[ 553 ] 



LXVII. An Account of Ten Varieties of Persian Melons. 

 By Mr. John Lindley, F. L. S. Assistant Secretary for 

 the Garden. 



Read September 19, 1826. 



The varieties of the Melon which are cultivated in the 

 Gardens of Persia, have long been celebrated for their un- 

 rivalled excellence, and the concurring testimony of all 

 travellers to this fact has been abundantly supported by the 

 high merit of the few kinds that have from time to time found 

 their way to Europe. It is therefore presumed, that the 

 following account of ten varieties from that country, which 

 have been ripened in the present season in the Garden of 

 the Horticultural Society at Chiswick, will be found of suffi- 

 cient interest to deserve attention. They are the produce of 

 two parcels of seeds transmitted to the Society by Henry 

 Willock, Esq.* His Majesty's Envoy at the Court of 

 Persia ; one in the year 1824, the other in the spring of the 

 present year. 



The Melons of Persia differ remarkably from the varieties 

 commonly cultivated in Europe. They are altogether destitute 



* This Society is indebted to Mr. Willock, for his unceasing exertion in 

 attempting to transfer to England, several of the rare productions of Persia. The 

 difficulty of conveying plants from such a distance, whence much of the journey is 

 over land, has hitherto frustrated part of his endeavours. The new Persian Melons, 

 however, will become, it is hoped, a lasting memorial of his efforts in the cause of 

 useful Horticulture, whilst the re-establishment of the Rose Berberifolia from 

 seeds sent by him, will be equally the cause of recording his services in the Orna- 

 mental Department of the Garden. Sec. 



