B. P. T.-Ml. 



THE SOUTH AFRICAN PIPE CALABASH, 



INTBODUCTION. 



The increasing popularity of calabash pipes made from the fruits 

 of a South African calabash, or gourd, has aroused a widespread 

 interest in the growing of this vine. Applications for seed at the 

 Department of Agriculture are increasing in number, and requests 

 for information regarding cultural methods and the making of the 

 pipes have become so numerous that a short publication on the 

 subject seems desirable, as well as a word of caution to those who 

 hope to make the commercial production of these gourds a profitable 

 occupation. 



Calabash pipes made from imported South African gourds have 

 been the fashion in England for some time and are now coming into 

 vogue in America. These pipes are formed from the crooked necks 

 of a large gourd {Lagenaria vulgaris) belonging to the well-known 

 group of plants which includes the cucumber, the melons, and the 

 squashes. (PI. I, fig. 1.) Pipes made from the imported gourds are 

 expensive, American dealers usually' charging $8 and even $12 apiece 

 for them. They are the lightest pipes made for their size, are grace- 

 ful in shape, color like meerschaums, and are delightful smokers. 

 Unlike the cheap pipes which are turned out by machinery, no two 

 of these calabash pipes are alike. In this lies much of their charm. 

 In this, likewise, lies their cost, for, unlike the great mass of pipes 

 turned out by machinery, the crook of the calabash varies so that 

 each mouthi)iece must be made to fit it and each lining of meer- 

 schaum or plaster of Paris must be specially adapted. In our land of 

 labor-saving machinery and expensive hand labor this is what makes 

 the pipes costly. Then, too, until quite recently these calabash 

 gourds which form the bowls of the pipes have only been grown in 

 South Africa, from whence they have been imported into this coun- 

 tr5^ The supply has been so limited that they have been treated as 

 novelties, and have been offered to the public at almost prohibitive 

 prices. 



[Cir. 41] 3 



