These melons are not, however, all of them eatable; some are sweet, and others so bitter that the whole are named by the Boers the "bitter watermelon".

The natives select them by striking one melon after another with a hatchet, and applying the tongue to the gashes.

They thus readily distinguish between the bitter and sweet.
The bitter are deleterious, but the sweet are quite wholesome.

This peculiarity of one species of plant bearing both sweet and bitter fruits occurs also in a red, eatable cucumber, often met with in the country.
It is about four inches long, and about an inch and a half in diameter.
It is of a bright scarlet color when ripe.

Many are bitter, others quite sweet.