c"; 



Cfje Erca^urj? of 3Sotang. 



[cucu 



day it is named Peponia. In Italy in 1539, 

 the names of Pepone, Melone, and Mel- 

 lone were applied to it. In Sardinia, where, 

 it is remarked by De Candolle, Roman tra- 

 ditions are well preserved, it is called Me- 

 lon!. From the Spaniards in the begin- 

 ning of the sixteenth century, it received 

 the name of Melon, which it retains in 

 France, England, and with but slight modi- 

 fications in other countries throughout 

 Europe, where indeed the uniformity of 

 name seems to indicate an introduction 

 not very remote. De Candolle is of opinion 

 that the species was originally confined to 

 the valleys in the south of the Caucasus, 

 and chiefly to the southern coasts of the 

 Caspian. But its cultivation in the open 

 air has long been extensively practised 

 over a great part of Asia. It even appears 

 i to have been introduced into Italy early in 

 I the first century, if not before, as it is 

 mentioned by Pliny, who died from suffoca- 

 tion caused by the great eruption of Vesu- 

 vius in a.d. 79. In his works he describes 

 the modes by which melons were grown or 

 forced, so as to be obtained for the Empe- 

 ror Tiberius at all times of the year. Their 

 cultivation, however, appears to have been 

 very limited in Europe till within the last 

 three centuries. According to M. Jacquin, 

 Monographic complete du Melon, the Canta- 

 loup variety derives its name from Canta- 

 | luppi, a seat belonging to the Pope, near 

 i Rome, where this sort, brought from Ar- 

 | menia by the missionaries, was first culti- 

 i vated. He states further that it was receiv- 

 i ed into France from Florence; that from 

 j France it passed into Spain, and thence 

 into England, where, according to some 

 ! authors,"it has been cultivated since 1570; 

 but the precise time of its introduction is 

 ] uncertain. Probably the cultivation of 

 Melons had been attempted much earlier. 

 Till lately they were called in this country 

 Musk Melons to distinguish them from 

 water melons, which belong to a different 

 species. Persia is noted for the excellence 

 I of its Melons, and the extensive scale on 

 which their cultivation is carried on. Some 

 nobles and wealthy individuals keep, it is 

 ' said, from 10,000 to 20,000 pigeons, chiefly 

 j for manuring their melon beds, pigeon's 

 i dung being there considered the best ma- 

 | nurefor these plants. A collection of seeds 

 of the best Persian varieties was sent in 

 1824 to the Horticultural Society by Sir 

 Henry Willock, ambassador at the court of 

 Persia ; and some of the kinds when grown 

 under particular treatment in this country 

 proved excellent, but they are apt to de- 

 generate. The melons of Bokhara are of 

 the highest excellence, although in our 

 climate they are liable to the same objec- 

 tion with regard to degeneration as those 

 of Persia. Burnes in his Travels says ' The 

 Melon is the choicest fruit of Bokhara. The 

 Emperor Baber tells us that he shed tears 

 over a melon of Turkistan which he cut tip 

 in India after his conquest: its flavour 

 brought his native country and other dear 

 associations to memory. There are two 

 distinct species of Melons which the people 

 class into hot and cold ; the first ripens in 



June, and is the common Musk or Scented 

 Melon of India; the other ripens in July, 

 and is the true Melon of Turkistan : in 



1 appearance it is not unlike a water melon, 

 and comes to maturity after being seven 



: months in the ground. It is much larger 

 than the common sort and generally of an 

 oval shape, exceeding two and three feet 

 in circumference. Some are much larger, 

 and those which ripen in the autumn have 

 exceeded four feet. One has a notion that 

 what is large cannot be delicate or high- 

 flavoured ; but no fruit can be more lus- 

 cious than the Melon of Bokhara, nor do I 

 believe their flavour will be credited by 

 any one who has not tasted them. The 



- Melons of India, Cabool, and even Persia, 



; bear no comparison with them — not even 

 the celebrated fruit of Ispahan itself. There 



I are various kinds : the best is named Ko- 

 kechu,andhas a green and yellow-coloured 



' skin ; another is called Ak nubat, which 

 means white sugar candy; it is yellow and 

 exceedingly rich. The Winter Melon is of a 



i dark green colour, called Kara koobuk, 



! and said to surpass all the others. Bokhara 

 appears to be the native country of the 

 Melon, having a dry climate, sandy soil, 



1 and great facilities for irrigation.' {Burnes' 



j Travels in Bokhara.) 



Provided the soil is moist below, the 



1 Melon succeeds in all countries where the 

 summer is sufficiently hot, even although 



, the winters are cold, as is the case at Cabul, 

 where severe winters are succeeded by very 



; hot summers. There, Melons are produced 

 in great abundance. Being an annual, its 

 vegetation only commences naturally when 

 the soil and air are warm ; the fruit ripens 

 in summer or before winter ; and the plant 

 then dies off before cold weather sets 

 in. In the middle and southern states of 

 America, Downing informs us, Melons are 

 raised as field crops by market gardeners, 

 the seeds being sown in the open air in 

 May, and ripe fruit is obtained in August. 

 In Australia likewise Melons are produced 

 with the greatest ease in extraordinary 

 abundance. There are many varieties of 

 Melons, differing in size, form, and colour. 

 Some are round or oblate, others oblong or 

 oval; the surface of some is smooth, of 



: others ribbed, netted, or warted. The flesh 



is either white, greenish, salmon-coloured, 



or red. The green-fleshed varieties are 



now generally preferred. 



The Water Melon, G. Citrullus, is stip- 



! posed to be of more ancient introduction 



. to Europe than the foregoing. RauwOlf, in 



; 1574, found it in abundance in the gardens 

 of Tripoli, Rama, and Aleppo, under the 

 name of Bathieca, the root of which word 

 is from the Hebrew Abbattichim, one of 

 the fruits of Egypt which the Jews re- 

 gretted in the wilderness. It still forms 

 chiefly the food and drink of the inhabi- 



' tants of Egypt for several months in the 

 year. It is very much cultivated in India, 

 China, Cochin-China, Japan, the Indian 

 archipelago, in America, and in short in 

 most dry hot parts of the world, on account 

 of its abundant refreshing juice, which, 



, however, is not so rich and sugary as that 



