CUCUMIS MELO, Linn: 



Var. UTILISSIMUS. 



iVide Plates LIII. and LIV). 



English, none ; Veknacular, kakri, kakri reti. 



This is another of the extreme forms or varieties of the melon, differing in the 

 shape of the fruit, and the uses to which it is applied. The fruit varies from short oval 

 or cylindrical to elongate, and is either straight or curved like some varieties of cucum- 

 ber. Some specimens grown this year in the Saharanpur garden measured over a yard 

 in length. They also vary in colour from dark green to nearly white, usually changing 

 to a bright orange colour when ripe. The seeds, like those of phunt, are rather smaller 

 and more slender than true melon seeds. 



Eoxburgh (Fl. Ind. I.e.) makes the following remarks on this plant: — 

 " This appears to me to be by far the most useful species of Gacimis that I know ; when little more than 

 " one-half grown, they are oblong, and a little downy, in this state they are pickled ; when ripe they are about 

 "as large as an ostrich's egg, smooth and yellow; when cut they have much the flavour of the melon, and 

 " will keep good for several months if carefully gathered without being bruised and hung up ; they are 

 " also in this stage eaten raw and much used in curries by the Natives. 



" The seeds like those of other Cucurbitaceous fruits contain much farinaceous matter blended with a 

 "large portion of mild oil; the natives dry and grind them into a meal, which they employ as an article of 

 "diet; they also express a mild oil from them, which they use in food and to burn in their lamps. Experi- 

 " ence, as well as analogy, prove these seeds to be highly nourishing and well deserving of a more extensive 

 " culture than is bestowed on them at present." 



Kakri is an important article of food with the poorer classes during the hot weather 

 months. Unfortunately there are no statistics of the area on which it is grown during 

 this season. The following figures show the area which it occupied during the rainy 

 season of 1881 in certain typical districts: — 



Acres. Acres. 



Allahabad, ... ... 040 



Fatehpur, ... ... 110 



Mainpuri, ... ... 29 



Muttra, ... ... 24 



Azamgarh, ... ... 18 



Pilibhit, ... ... 14 



Explanation, of Plate LIII. 



1. Fruit, 



2. Female flower with portion of co- 



rolla removed, 



3. Fruit, transverse section, 



4. Male flower, vertical section, 



5. Ditto, seen from below, 



all nat. size. 



Explanation of Plate LIV. 



1. Young fruit, transverse section, ) 



2. Mature fruit, transverse section, j 



3. Ditto entire (reduced |). 



4. Male flower, vertical section, ) 



5. Female flower, vertical section, ) 



nat. size. 



nat. size. 



From drawings of living specimens cultivated at Saharanpur. 



• References utiUssimus, Roxb. Fl. Ind. iii. 721 ; Atkinson Econom. Prod. N.-W. P. Part v. p, ;) ; Indii 



Forester VoL ix. (1883) p. 161. Sea also authorities under C. Melo. p. 61. 



