Excerpt from Burpee's Farm Annual, 1889: Garden, Farm, and Flower Seeds The illustration above, engraved from one of the melons, accurately shows the shape and appear ance of this handsome new Watermelon. It originated with Mr. Paynter Frame, of Delaware, well known as the originator of the burpee's ironclad, now SO justly famous. It is a cross between the Ironclad and the old Mountain Sweet. 'of Oblong shape, the melons are very thick through and nearly as thick at the stem as at the blossom end. The skin is beautifully striped, dark and light green, and they are very true both in markings and in uniformity of size. The flesh is a brilliant red and ripens within one-half to three-fourths of an inch of the rind; very solid, luscious and sugary, entirely free from strings and of most excellent flavor, resembling that of the old Mountain Sweet in its palmy days. The rind, while very thin, is extremely tough, and it is one of the best melons ever introduced, both for shipping and keeping. Mr. Frame says, I have kept them until Christmas, when they were still good and retained their flavor. It combines all the good qualities of a perfect water melon. With good cultivation this melon will attain the largest size of any variety now known. While the melon resembles the Ironclad in appearance, it is entirely distinct, and has the great advantage not only of superior flavor and greater capacity for large growth, but also that it ripens and is ready to market fully ten days earlier. Before introducing this melon we purchased from Mr. Frame his entire crop last year, and sent out some thousands of free trial packets, not only to seeds men, but also to private growers; from these thorough trials throughout the United States we have received most enthusiastic letters of praise, of which a few sample reports are printed on the opposite page. Sold only in sealed packets, with the above illustration, reduced in size, printed upon each packet. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.