Ice-Cream.
A large, very pale-green sort; when unmixed, readily distinguishable from all other varieties. Form nearly round, but sometimes a little depressed at the extremities; rind thicker than in most varieties; flesh white, very sweet and tender, and of remarkably fine flavor; seeds white. It is prolific, and also early; and is remarkably well adapted for cultivation in cold localities, or where the seasons are too short for the successful culture of the more tender and late kinds. Its pale-green skin, white flesh, and white seeds, are its prominent distinctive peculiarities.
Imperial. Down.
This variety is said to have been introduced from the Mediterranean. Fruit round, or oblate, and of medium size; skin pale-green, with stripes and variegations of white or paler green; rind thin; flesh pale-red, crisp, sweet, and of excellent flavor; seeds reddish-brown. Very productive, but requiring a warm situation and a long season for its complete perfection.
Mountain Sprout.
This variety is similar to the Mountain Sweet. It is of large size, long, and of an oval form. Skin striped and marbled with paler and deeper shades of green; rind thin,—measuring scarcely half an inch in thickness; flesh scarlet, a little hollow at the centre, crisp, sugary, and of excellent flavor.
Like the Mountain Sweet, it is a favorite market sort. It is not only of fine quality, but very productive. Seeds russet-brown.
Mountain Sweet.
A large, long, oval variety, often contracted towards the stem in the form of a neck; skin striped and marbled with different shades of green; rind rather thin, measuring scarcely half an inch in thickness; flesh scarlet, and solid quite to the centre; seeds pale russet-brown, but often of greater depth of color in perfectly matured specimens of fruit.
A popular and extensively cultivated variety, quite hardy, productive, and of good quality. "For many years, it was universally conceded to be the best market sort cultivated in the Middle States, but of late has lost some of the properties that recommended it so highly to favor. This deterioration has probably been owing to the influence of pollen from inferior kinds grown in its vicinity."