242 THE BOOK OF USEFUL PLANTS 



regions of the earth. It is able to thrive in semi- 

 desert regions, furnishing a thirst-quenching fruit 

 in summer where other fruits are scarce, and water 

 a luxury. 



Watermelon culture in the United States is a 

 great commercial enterprise in Georgia, and 

 neighboring states, which ship their crops to 

 northern markets, and grow all they can eat at 

 home. The negro's natural affinity for "de wata- 

 million smilin' on de vine" is not hard to explain. 

 And his proclivities in the direction of raiding a 

 patch by the light of the moon have been developed 

 against his will and disposition. Much rather 

 would he help himself by day to the fruits that lie 

 there, just as in the equatorial belt of the dark 

 continent they lay to tempt the thirsty to take and 

 eat. Why is Nature's plain invitation to-day 

 hedged about by restrictions ? Private ownership 

 makes all the trouble, and puts the taking of a 

 melon on the list of misdemeanors, if not crimes. 

 In spite of this, the people of the sunny South, 

 black as well as white, have little to pay, in money 

 or in labor, for all the watermelons they can eat 

 through the long season. What's more, they get 

 the best, because the sweetest, thinnest-rinded, 

 best-flavored melons do not bear shipping. 



Northern gardens have a short-growing season, 



