76 



THE VEGETABLES OF NEW YORK 



planted in the middle of a large field of Golden Cham- 

 plain. A mass selection for seed was made from the 

 Golden Champlain field and part of the seed sent to his 

 son, G. A. Richardson of Ocala, Florida. In a field of 

 this Florida planting Mr. Richardson found three hills 

 of a thick rinded, ropy-netted melon. Seed from these 

 three hills was saved, planted, and produced melons of 

 every conceivable type. The best selection possible 

 was made and seed sent to one of the Richardson farms 

 near Howe in the St. Joe River Valley, Indiana. Further 

 selections were made and finally in 1925 a selection was 

 named Honey Rock and found its way into the trade. 

 In the succeeding ten years it has become very popular 

 in Indiana, Michigan and other sections. 



It is a midseason variety maturing at Geneva 2 or 3 

 days earlier than Bender's Surprise, in season with 

 Milwaukee Market and 3-4 days later than Delicious. 

 It has the shape of Daisy and Perfecto, a netting most 

 like that of Abbott's Pearl and the skin color of Golden 

 Combination and Oregon Delicious. The flesh is like 

 that of the Bender in color but is somewhat more firm 

 than in that variety. 



Plant moderately vigorous: vines moderately coarse; branches 

 many. 



Fruit moderately small, 5j^-6 x 5}£-6 inches: weight 2 1 2—3 

 pounds. Shape globular; base full: apex even, often terminating in 

 a small protuberance from which radiate streaks of netting in more 

 or less spoke-like fashion: ribs obscure to nearly absent; furrows 

 obscure. Netting abundant, coarsely interlaced, occasionally 

 streaked, somewhat circular in pattern at the base; cork very heavy, 

 distributed moderately uniform over the entire fruit; interstices 

 large and deep. Skin color pale grayish green, changing to pale 

 cream at full maturity. Flesh orange, medium thick, 1 1 _ l -l ] 2 inches; 

 texture slightly coarse and fibrous, firm, moderately juicy; sweet, 

 rather highly flavored and pleasantly aromatic; quality good. 

 Cavity moderately small, 3x2'; inches, circular in cross-section. 

 Rind thick, ] 4 inch, very definite, dark green, strong and moderately 

 tough. 



Hoodoo. Refs. 15, 36, 58, 105, 110, 119, 136, 141. 

 Syns. Oblong Hoo Doo, Ordway Queen. 

 Paul Rose of South Frankfort, Michigan, who in 

 1898 introduced the Paul Rose variety, continued his 

 selection work and in 1907 sold to D. M. Ferry seed 

 of a new variety which Ferry introduced in 1908 as 

 Hoodoo. This variety soon took the place of the Paul 

 Rose and increased the popularity of this type of melon 

 over those cf the larger fruited Osage group. 



Hummer, 



This melon, similar in type to Hale's Best, was intro- 

 duced in 1928 by Kilgore Seed Co., Plant City, Florida. 

 It is a midseason variety maturing 4-5 days earlier than 

 Hale's Best, in season with Burrell's Gem, and 6-8 days 

 later than Delicious. The fruits are most like those of 

 Hale's Best but are larger and more oblong in shape. 

 They are as large as Burrell's Gem but lack the smooth 

 furrows of that variety and are not inclined to be as 

 fusiform in shape. 



Fruit medium large, 7-8 x 5-5 ' £ inches: weight 2} ^-3 pounds. 

 Shape oval, rounded at base and apex; blossom scar obscure: ribs 

 obscure: furrows occasionally present, very narrow, very shallow 



and completely netted. Netting very abundant, finely interlaced: 

 cork moderately heavy, distributed evenly over the surface; inter- 

 stices medium deep. Skin color green. Flesh orange, medium 

 thick, T .-l^ inches; texture slightly coarse, slightly fibrous, 

 moderately firm and moderately juicy; sweet, somewhat sprightly, 

 highly flavored and pleasantly aromatic; quality good. Cavity 

 moderately small, 3\ t x 1 ; 4 inches: triangular in cross-section. 

 Rind moderately thin, ! s inch, strong and tough. 



Ideal. Refs. 101, 133. Syn. Buckbee's Ideal. 



This was a variety cataloged by The Vaughan 

 Seed Store of Chicago in 1900 and by H. W. Buckbee of 

 Rockford, Illinois, in 1902. It was a rather large melon, 

 in shape somewhat like Hackensack but with rich salmon 

 flesh. 



Another variety bearing this name was listed in 

 1913 by Geo. Tait 85 Sons of Norfolk, Virginia. The 

 original catalog descriptions of this and the Ideal of 

 Vaughan are quite similar and it is possible that they 

 originated from the same source. Tait continues to 

 list Ideal as a popular sort. The description below is 

 of melons grown from seed supplied by Buckbee. 



Fruit moderately small, 7-7}-£ x 4 3 4-5 inches; weight . 

 pounds. Shape oval, occasionally somewhat fusiform, base rounded 

 and full, often somewhat tapered, apex even to slightly raised: 

 blossom scar obscure; ribs slightly prominent, l'o inches broad at 

 the medial; furrows medium broad, moderately shallow and very 

 sparsely and lightly netted, occasionally smooth. Netting moder- 

 I ately abundant, rather coarsely interlaced, often streaked; cork 

 ' medium heavy, often flattened, distributed rather uniformly over 

 the ribs, base and apex, occasionally somewhat patchy; interstices 

 medium deep. Skin color dull green, later becoming profusely 

 blotched with dark burnt orange. Flesh orange, medium thick, 

 1 ] 4 inches; texture coarse and fibrous, rather firm and moderately 

 juicy; very sweet, somewhat sprightly, rather highly flavored and 

 mildly aromatic; quality good. Cavity medium large, 4 x _ 

 inches, circular in cross-section. Rind moderately thick. ] 4 inch, 

 medium strong and moderately tough. 



Imperial Sunset. 



This is a new melon of the Honey Ball type which, 

 because of the salmon pink flesh, gives promise of becom- 

 ing a successful variety for the market. Prof. J. B. 

 Norton representing the United States Department of 

 Agriculture made the original selection in 1928 in the 

 Imperial Valley, California. Garwood 8b Woodside, 

 Rocky Ford, Colorado, offered seed in 1934. Unlike 

 many melons of its type, it should be picked on the slip. 

 The vines make a vigorous growth and remain green 

 over a long season, ripening fruits soon after Weaver's 

 Special. 



Ironclad. Refs. 29, 53, 98, 99, 100, 133, 140. 



The Ironclad melon was introduced in 1896 by 

 Vaughan's Seed Store of Chicago. The originators, 

 C. P. Coy 8s Sons of Waterloo, Nebraska, considered 

 it worthy of introduction because of its promise as a long 

 distance shipping melon. The illustration in the Vaughan 

 catalog shows it to be an oval -shaped melon with heavy 

 coarse netting. Mr. Coy believed that he had secured a 

 type with thick, leathery, shell-like skin. It was a 

 second early sort with flesh thick, deep yellow and very 

 sweet. The variety was not listed after 1903. 



