[Sca-cooks] watermelons and Pliny continued

[JIMCHEVAL at aol.com]

I've now checked Weber's translation of Anthimus (in English) and Stoll's  
(in German). Both (like Grant)translate "melones" as melons - and 
"cucumeres" as  cucumbers.
 
The latter is important to note because, under "Melons", Dalby cites  
Anthimus' statement on cucumbers - that they were not then found in northeastern  
Gaul - as applying to melons.
 
_https://books.google.com/books?id=RXpm47Wr49EC&lpg=PA215&dq=inauthor%3Adalb
y%20melons&pg=PA215#v=onepage&q&f=false_ 
(https://books.google.com/books?id=RXpm47Wr49EC&lpg=PA215&dq=inauthor:dalby%20melons&pg=PA215#v=onepage&q&f=fal
se) 
 
In other words, he is saying that Anthimus uses "cucumbers" to refer to  
"melons" and "melons" to refer to "watermelons"; and that the latter could be  
found in Gaul, but not the former. Which seems unlikely on the face of it. 
since  in southern Gaul, at least, far more melon seeds have been found than 
watermelon  seeds, and if anything one would expect the first to be more 
found.
 
It really makes more sense for cucumbers - a related but far more distinct  
fruit - not to exist in the same place as melons, than for watermelons to 
exist  there, but not melons.
 
At the very least, if Dalby is going to present what he must know himself  
to be a minority view, one would expect a word of explanation, rather than 
his  matter of fact, unqualified statements about these references.
 
 
Jim  Chevallier
_www.chezjim.com_ (http://www.chezjim.com/) 

FRENCH BREAD HISTORY:  Late medieval bread
http://leslefts.blogspot.com/2015/06/french-bread-history-late-medieval-
bread.html