6/4 The American Naturalist. [August, 
on the St. Lawrence. In New Mexico, melons are named by 
Gomara'' in 1540, and also 1542." In 1565, melons were 
abounding in Hayti."-^ In 1582 de Espijo'^ speaks o{ melons and 
pumpkins as grown by the Indians of New Mexico ; in 1 5 84 as 
found in Virginia^' by Captains Amidos and Barlow ; and again 
as muskemelons in 1609.^*' In 1609 also they were seen on the 
Hudson River,'' and are described as abundant in New England 
by Master Graves ''' in 1629, as also by Woods.'^ 
In 1806 McMahon names thirteen kinds under American 
culture. At the present time at least a hundred different names 
of varieties can be collected. 
The melon or muskmelon is called in France and Spain, melon ; 
in Germany, melone ; in Flanders and Holland, moloen; in Italy, 
popone, melone; in Portugal, melas ;"*' in Greece, peponia ; in 
Russia, dina /"^^ in Norway, 7nelon ;^- in Arabic, beteekh, kirboozeh^ 
domeyri, dremmaijre ;^' in Bengali, htrbooja^' khurbuzf' phuti ; 
in Burmah, tha-khwahmva; :^^ in Comanche Indian, pehena ;^^ 
in Ceylon, rata-komadu ; in Hindustani, karbooja ;^^ in Japan, 
tenkwa, kara uri ;'^ in Malay, labofraiigcc ;'■ in Persia, kharbuza;'' 
\nS\nd\i,gidhro r"- in Tagalo, taboo^o r' in Tamil, molaui ;''' in 
Tartar and Turkish, kainC' 
MINT. Mentha viridis L. 
This garden herb was well known to the ancients, and is 
mentioned in all early mediaeval lists of plants. Amatus Lusi- 
tanus^^ in 1554 says it is always in gardens, and later botanists 
confirm this statement for Europe. It was in American gardens 
"^- ^"- ™ Woods. New Eng. Prosp.. ist ed.. II. 
'•^CabecadeVaca, Relation. Smith's «> Vilmorin. Les PI. Pot.. 1883, 33^. 
ed., note, p. 165. 81 DecandoUe. Geog. Bot., go6, 908. 
^""'^■■^^57. ^bUwoo": VeVpTod!ofBomb.,x56.3oi. 
'* Hakl. Voy., III. h, Drury. Useful PI. of Ind., 17=. 
^^^ Pinkertons Voy., XIII. 85 Pickering. Ch. Hist., 229. 
-- n yr..^''t°^ ^''■' '^'°' '^" "" ^^'■'^- ^"^ '^'""'■- ^5. 
'■ Delafield. N. Y. Agr. Soc. Trans., « Kaempfer. Amoen., 811; Thunb. Jap 323 
'^5°' 359. 8« Amatus Lusitanus. In Diosc 1,^4 „o' 
