Daily entries from the 17th century London diary
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“Melons were hardly known in England till Sir George Gardiner brought one from Spain, when they became in general estimation. The ordinary price was five or six shillings.”—Quarterly Review, vol, xix.
The antiquity of the cultivation of the melon is very remote. Both the melon (cucaimis melo) and the water-melon (cucumis citrullus) were introduced into England at the end of the sixteenth century. See vol. i., p. 228.
The musk melon
cucumis melo or cantaloupe. Melons are mentioned as early as Wycliffe’s translation of the Bible (1388). Two hundred years later Hyll’s ‘Art of Gardening’, 1583, discusses the soil conditions that are necessary for their successful growth. see OED.
From Terry F, on Sun 28 Aug 2005, 4:23 am | Link
another thought:Musk melon. Closely related to the cantaloupe or rockmelon. So highly prized were
they by the wealthy in India that they were brought in from Samarkand. …
http://www.asiafood.org/glossary_1.cfm?alpha=M&wordid=2765&startno=27&endno=51
xref to family cozen cowcumber
http://www.pepysdiary.com/p/6688.php