MELOf? 
MELON. 
Melon. Cucumis melo. 
Green-fleshed Citron. 
Murray’s Pineapple. 
Green-fleshed Persian. 
Green-fleshed Nutmeg. 
VARIETIES. 
Large Yellow Cantcleupe. 
Pomegranate, or Musk Scented 
Skillman’s Fine Netted. 
Snake, (curious.) 
The Melon is an exotic plant, growing wild in Asia. It 
is cultivated in all the warm countries of Europe, and also 
in Africa and America, where its salubrious and cooling fruit 
is generally esteemed. 
For the varieties of the Musk or Canteleupe Melons, pre- 
pare a piece of rich ground early in May ; manure it and 
give it a good digging ; then mark it out into squares of six 
feet every way; at the angle of each square, dig a hole 
twelve inches deep and eighteen over, into which put about 
six inches deep of old rotten dung ; throw thereon about four 
inches of earth, and mix the dung and earth well with the 
spade ; after which draw more earth over the mixture, so as 
to form a circular hill about a foot broad at top. (For a de- 
finition of the term “ hill,” see article Cucumber.) When 
your hills are all prepared, plant in each, toward the centre, 
six or eight grains of seed, distant two inches from each 
other, and cover them about half an inch deep. One ounce 
of good Melon seed will plant about one hundred and twenty 
hills. 
When the plants are in a state of forwardness, producing 
their rough leaves, they must be thinned to two or three in 
each hill ; draw earth from time to time round the hills, and 
about the roots of the plants. As soon as the plants have 
spread into branches, stop them by pinching off the top of 
the first runner bud ; this will strengthen the plants, and pro 
mote their perfecting the fruit early ; after which keep the 
ground perfectly free from weeds by frequent hoeing. 
There are many varieties of the Melon, highly esteemed 
