THE MELON.—­This is the generic name for all the members of the gourd tribe known as cantaloupes, muskmelons, and watermelons.  The fruit varies greatly in size and color, and in the character of the rind.  When fresh and perfectly ripe, melons are among the most delicious of edible fruits.

THE FIG.—­In the most ancient histories, the fig tree is referred to as among the most desirable productions of the earth.  It was the only tree in the garden of Eden of which the Sacred Writings make particular mention.  Among the inhabitants of ancient Syria and Greece, it formed one of the principal articles of food.  Its cultivation was, and is still, extensively carried on in nearly all Eastern countries; also in Spain, Southern France, and some portions of the United States.  The fruit is pear-shaped, and consists of a pulpy mass full of little seeds.  Dried and compressed figs are largely imported, and are to be found in all markets.  Those brought from Smyrna are reputed to be the best.

THE BANANA.—­This is essentially a tropical fruit growing very generally in the East, the West Indies, South American countries, and some of the Southern States.  The plant is an annual, sending up stems to the height of ten or fifteen feet, while drooping from the top are enormous leaves three or four feet in length, and looking, as one writer has aptly said, like “great, green quill pens.”  It is planted in fields like corn, which in its young growth it much resembles.  Each plant produces a single cluster of from eighty to one hundred or more bananas, often weighing in the aggregate as high as seventy pounds.  The banana is exceedingly productive.  According to Humboldt, a space of 1,000 feet, which will yield only 38 pounds of wheat, or 462 pounds of potatoes, will produce 4,000 pounds of bananas, and in a much shorter period of time.  It is more nutritious than the majority of fruits, and in tropical countries is highly valued as a food, affording in some localities the chief alimentary support of the people.  Its great importance as a food product is shown by the fact that three or four good sized bananas are equal in nutritive value to a pound of bread.  The amount of albumen contained in a pound of bananas is about the same as that found in a pound of rice, and the total nutritive value of one pound of bananas is only a trifle less than that of an equal quantity of the best beefsteak.

The unripe fruit, which contains a considerable percentage of starch, is often dried in the oven and eaten as bread, which, in this state, it considerably resembles in taste and appearance.  Thus prepared, it may be kept for a long time, and is very serviceable for use on long journeys.  The variety of the banana thus used is, however, a much larger kind than any of those ordinarily found in our Northern markets, and is known as the plantain.  The dried plantain, powdered, furnishes a meal of fragrant odor and bland taste, not unlike common wheat flour.  It is said to be easy of digestion, and two pounds of the dry meal or six pounds of the fruit is the daily allowance for a laborer in tropical America.