BURPEE’S NETTED GEM.--The finest as well as the earliest of
all the small-fruited varieties that I have tried, and where a variety
of melons is not particularly desired, it will furnish a generous
supply of fine-flavored fruit from the first ripening until killed
by frost. It is a very good keeper, retaining its good quality for
nearly a week after picking, if kept in a cool cellar. This is often
a valuable characteristic in the latter part of summer, as several
warm days furnish two or three baskets in the cellar, which keep up
the supply if the warm spell is followed by cool or cloudy days, when
the melons on the vines do not ripen readily. This variety is thickly
netted, the meat is thick and solid, and they run as even in shape and
symmetry as a set of croquet balls, which they also resemble in point
of size.
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