It may be proper to mention, that some entirely disap prove of the sweating of fruit, affirming that it thereby ac quires a bad flavour, which it retains, or at any rate that the natural flavour of the fruit is deteriorated. They consider it better to carry the fruit directly from the tree, carefully avoiding all sort of bruising, and to lay it thinly on the shelves of the fruit-room; afterwards wiping, if it appear necessary. The room, they say, should be dry ; but the only use that should be made of a stove is, to take off the damp.
As connected with the forcing department, we now pro ceed to speak of the culture of the melon under frames placed upon a hot-bed.
Afelon.
'251. The Melon is the Cucumis Melo, L. ; Monecia Mo nadelphia ; and belongs to the natural order Cucurbitacex; The genus cueumis affords the rich melon for the dessert ; the cucumber well known for its cooling qualities; and the coloquintida of the apothecaries. The water-melon, the squash, and the pumpkin, belong to the same natural family, but to a different genus, 'Cucurbita, distinguished chiefly by the swelling rim of tht seed. The melon has been cultivated in England since before 1570 ; but the pre cise period °fits introduction is uncertain.
252. Many are the varieties of this fruit, but a few only are worth cultivating : particularly different sorts of Can taieupe, the Romana, Polignac, oblong ribbed, rock, Portu gal, and Salonica. The largest kinds are in general of in ferior quality, being valuable chiefly to the market garden er, who finds his advantage in having a large and shewy fruit, rather than one whose only merit consists in being high-flavoured.
The Cantaleupes are well known, and generally cultivat ed. In most of them the outer coat is rough and warty. The fruit is of middling size, rather round than long. There are several subvarieties : one has a greenish pulp ; another and more esteemed sort has the pulp of an orange colour : there is likewise a scarlet and a white cantaleupe ; besides the black rock cantaleupe, and the netted cantaleupe, the last possessing excellent qualities. The cantaleupe has received its name from a seat of the Pope near Rome, where the fruit was either originally produced, or is sup posed to have been so.
The Romana is an early melon, small in size, but of fine flavour ; and the plants are very plentiful bearers. There arc two or three subvarieties, of which the large netted Romana is the best ; it is of an oval shape, high-flavoured, and at the same time very solid and ponderous.
The Polignac is a rich•flavourcd fruit, pretty generally cultivated.
• The Oblong ribbed, 'sometimes called the musky me lon, is of agreeable flavour, and the plants produce abun dantly.
Rock melons, or carbuncled melons, are of different sorts ; with green pulp, scarlet pulp, black and silver rock.
The small Portugal melon is an early variety, not desti tute of flavour, and it is produced very plentifully.
The Salonica melon was little known in this country till recommended by Mr Knight. Its form is nearly spherical, and without any depressions on its surface ; its colour ap proaches that of gold, and its pulp is pure white. It is al lowed to remain upon the plant till it be completely matur ed, for it improves in flavour and richness till it become quite soft, and even shew symptoms of incipient decay. The consistence of its pulp is nearly that of a water melon, and it is very Sweet. A full grown specimen of the fruit generally weighs about 71b.
253. In the cultivation of the melon, it is,a matter of much importance to procure proper seed. Some garden ers are so scrupulous on this point, that they will not sow the seeds, unless they have seen and tasted the fruit from which they were taken. It is proper at least not to trust to seeds which have not been collected by judicious persons. Some make it a rule to preserve always the seeds of those individual specimens which are first ripe, and even to take them from the ripest side of the fruit. A criterion Of the goodness and probable fertility is generally sought by throwing them ino a vessel containing water ;. such as sink are considered as good and likely to prove fer tile ; those that float, as effete. It is remarked of seeds brought from the continent, that they must have more bot tom heat, and the young plants less water, than are neces sary for seeds ripened in this country, or young plants sprung from these.
The seeds are seldom sown till they have been two or three years kept ; from this age till they be five years old, they succeed very well. The plants produced from such seeds ai`e not so luxuriant,:and are therefore more tractable and more prolific. The cause is supposed to be, that the al bumen of the seed is deteriorated by the keeping, and the plants thus starved, in a certain degree, at their first ger mination ; the fruitfulness of plants in general being pro moted by checking their luxuriance. When gardeners in tend .to sow seeds which have been kept only for one year, they' are in the practice of carrying them for some months in the pockets of their small clothes ; the warmth from the body being found to promote the desirable maturation or siccity. If, on the other hand, the seeds have been kept for many years, steeping them for some days in weak oxy muriatic acid (chlorine) might probably tend to excite ger mination.