554 An Account of Ten Varieties of Persian Melons. 



of the thick hard rind which characterises the latter, and 

 which renders the one half of every fruit useless ; on the 

 contrary, they are protected by a skin so thin and delicate, 

 that they are subject to injury from causes, which would 

 produce no perceptible effect upon the Melons of Europe. 

 Their flesh is extremely tender, rich and sweet, and flows 

 copiously with a cool juice which renders them still more 

 grateful. To these important qualities, they in many cases 

 add the merits of bearing abundant crops of fruit, the ap- 

 pearance of which is always extremely beautiful. 



But on the other hand, their cultivation is attended with 

 peculiar difficulties. They are found to require a very high 

 temperature, a dry atmosphere, and an extremely humid soil, 

 while they are at the same time impatient of an undue supply 

 of moisture, which causes spotting and sudden decay long 

 before the fruit is matured. It is not therefore easy to main- 

 tain that necessary balance of heat and moisture, which in 

 Persia arises out of the very nature of the climate and mode 

 of cultivation. In that country we are told that the Melon 

 is grown in open fields, intersected in every direction by 

 small streams, between which lie elevated beds richly 

 manured with Pigeon's dung. Upon these beds the Melons 

 are planted. The Persian gardener has therefore to guard 

 against nothing but scarcity of water, the rest is provided for 

 by his own favourable climate. With us the atmosphere, the 

 ventilation, the water and the heat, are all artificial agents, 

 operating in opposition to each other. The most successful 

 method of cultivation which has yet been practised, seems to 

 be to supply the plants abundantly with water at the roots, 

 but to give them as little as possible overhead; to combine 



