The Sweetest Say = ‘ The aa 
w= THE +» WONDERFUL + SUGAR + [JELON. am 
ONLY THREE YEARS OLD AND ALREADY A LEADER. 
It is with great pleasure that I offer my customers seed of the best watermelon ever put before the Ameri- 
can public. Jn describing this variety, which I originally named and first offered in my 1894 Catalogue, I cannot do better 
than quote from a letter received from Prof. Massey, of Raleigh, N. C.: 
“As Iwas the first to bring this melon to public notice through the | melon had been grown by him for many years from seed originally 
columns of The Practical Farmer, it is natural that you should ask me | from the West Indies, and that, although he had tried all the new 
more about it. My notice of this melon was prompted solely by the fact | melons, he had yet found none equal to it. Now itis admitted that the 
that J,was satisfied that it was the best watermelon Lever ate. Having not |} Florida Favorite is a melon of good quality, so one morning the Col. 
the slightest financial interest in the sale of the seed, I feel perfectly free | sent to another patch and had a fine Florida Favorite brought in, split 
to give my opinion in regard to it. In August, ’92, I went to South Caro- | in two, with some of his own, and the spoons were handed around for @ 
fina at the invitation of Col. EK. R. McIver, President of the County Agri- | all to compare the two. There was no getting around the fact that the ° 
cultural Society, to make an address at their annual meeting. During | McIver melon was far superior in sweetness. One of the greatest excel- 
my Stay I was the guest of Col. McIver at his beautiful plantation. It ! lencies of this melon is its ability to withstand wet weather. The sum- 
was in the height of the watermelon season, and in addition to his gene- | mer of ’92 was very wet up to the end of July, and was then succeeded 
ral activity as a progressive planter, Col. McIver, I found, was an en- |; by prolonged drought. The wet weather had caused nearly all water- 
thusiast in watermelon culture. In a nook on the beautiful lawn |! melons to crack in the centre and become hollow, but we never found 
around his house, shaded by some fine evergreen oaks, a table was ! one of the Sugar Melons cracked in the slighest degree, and there was 
built, long enough to accommodate a score of guests, asa special altar |! a total absence of anything like stringiness, which makes Kolb Gem 
of sacrifice for watermelons, and then every day during my stay, dozens | and others so objectionable. Having enjoyed this superb melon so 
of them were sacrificed. Itis a point of etiquette in South Carolina | much at Col. McIver’s hospitable home, I feel convinced that such a 
meyer to offer a guest less than half a watermelon, no matter how large, | melon should be known to the Horticultural World. I have grown 
and the quantity of the sweet pulp I made away with that week I feel ; nearly every watermelon in the catalogues, old and new, and can sin- 
ashamed to guess. When I first saw the melons being piled out on the | cerely say that this melon is the best of all, and leaves nothing to be 
table, I asked Col. McIver if they were Georgia Rattlesnake? ‘No sir,’ | desired in a watermelon that I can conceive of. 
said he, ‘go a little closer, and when you try them tell me if you ever ate Yours truly, 
a Rattlesnake melon equal to them.’ I then noticed that the shape was W. F. MASSEY 
different from the Georgia melon. Col. McIver informed me that this open 0 
The above letter covers the ground so fully, and describes so tersely, the superior qualities of the Sugar Melon, that I do not think I can im- 
rove upon it. Mr. E. L. Coy, West Hebron, N. Y., who probably knows Melons as well as any one in America, writes me, ““Wonderful Sugar 
Melon is certainly the sweetest and best flavored Watermelon I have ever seen.’ More than 20,000 of my customers, embracing among them 
many of the most celebrated melon growers in America, unanimously endorsed Mclver’s Sugar without exception as the most perfect and 
thoroughbred melon it had ever been their pleasure to raise, and in flavor far ahead of anything they ever conceived of in a watermelon. 
Packet, 10 cents; ounce, 20 cents; 14 pound, 50 cents; pound, $1.50; 5 pounds, $5.00. 
NEW WHITE EGG PLANT. TE EN ea 
I consider this one of the grandest acquisitions to our list of Egg Plants in- 
troduced in many years; and might well be called a White New York Improved 
Purple, resembling this variety in shape; while in color when ripe, it is a rich 
creamy-white and its table qualities unexcelled. Sure to be in demand when it 
becomes more generally known. Packet, 10 cents; ounce, 40 cents; 14 pound, $1.25. 
NEW LADY FINGER OKRA. a, 
This is a fine new variety of Okra, which in its young state is one of the best oN 
for flavoring. My customers in the South where this vegetable is principally a 
eultivated, will find this a fine prolific sort; very productive of long, slender 
pods of fine form. If used in its early state of growth it will be found excep- 
tionally tender and choice. Pkt., 5 cts.; 02z.; 10 cts.; 14 lb., 25 cts; 1b., 75 cts. 
9292138 210011 IIZT ‘ON ‘HIAVW AUNAH ‘WAA 0} S10ps0 [[e sso1ppy 
TD THE FAXON SQUASH. 
SEE = One of the largest growers of vine seeds, has this to say: “I find the Faxon to be the 
LZ most productive of any variety of winter Squash I have ever tested. It is also the best 
keeper, as well as the very best table variety I have eyer seen. I would earnestly 
1 advise you to catalogue it. Although the color varies, the peculiar shape is very uni- 
form, so much so that it cannot be mistaken for any other variety. Its fixed and 
strong characteristics are: Earliness, long keeping, uniformity of shape, varity of colors 
and sweetness and richness of flavor. Pkt., 10 cts.; 0z., 15 cts.; 14 1b., 40 cts.; lb., $1.25. 
COOL AND CRISP CUCUMBER. 
The introducers claim this to be an extra early, exceedingly prolific and everbearing 
variety. The illustration herewith gives a good idea of its shape which is most desirable 
for pickling. At the pickling stage they are straight, long, even and Slim, and until they 
ico reach their full size they are of a very dark green color, so dark that it might be almost $ 
.BLANG. called black. The knobs or protuberances, upon which the spines are placed, are eI 
prominent at all stages of growth, giving the cucumber a very attractive appearance. = 
While a pickling variety in its early growth, it is most useful for slicing when fully ma- @ 
COOL AND CRISP CUCUMBER. f tured, being of good size and very tender and crisp. Pkt., 5c.; 0z., 10c.; 14 lb., 25c.; 1b., 75c. > 
10 a 
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