194 Bulletin 67. 



and the}' comprise a pulpy mass (known to botanists as an aril) 

 with a flat, squash-like, white or brown seed in the center. The 

 seeds are curiously carved or marked upon the sides, and I have 

 received them for planting, under the name of " Art Pumpkin." 



This plant is a favorite with the Chinese, but I doubt if it will 

 meet any considerable favor with Americans as an esculent. A 

 writer in Gardeu and Fore st^^ calls it Foo-qiia, but I have never 

 heard this name applied to it. The name La-kiva is said to mean 

 " bitter squash." The bitter rind is dried as a medicinal prepara- 

 tion. The fruit is prepared in various ways, when immature. 

 The seed masses are dried, and in this condition are mixed with 

 meat and are used in preparations of appetizers. The plant is 

 also commonly cultivated in Japan, f under the names Tsuru- 

 reishi and Niga-uri. The various methods of preparing the fruit 

 for table use in China, are given as follows by Edward Wilmann 

 in a foreign publication : % 



' ' This fruit, which attains an average length of three to four 

 inches, is always gathered and used before it is ripe. When ripe 

 it is useless from a culinary point of view. Some prefer it when 

 it is still tender, while others do not relish it before it possesses 

 some consistency. In either case, it is in good condition until it 

 matures. For the table it is prepared as follows : 



'' In salad. The fruit is cut lengthwise into halves, and the 

 seeds are removed. These two parts are then put into a .sauce 

 made of vinegar, olive oil, ginger, garlic, all-spice, salt, etc. It 

 is customary to add to this also some cucumber, cabbage, carrot, 

 mango, etc. 



''Pickles. After having removed the seeds, the fruit is cut in 

 circular slices, and is then seasoned with citron juice, all-spice, 

 ginger, etc. 



"/;/ cari.W The fruit, having been cut into two pieces, is pre- 

 pared by boiling with fresh or salt bacon, or with fresh or salt 



*E. T. Lander, " Chinese Horticulture in New York," Garden and Forest, 

 i. 483. 



fTamari, Trans. Anier. Hort. Soc. iv. 79 ; Georgeson, Amer. Gard. xiii. 

 526 (with illustration). 



X Paillieux & Bois, Le Potager d'un Curieux, 2d ed. 335. 



II Cari is a condiment powder made of all-spice, curcuma, and other spicy 

 powders. 



