110 THE FLORAL WORLD AND aARDEN GUIDE. 



be lumpy, and the pots well drained. The prevailing idea as to the 

 growth of great gourds is that an abundance of dung is necessary, 

 whereas there is nothing better than turfy loam, and plenty of it, 

 with a moderate admixture of dung and charred rubbish. The top 

 spit of a loamy pasture, if inclining to clay not objectionable, should 

 be laid up in narrow ridges to be mellowed by the frost ; and when 

 the beds are made up, the substratum should be stable dung which 

 has nearly parted with its heat, over which should be laid eight 

 inches depth of the loam mixed with a fourth part thoroughly rotten 

 manure. 



The plants being strong in May, and the bed ready, defer plant- 

 ing until the weather begins to look summery. If the beds are 

 raised above the level, there will be no fear of danger from damp, 

 and the plants may be protected by hand-lights until the season is so 

 far advanced that they can take care of themselves. 



Bearing in miud that unless the plants are in full vigour the 

 fruits will never attain to any great size, it will be important to 

 encourage the growth of a healthy and abundant foliage. When 

 dung is too largely used the plants become rank, make an excessive 

 number of watery shoots, and are as like to drop their fruits as 

 set them ; whereas when in deep beds of sound loam, strength is 

 obtained without rankness, and there is no fear of any superabun- 

 dance of leaves. As the fruits swell, water may be given abundantly, 

 and at regular intervals liquid manure. There is an old-fashioned 

 plan of swelling gourds to a large size. It consists in placing a 

 vessel of water beside the fruit ; a length of worsted is attached by 

 one end to the stalk of the fruit, and the other end, with a stone 

 attached to it, is placed in the water. It is supposed that by capil- 

 lary attraction the fruit is enabled to absorb a large quantity of 

 water conveyed to it by the worsted, but we will not vouch that the 

 method is of any practical value whatever. In planting out the 

 gourds in beds, the rows should be at least ten feet apart, and the 

 plants five feet apart in the rows, for the strongest growers ; but for 

 weak-growing kinds smaller spaces will suffice. 



Ornamental gourds are, generally speaking, best grown on trel- 

 lises, as, if the fruits lay on the ground, the under side rarely 

 acquires its proper colour, and the rind is apt to grow warty. They 

 require full sun, a deep, loam}^ warm border, and plenty of water 

 when they have once made a start, and are running freely. As many 

 growers may be in doubt as to the qualities of some of the orna- 

 mental kinds, we ought to add a caution, that the kinds which are 

 not edible are decidedly poisonous, and the consequences of eating 

 them might, at any time, be fatal. But there is no difSculty in 

 determining if any gourd is fit for table use ; the poisonous kinds 

 are all bitter, the fruit, the leaf, and even the immature shoots, are 

 nauseously bitter, and the tongue will give all the information on 

 that subject that may be necessar3^ It will afford some idea of the 

 amusement that may be found in the cultivation of gourds, if we 

 mention that on two occasions last season Messrs. Barr and Sugden. 

 exhibited collections comprising 500 varieties. 



