126 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
white-fleshed Melons in cultivation. Fruit large, oval shape ; skin a 
bright yellow colour, and beautifully netted ; flesh juicy and of excellent 
flavour. ' Eastnor Castle ' (fig. 34) is one of the best flavoured green- 
fleshed Melons in commerce, but there is some difficulty now in getting 
seeds of the true strain. 
I have thus endeavoured to fulfil the task of showing the progress that 
has been made in the culture and development of the Melon during the 
professional lifetime of a single individual. I may not have said much 
that is new — it were, indeed, almost impossible to do so in these times 
of widely diffused knowledge. But I hope I may have been able to some 
extent to succeed in the object I had set before me of setting forth, with 
some measure of clearness and accuracy, the past and the present, and the 
methods by which, under the guidance of science and experience, I have 
had some degree of success in the cultivation of a favourite home-grown 
table fruit. 
Discussion. 
Mr. George Wythes, V.M.H., said he did not altogether agree with 
Mr. Pettigrew's remarks both as regards culture and varieties. " In the 
first place, excellent Melons could be grown with less attention to details 
and in very different structures to that advised. In these days, when 
quantities of fruits are required, the cultivator was obliged to adopt other 
methods, and often with excellent results. Large growers did not go 
into details such as mentioned. Soils were not studied with such great 
care ; and often that at command would not be considered good, but was 
made the most of, and gave good returns. Melons had to follow other 
crops, and had to be grown in a short time, to make room for another, 
and he failed to see any good in the starving of Melons by using poor soil ; 
but by growing correctly at the start a crop is secured much earlier. 
Melons can be grown in frames with great success by attention to mois- 
ture. Years ago frame-culture produced excellent fruits. As regards 
new varieties, it is useless to condemn them, as Melons unless grown with 
great care soon deteriorate and become mixed, and in raising new varieties 
there is a chance of a good one — and the Royal Horticultural Society 
made the test a rigorous one before an award was granted. It was not 
an easy matter for a new Melon to get an award. He considered the Fruit 
Committee do good work in this respect, but admitted he had himself often 
failed to secure an award when expected. Melons from outward appearances 
are most deceptive as regards flavour. He did not entirely agree with 
Mr. Pettigrew's list, and could have added some excellent varieties, but 
even then failures will occur. 
Mr. A. Dean referred to the great unreliability of Melons in respect 
of flavour or general table quality, even from the same plant. He wished 
we could rely on their coming as consistently to character as did Pears 
and Apples, Peaches and Nectarines, and similar fruits. But it was a 
fact that varieties which had the highest reputation for excellence, still 
would, even with what seemed to be the best cultivation, not infrequently 
be the reverse of good, and sometimes be even nauseous. He agreed with 
Mr. Wythes that Mr. Pettigrew's method of culture differed greatly from 
what was tried in many directions. He specially referred to what he had 
