MELON 



405 



which have almost the texture of true spines. The shape and size 

 of the leaves are very variable, and there is no unvarying relation 

 between the size of the leaves and that of the fruit in any one kind 

 or variety. Most usually the leaves are kidney-shaped, rounded, 

 and often folded or waved on the margin ; frequently they are 

 distinctly cut into three or five lobes, and sometimes the divisions 

 even reach the depth of half the leaf ; the margin is smooth and 

 unbroken in some varieties, and toothed and spiny in others. The 

 Melon is a monoecious plant ; that is, male and female flowers, 

 distinct from each other, are produced on the same plant. These 

 flowers are rather small, and have a yellow corolla with five 

 divisions and from 4 to about i| in. in diameter. The female 

 flower is situated on the top of the ovary, which, in almost all the 

 varieties, is ovoid, at the time when the flower expands, and is then 

 about as big as a good-sized hazel-nut, at least. Insects, especially 

 hive-bees and humble-bees, visit the flowers in great numbers, and 

 are almost always effectual in ensuring their fertilisation ; but when 

 the plants are forced, or when it is desired to preserve a certain 

 variety free from any intermixture with others, it is better to 

 fertilise the flowers artificially, by applying the pollen with a 

 camel-hair pencil, or direct from the male flower stripped of its 

 corolla. The fruit exhibits so much diversity of shape, size, and 

 colour, that it is difficult to give any general description of it. It 

 is met with under a variety of round, flat, and elongated shapes, 

 ranging from the form of a Pumpkin to that of a Cucumber. The 

 colour is equally diversified, from white to black, and passes 

 through every shade of green and yellow, not to mention variega- 

 tions of all kinds. The skin is often marked with wrinkles or 

 creases, which become, as it where, corky, and stand out in bold 

 relief on the surface. The fruit in this case is termed " netted," or 

 " net-veined." In other instances the fruit is covered with pro- 

 tuberances, more or less large and prominent, and known as 

 " scabs " or " warts." Lastly, the skin of the fruit is sometimes 

 perfectly smooth, and sometimes marked by a number of furrows, 

 extending from the stalk to the eye of the fruit. These furrows 

 have between them a certain number of ribs, usually from nine 

 to twelve, which are more or less prominent, according to the 

 variety. The seeds, which are smooth, usually white or yellowish, 

 flat and oblong, are collected together in the centre of the fruit, 

 and surrounded by a very watery pulp, full of soft filaments, 

 which are the umbilical cords of the seeds. The flesh, properly 

 so called, of the fruit is always watery, sweet, and usually highly 

 perfumed ; its colour is green, white, or orange. The relation 

 between the size of the fruit and that of the seed is not always 

 constant. The germinating power of the seed lasts for five years at 

 least, and often for more than ten years. 



