LETTEES FEOM ALABAMA. 
195 
oval globe. A slice is cut off from one side of the 
dilated part, the pulp and seeds are scraped out, 
and the woody shell is hung to dry, after which it 
is used as a ladle^ or a drinking cup, or in many 
other ways. One singular use to which it is ap- 
plied is that of birds’ -nests ; several gourds are 
frequently hung around a tree whose branches 
have been lopped, to entice the Purple Martin 
{Hirundo purpurea) to occupy them as breeding 
boxes ; a practice learned, I believe, from the 
Indians. Some persons exercise their ingenuity 
in ornamenting the outside of the household 
gourds with carved lines and figures. 
The Musk-melon {Cucumis melo)^ the species 
chiefly used in England, is grown rather exten- 
sively with us, but is not so general a favourite as 
the Water Melon, the peculiar odour being to some 
persons rather disagreeable. It is, however, one of 
the handsomest of the family. 
The Water-melon [Gucurhita citridlus)^ is de- 
servedly esteemed ; as 1 know not a 'more cooling 
or delicious fruit in the heat of summer. I am 
not aware that it is known in England ; I have 
never seen it exposed in the London markets, but 
all through the Union it is highly prized and easily 
obtained ; even as far north as the State of Maine 
and Canada it finds its way, the south supplying 
an almost inexhaustible quantity during the sea- 
son. The very negroes have their own Melon 
patches,” as well as their peach orchards, and it 
is no small object of their ambition to raise earlier 
or finer specimens than their masters. The plant 
is distinguished by having the leaves divided into 
five lobes, which are deeply cut into rounded sinu- 
ations: the fruit is usually oval, but sometimes 
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