105, 109. Syns. 

 Extra Early Osage Gem, Osage Early. 



This variety was offered in 1907 by D. M. Ferry 

 & Co., Detroit, as a " Special strain of Osage selected 

 particularly for earliness." Inasmuch as the Osage 

 melon was such a popular sort, the shortening of the 

 period necessary to reach maturity was of great interest 

 to growers in all regions. 



It is a moderately early variety, about 6-8 days 

 earlier than Osage, in season with Delicious, and 3-4 

 days later than Golden Champlain. It most resembles 

 Osage in shape and skin cclcr; however, it is smaller 

 and mere profusely netted than that variety. Many 

 consider it distinctly superior to Osage in quality. 



Fruit moderately small, 6-6 '2 x 5-5 ] 2 inches; weight 3 '2—* 

 pounds. Shape short oval to nearly globular, base full and slightly 

 enlarged; apex even, blossom scar obscure; ribs moderately promi- 

 nent, 1 J 2 inches broad at the medial; furrows distinct, narrow, 

 medium depth and smooth. Netting moderately abundant, rather 

 coarsely interlaced, often streaked in places; cork moderately light 

 and distributed rather evenly over the ribs; interstices medium deep. 

 Skin color dark green mottled with grayish green, particularly 

 along the furrows, becoming mottled with yellowish brown at full 

 maturity. Flesh salmon orange, moderately thick, 1 ] 2-1 3 4 inches; 

 texture moderately fine, very slightly fibrous, moderately soft and 

 juicy; sweet, rather highly flavored and pleasantly aromatic; quality 

 very good. Cavity moderately small, 3 x 2 l i inches, circular in 

 cross-section. Rind medium thick, , ] 5 inch, medium strong and 

 rather tender. 



Extra Early Sunrise. 



This is a new melon offered in 1934 by C. J. Lindholm 

 of Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is an early variety 

 maturing 3-4 days earlier than Delicious, in season with 

 Golden Champlain, and 4-6 days later than Early Bird. 

 The fruits are more oval and less ribbed than those of 

 Delicious, but the character cf the netting and the color 

 of the skin are very much the same. 



Plant vigorous; vines moderately heavy; branches moderately 

 many. 



Fruit medium large, 6-7 x 5-6 inches; weight 3-3 ] 2 pounds. 

 Shape short oval, symmetrical, base and apex full; blossom scar 

 conspicuous, corky; ribs slightly prominent, 1 4 inches broad at the 

 medial; furrows very narrow, shallow and usually smooth. Netting 

 medium abundant, coarsely interlaced; cork moderately heavy, 

 distributed rather uniformly over the ribs and occasionally on the 

 furrows; interstices medium deep. Skin color creamy yellow, very 

 sparsely mottled with very pale green. Flesh orange; moderately 

 thick. nches; texture s'ightly coarse and fibrous, soft and 



juicy; sweet, rather highly flavored, and mildly aromatic; quality 



good. Cavity medium large, 3 } 2 x 2 ' 2 inches, circular in cross- 

 section. Rind thick, 'j-;' * inch, medium strong and medium tough. 



Fordhook. Refs. 15, 54, 58, 69, 79, 95, 105, 109, 136. 

 Syns. Early Fcrdhock, New Fcrdhcck, Scndereg- 

 ger's Earliest, Sweet Martha, Yellow Fleshed 

 Jenny Lind. 

 The Fordhcck melon came from a cress between 

 Emerald Gem and Improved Jenny Lind made by A. P. 

 Owen, Cedar Dale Farm, Mickletcn, New Jersey. The 

 original cress was made about 1901, and in 1908 W. Atlee 

 Burpee introduced the variety showing a fine cclcr plate 

 and devoting a full page to extolling its merits. It has 

 proved to be one of the best of the small early orange- 

 fleshed muskmelcns. 



As an early variety it usually precedes Gclden 

 Champlain by 2 or 3 days, but is 3 or 4 days later than 

 Early Bird or Citron. The fruits are smaller and more 

 oblate than those cf Golden Champlain as well as 

 being more coarsely netted. In many respects it 

 resembles Jenny Lind, but the color of flesh and the 

 fineness of the netting in the latter variety serves to 

 distinguish the two. The fact that it has cften been 

 called a yellow-fleshed Jenny Lind will serve to indicate 

 their similarity in exterior appearance. 



Plant medium in vigor; vines moderately slender; branches 

 moderately few. 



Fruit moderately small, 4-5 x 5-6 inches; weight 1 J £—2 pounds. 

 Shape definitely oblate, blossom scar corky, conspicuous; ribs 

 moderately prominent, 1-1 l 2 inches broad at the medial; furrows 

 narrow, medium deep and smooth. Netting moderately abundant, 

 moderately fine interlaced; cork heavy, rather uniformly distributed 

 over the ribs, base and apex; interstices moderately deep. Skin 

 color dull yellowish brown profusely mottled with green. Flesh 

 orange, moderately thin, 1-1 } 4' inches; texture slightly coarse and 

 fibrous, moderately firm, juicy: sweet and rather highly flavored; 

 quality good. Cavity moderately small, 2x3 inches, nearly 

 circular in cross-section. Rind medium thick, ,'> -1 4 inch, moder- 

 ately soft and rather weak. 



Giant. Refs. 4, 9, 22, 29, 53, 89, 92, 96, 98, 99, 100, 101, 

 105, 125, 127, 133, 142. Syns. Enormous, 

 Mammcth Giant, Market King, Michell's Deli- 

 cious, Mill's Giant, New Giant, Salmon Giant, 

 Shumway's Giant, Thcrburn's Giant, Western 

 Giant. 

 The date cf the original introduction of this melon 

 is not definitely known. However, it is listed in the 

 catalogs of James J. H. Gregory for 1895 under the 

 name " Shumway's Giant." In catalogs of 1892 Thor- 

 burn and Livingston describe a melon under the name 

 New Giant which probably was the same variety. It 

 was described as the " largest melon ever introduced, with 

 the average size of the fruits as large as a water bucket." 

 The variety is known today as the largest pink-meated 

 sort, suited more for the home garden than for shipping. 

 This is one cf the latest varieties, maturing in season 

 with Texas Cannon Ball and Weaver Special, 2 or 3 days 

 later than Montreal Market and a week to 10 days later 

 than Bender's Surprise. It is shaped much like Montreal 

 Market but is decidedly less netted and scmewhat less 

 deeply furrowed. The flesh is lighter crange than that 

 of Bender's Surprise and is decidedly drier and less 



