SC - Watermelon

[linneah at erols.com]

Uduido at aol.com wrote:
> 
> In a message dated 97-05-01 19:49:46 EDT, you write:
> 
> << is watermelon period >>
> 
> Watermelon is period.
> 
> "Citrullus vulgaris. Native of  tropical Africa....Has been under cultivation
> for centuries in India and Egypt; is shown in early Egyptian paintings andd
> described in Sanskrit Of the four known species three are African and one is
> Asiatic."
> 
> I have also seen at least two period paintings where watermelons are clearly
> depicted and of course, the recipe I posted was taken from Coriadoc's
> "Collection of Medieval and Renaissance Cookbooks> "The Baghdad Cookery Book"
> which translation clearly states watermelon.
> 
> Lord Ras

Just to throw in my 2 cents... in taking an archaeology course we were shown 
pictures of Bushmen eating what appeared to be a small watermellon.. It was 
known as a "Bitter mellon" and the archaeologist we questioned said that they 
were NOTHING like the mellons that origionated in the Americas.  Our are sweet, 
the ones from Africa are definitely not.

These mellons, however, do contain a great deal of moisture and are what the 
Bushmen survive on during the dry season.  It is possible that the mellons seen 
in the illustrations and mentioned are these bitter mellons.

Do the references sited above say anything about the mellons being sweet?  
That would be the best way to tell which are being refered to.

One more thing, I keep hearing about/reading about gourds.  What are they?  I 
had been taught that the winter squash we eat are also New World.

Linneah