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Melon

This fruit is generally used in England only for dessert, but it is also frequently eaten before the first course, as it is supposed to sharpen the appetite. In this case, pepper and salt are the only accompaniments. When for dessert, it should be sent to table in a dish, tastefully adorned with flowers and smaller fruit, so as afford a pleasing contrast of colours to the eye. Sifted sugar and brandy are generally eaten with this delicious succulent fruit. The common, or musk-melon, is a herbaceous, succulent climbing, or trailing annual, which has been cultivated for the sake of its fruit in hot Eastern countries from time immemorial. The water-melon is remarkable for the quantity of water it contains--namely, ninety-four per cent.