206 VINES 
An admirable annual vine for foliage is the 
gourd. It is especially fine for covering fences, 
for in the fall, after the leaves are gone, the fruit 
is decidedly ornamental. The gourd (Cucurbita 
Pepo, var. ovifera) is fine for all kinds of effects 
where an annual vine can be used. The foliage 
is a good shade of green and, setting very close, 
will conceal any object; and with astonishing 
rapidity. Another good trait in regard to its 
cultivation, is that it does not seem to show the 
effects of either excessively dry or wet weather, 
but keeps growing until checked by frost. The 
attractive fruits of the gourd are used for a great 
many purposes other than to amuse children. 
The large ones are converted into flower vases, 
and the small ones used as ornaments. All are of 
various colours and shapes, some beautiful and 
some grotesque. . 
The gourd climbs by means of tendrils and 
can ascend almost any kind of an open-work 
fence. In sunny locations it attains a height of 
ten to twelve feet. The seed should be sown in 
the greenhouse in March, or out of doors toward 
the end of April. 
A plant closely allied to the gourd, and useful 
for the same purposes, is Coccinea cordifolia. 
Its ornamental fruit, of a vivid scarlet colour, 
