They differ chiefly in their fruits, but also very much in foliage and mode of growth.

Some melons are only as large as small plums, others weigh as much as sixty-six pounds.

One variety has a scarlet fruit.

Another is not more than an inch in diameter, but sometimes more than a yard in length, twisting about in all directions like a serpent.

Some melons are exactly like cucumbers; and an Algerian variety, when ripe, cracks and falls to pieces, just as occurs in a wild gourd (C.momordica).[32] _Variations of Flowers._ Turning to flowers, we find that in the same genus as our currant and gooseberry, which we have cultivated for their fruits, there are some ornamental species, as the Ribes sanguinea, and in these the flowers have been selected so as to produce deep red, pink, or white varieties.
When any particular flower becomes fashionable and is grown in large quantities, variations are always met with sufficient to produce great varieties of tint or marking, as shown by our roses, auriculas, and geraniums.