The Family Kitchen Gardener (1856)/Melon
MELON.
Cucumis Mèlo.—Melon, Fr.—Melone, Ger.
The Melon, in some character, is to be found in all tropical countries, but the finest varieties are supposed to have come from Persia and Affghanistan. It has been cultivated in Europe nearly four hundred years, and in the south of that continent, in its season, it constitutes the principal part of the food of the lower classes, proving that it is both wholesome and nutricious. The flesh of a well-grown melon is delicious. It is eaten with ginger, pepper, sugar, salt, or as fancy and taste dictate. Its nature is cooling. There are many varieties in culture, which, with artificial aid, can be brought to perfection, but when left to unassisted nature and exposed to heavy rains and scorching suns, the number is very limited indeed. They are confined to the indifferent, or improved culture and purity of three or four sorts.
Musk Melon, so called from its peculiar scent, is nearly round; color, a yellowish green; rind smooth, and the fruit very slightly ribbed. It used to be extensively cultivated for its productive qualities, but now gives way to better varieties.
Early Cantaloupe takes its name from a village near Rome, where it has been grown for many centuries, and from thence distributed to this Western world. There are many varieties of it readily distinguished from the former by having small warts on the rind, the flesh greener, and more firm.—Well flavored.
Netted Citron is an oval fruit, roughly netted all over, of a pale yellowish green when ripe; grows to a good size; from two to five pounds; flesh, green, firm, juicy, and high flavored. This variety commands the highest price in Philadelphia market, and its quality depends on its genuine purity. Seeds should be two years old before sowing.
Rock Melon.—Fruit of an oval, round shape, rind green, with large white warts or rocky appearances thereon, hence its name. Flesh solid, of a yellowish color, rich and melting; in size, equal to the former.
Culture.—The Melon is cultivated in a similar manner to the Cucumber. The soil and treatment that grows the one will grow the other, though the Melon prefers a dryer atmosphere, and is more liable to die off after heavy rains than the former. To have it in perfection, it should not be grown in the vicinity of Squashes, Gourds, Pumpkins, Cucumbers, or any variety of the family, or it will invariably become impregnated with the inferior flavor of its congeners. In a small Garden, it is not possible to grow all these sorts without contamination. It is therefore better to plant all Squashes and Pumpkins in the field. A bed twenty-two feet square will grow sixteen hills, each six feet apart. Mark the spaces by the line each way; dig out the earth one foot deep and two feet wide, spreading it about; then fill up the holes thus made six inches higher than the surrounding ground, with rich, light compost—very old, rotten manure, sand, and garden earth, in equal parts, will do. Into these conical heaps or hills, about the first of May, sow eight or ten seeds, half an inch deep and a few inches apart. As soon as the plants have made two rough leaves, thin them out, leaving four only to each hill. When each have made four or five rough leaves, pinch the point of each shoot to make the plants branch out and fruit earlier; this is what gardeners call “topping,” which strengthens the vines. Draw earth around their stems to support them from the wind; when they begin to run, they require no further assistance, except it may be to thin out the shoots where they become too crowded and confused. Hoe and stir up the soil, and keep clear of weeds. As no garden should have a foot square of lost ground, crop between these hills. Valentine, or Snap-Short Beans, is very suitable. Three sorts sown now will be off the ground in June and July, before the Melon vines occupy the whole. This plant, with the Cucumber, is very subject to be attacked with a yellow striped, or black bug. We are not yet aware of an infallible remedy, but a dusting of soot or wood ashes will retard their progress till the plants begin to grow freely. If they are thus attacked as soon as the vines show their rough leaves, it would be imprudent to top the plants, as it stops their growth, and the insect would then entirely overcome them.
Melons may be forced, in the same way as directed for the Cucumber, when it can be conveniently done, and to my taste it is a preferable plant; the finer sorts, that will not bear the open exposure of rain and heat, should be sown, such as the Green-fleshed and Rock Melons. Some of the latter, and as fine as any I ever saw, took the first premium at the New Jersey Horticultural Society, at Princeton, the past season. They were from the garden of A. H. Stevens, Esq., of Hoboken, and did great credit to the grower. When grown under glass, the sash should have a very thin mat thrown over it, from eleven to two o’clock, and from the middle of April till the fruit is all cut; and although the leaves may droop, it is not always a sign that the plant is in want of moisture. It is not advisable to pour the water round the neck of the plant—a very common practice and a very inconsistent one; the extremity of the roots and leaves are the absorbing organs of the plant; supply the former by watering the soil, and the latter by frequent sprinklings with the syringe, or from the rose of a watering pot.
The red spider is a pest to the Melon. It is a very minute red insect, quick in its movements, generally on the under side of the leaf. When observed, lift up the vines and turn them over, exposing the under surfaces of the leaves; then give them a syringing with soap suds. One or two such doses will destroy it, when pure water may be more frequently used, for it is too dry an atmosphere that genders this pest of the gardener.
Within a few years past, Europe has resounded with the praise of very extraordinary Melons from Persia and Cabul, so much so that we were induced to import two varieties to test their merits in this climate. One variety was very small, about half a pound weight, of a fine, smooth, round form, flesh quite yellow and high flavored, but too small for general culture. The other was opposite in every character, being large, oval, with a rough, white rind, flesh reddish-yellow, looked very tempting, but tasted much like a Pumpkin. Each seed cost sixpence sterling.
WATER-MELON.
Cucúrbita Citrúllus.—Melon d’eau, Fr.—Wasser Melon, Ger.
The Water Melon is purely a tropical fruit, wisely adapted to the wants of the inhabitants of those countries, who greatly appreciate it for its refreshing coolness, and delicious flavor. It is a grateful beverage in warm weather. It is no way nutrieious, but its seeds are considered a valuable remedy in urinary complaints. There are several sorts cultivated extensively in New Jersey, even to thousands of acres, for the supply of the Philadelphia and New York markets, viz.:
Long Green, Mountain Sprout, Carolina, Spanish, and occasionally a White variety—all fine sorts, though we prefer the Spanish. It is round, very dark green, having a very thin rind, with a bright red flesh, and black seeds. It does not grow so large as some others, but is more rich and sugary in flavor, and commands a better price. It was introduced to this country about eighteen years ago. The seed of the first that I saw, was brought from Portugal, by a supercargo of one of the ships of the late Henry Pratt, Esq., of Lemon Hill, who freely distributed the seeds to his friends.
Culture.—They require a light, sandy soil, not over rich. Plant them in hills as directed for Melons, giving them more room, as their vines extend much further. The seeds should be two years old before planting. If they are wanted of a large size, three or four fruit from each plant will be sufficient, and when one fruit only is taken, they will grow to from twenty to thirty pounds weight each. It will injure the flavor of the fruit if they are grown near to other varieties of the Melon.