WATER-MELON 



435 



with still lighter green ; flesh greenish white, firm, but not very 

 sweet ; seed black. The fruit sometimes weighs nearly five pounds. 

 It ripens half-late, and is seldom eaten except as a preserve. It is 

 sometimes used for feeding 

 cattle. 



Red-seeded Water- 

 Melon. — A vigorous plant, 

 but not so luxuriant in 

 growth as the black-seeded 

 variety. The stems spread 

 along the ground, and are 

 seldom more than about 

 8 ft. long ; they have com- 

 paratively few branches. 

 The leaves are broad, with 

 the lobes broader and less 

 cut than those of any 

 other Water- ]\Ielon. Fruit 



spherical, 12 to 16 in. in Red-seeded Water-Melon (| natural size). 



diameter, of a rather pale 



green, variegated with gray bands marbled with green ; flesh 

 watery, but rather firm, and greenish white ; seed pink or red. 

 The fruit of this variety requires nearly four months' heat to 

 ripen it, and is chiefly used preserved or made into jam. 



American Varieties 



In the United States Water-Melons are very highly esteemed 

 and very extensively grown. The chief varieties are the following : 



Black Spanish Water-Melon. — Fruit large, rounded, or shortly 

 oblong, with ribs slightly marked ; skin nearly black ; flesh dark 

 red ; seed brown or blackish. A hardy and productive kind. 



Citron Water-Melon. — A kind only used for preserving. 

 Fruit small, spherical, marked with alternate bands of dark green 

 and silvery white; flesh white, ver}^ firm, almost hard, scarcely edible 

 in the raw state. It is cut in slices, and preserved like Citrons. 



Cuban Queen Water-Melon. — Fruit medium-sized, oval, 

 marked alternately with bands of light and dark green ; flesh bright 

 red and sugary. 



Excelsior Water-Melon. — A handsome, almost spherical, fruit. 



Florida Favourite Water-Melon. — Early, very large, long, 

 streaked with light green on a darker ground ; flesh deep red and 

 good in quality. 



Gipsy Water-Melon. — An enormously large kind. Fruit 

 oblong, dark green, marked with paler spots in longitudinal bands ; 

 flesh red ; seed brown or black. 



