Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-07-15
THE TOoTHsOME MELON
- ~
Watermelons Are Now in Their Primo in
This Section
An Abundance of the Juicy Fruit Just
Noyv-Where the Local Sup
"a
ply In obtained.

The glorious watermelon Is now in its
prime, and for the next few weeks Wash
ington will be revelipg IN this noble fruit.
There is something about the watermelon
that places it aloof from all other things
that grow, on a little pedestal all BY itself.
In its very name there is something sug-
gestive of succulence. refreshing, delight
full. Humorists delight in referring to the
bond of union between the colored man
and the watermelon. but he Is not the only
one whose heart beats a trifle faster and
whose mouth waters at the sight of the
first big chunk of green toothsomeness.
Now the market is full Of them, and every
produce shop around town has a big pyra-
mid of them displayed in most attractive
style.
1t is said by those who know that the
flavor of a melon is not hurt a bit by hav-
ing it plugged and filled with wine, and
then laying it away on ice to chill for
couple of hours before it Is eaten. That's
all right for the effete club man who has
to have a cocktail for an appetizer before
breakfast. But if one really wants TO have
a melon at it's prime, there are some who
say that 1t never tastes as good as when
1t has been removed by stealth from some
one clse's patch In the dark of the moon,
when the dew hangs heavy on its cutter
rind, and dat melons bound to cool"
Just at present however, the melons in
the nearby patches are not ripe and the
dealers depend for their supply on what
are brought from the south. 1t is good
news for the lovers of the fruit to hear
that the crop was never more plentiful
than this year, and that they were never
cheaper at this season. The best are sell
ing just now at an average of thirty cents,
but prime specimens can be had from five
to ten cents less than that The price is
rot expected to go down for a couple of
weeks, or until the eastern sho'" melons
begin to put in an appearance.
The best now in market come from
Georgia, and are brought up by train. SO
that as little time as possible is lost in
fresh as may be. Before very long. how
ever, they will be coming up the river by
the boat load, and then the wharves will
present picturesque sight. One of the
large dealers told a Star reporter that it Is
a fact that the melons that are now
brought from down south reach here with
less delay from the time they are picked
than do the melons that come later ty
boat.
He accounts for this by the fact that now
they are brought by fast train, but they
come up the river by sailboats, and the bet
ter part OF a week may eiapse between the
time they leave the vine and the time they
leave the table for the Interior of the con-
sumner. With favorirg winds this time is
materially cut down, and there are lots of
connoisseurs who prefer to wait for the
kOSdi pFOuucI, OH the SfOunQ uNdC nowhere
are melons so good as those raised just
across the Eastern branch
Unfortunately for these, 1t is said that
the supply of nearby fruit is not likely to
be up to the Standard this season. The
reason for this is that 9there has been too
much rain this summer for melons to be at
their best, and that the wet season has
aided and abetted the bugs in their nefa-
rious woEk of destroying the vines
How to tell good melon? A local expert
who handles thousands every year says
that the only reliable way to Judge of p
melon is by its weight. IA melon that Is at
its prime is heavier than at any other time.
When just ready for the knife 1t has more
juice than when greenland the minute 1t
gets over-ripe it becomes pithy inside. and
the rosy interior begins to split, leaving
interstices of considerable size. This also
tends to make 1t lighter.
If you know the exact sound of a good
melon you will recognize 1t by it's "plunk."
but that requires an ear that Is properly at
tuned and experienced from listening to
many melons. Then, too, a melon IN its
prime gives forth a crisp cracking when
pressed between strong hands. If the fruit
is over-ripe the crispness Of the cracking
is all gone. Plugging melon is all right
for those who make no claims to being eX-
perts, but, after all, the true way to tell a
melon Is to '.heft' it.