Watermelon

a running fruit-bearing vine of the gourd family, closely related to the cucumber, pumpkin, and squash. A native of tropical Africa. The African is traditionally fond of a watermelon. It would be an aggravation to describe its cool green rind or luscious red and pink flesh. Watermelons are raised successfully from Ontario to Texas, but reach their greatest development in Georgia where an official record gives the weight of an extreme specimen at one hundred twenty pounds. Melons of thirty to fifty pounds are large. Under modern systems of cultivation, large raisers locate near railroads and have temporary tracks laid out into the melon patch. Car lots are shipped in bulk; small lots are reshipped from wholesale centers in crates. Shippers' unions aim to direct shipments judiciously. The famous Muscatine watermelon is raised on an island in the Mississippi. The citron is a solid spherical melon used only for pickles and preserves. See Iowa; Georgia; Gourd; Muskmelon