b THE SOUTH AFKICAN PIPE CALABASH. 



for pipes are really perfect enough to use. The small defects and 

 insect bites which scarcely seemed to mar the gourds in the field 

 appear as malformations which throw out as culls a large share of the 

 crop. 



From the appearance of the South African imported product it 

 seems probable that a dry climate is best for the production of the 

 gourds and that water is best applied by irrigation. In the moist 

 regions of Maryland, although perfectly satisfacto'ry pipe gourds can 

 be grown, there seems to be danger of the necks becoming infected 

 with a pink mold (doubtless a Fusarium) that often quite ruins them. 

 Especially liable to this are the specimens lying on the ground, and 

 this was one of our reasons for standing the gourds on end or for 

 placing a board under the choicest specimens. Any mechanical or 

 insect injury to the neck or upper third of the young gourd ma}^ scar 

 it so as to make it unfit for a first-class pipe. 



There is a snout beetle in our gardens which persisted in biting the 

 necks of the gourds shortly after the flowers had set, and in every 

 case these bites resulted in scars which were permanent. To keep 

 the insects from biting the gourds, some were covered with cheese 

 cloth and others with large paper bags with the mouths folded 

 closely about the stem. The paper bags proved better, especially if 

 placed so that the water could drain out of them. In some instances 

 after a rain many of the bags were found full of water and the gourds 

 covered with molds. 



THE ARTIFICIAL SHAPING OF THE GOURDS. 



It was discovered that with a little care and patience it was possible 

 to cause these gourd necks to grow into any desired shape. To do 

 this, it is necessary to provide half-inch boards 6 by 8 inches in size, 

 riddled with quarter-inch holes as close together as they can be bored. 

 Each board has its accompaniment of 5 or 6 pegs, which should be 

 about 3 inches long, whittled to fit the holes, and padded with cloth 

 so that they will not scratch the tender gourd. One of these boards 

 is required for each pipe until its neck is set at the right curve; then- 

 it can be removed and used for another. The young gourd when still 

 quite young and before its delicate neck has hardened (PI. I, fig. 2) 

 is laid on the board and gently bent in the desired direction and 

 pegged in place. By the following day the tension will be relaxed 

 and the fruit can be still further forced into shape. Three or four 

 resettings of the pegs are usually enough to carry the gourd to the 

 point where the neck is fixed in form. 



Pipes formed in this manner become invested with still greater 

 individualit}". Unlimited opportunity is afforded for the exercise of 

 ingenuity in the making of new forms, and individual tastes regarding 

 the shape of a pipe can be fully gratified. (See PI. II, fig. 2.) By this 



[Cir. 41] 



