Watermelon Notes 



419 



If the resonance is hollow, ringing or musical, it is a certain proof 

 of immaturity. 



"Frequently on turning the melon and exposing the under 

 side, the irregular white blotch formed where the melon has rested 

 on the ground affords an indication of maturity. When this begins 

 to turn yellowish and becomes rough, pimply or warty, with the 

 surface sufficiently hard to resist the finger-nail when scratched, 

 it is usually a fair sign of ripeness. 



"But there is one more test that is corroborative. After the 

 melon Mooks ' ripe and 'thumps' ripe, if, on a steady pressure 

 of the upper side or ' top ' by the palm of the hand, while the 

 melon lies on the ground, instead of resisting solidly the interior 

 appears to have a tendency to yield — a ^ givey ' sort of feeling, as 

 it were — accompanied by a crisp crackling, half heard, half felt, 

 as the flesh parts longitudinally in sections under the pressure., 

 the melon may be pulled with absolute confidence. It is certainly 

 ripe. This test should never be resorted to with melons intended 

 for shipment, as their carrying quality is necessarily impaired 

 thereby. 



"Yet all this, as stated, comes largely by instinct to the expert, 

 and it is rarely that one finds it necessary to ' thump, ^ much less 

 to * press,' a melon before deciding as to its maturity."— ^w^/? N. 

 Starnes, Bull. 38, Ga. Exp. Sta. 



Fifty- eight varieties of watermelons were catalogued by North 

 American seedsmen in 1889. Only a few of these are commercial 

 varieties, and the kinds that are popular in the South require a too 

 long season for the North. Only in favored places are watermelons 

 grown in the northernmost states. They are more uncertain than 

 muskmelons, because of the short and cool seasons, and are less 

 grown in the North. There are a number of varieties, however, 

 that ripen without difficulty in the northern states and Ontario 

 when a warm soil and exposure are at hand and where small boys 

 are absent. The plants may be started under glass, as advised 

 on p. 413. 



The watermelon is CitruUus vulgaris, native to Africa. It has 

 been in cultivation from a remote period. It is more popular in 

 North America, probably, than elsewhere in the world. In fact, 



