118 CHAPTER XVI. 



the riddle has been guessed by botanists, in others we 

 are still at a loss. If you do not know the secret of the 

 Squirting Gourd, beware how you examine it too 

 closely, for this lowly and harmless-looking plant can 

 smite you in the face if you intrude upon its privacy. 



The little fruits, less than two inches in length, 

 are filled with a watery juice : when they are ripe the 

 least touch breaks them away from the stalk, and 

 where the stalk was fixed a hole is left ; through this 

 the liquid is thrown out with great force, and along 

 with it the seeds. This liquid is a violent purgative. 

 It is sometimes found useful by the farmers, thus : 

 If people steal your grapes, cause the Squirting Gourd 

 to play upon the bunches which are most likely to be 

 pilfered. The thief will have cause to regret his dis- 

 honesty. But you must be careful not to offer any 

 of these medicated grapes to your friends. Even 

 when grown in England, this little Gourd has been 

 known to throw its seeds to a distance of some 

 twenty feet : out here it can probably do better still. 

 The scientific names of this plant are singularly 

 appropriate, for both have reference to throwing or 

 driving. The flowers are yellow, but inconspicuous. 



An immense variety of Gourds, Pumpkins, and 

 Melons is cultivated on the Riviera (Fig. 46). The 

 Pilgrim's Gourd (Lagenaria) supplies the peasant with 

 bottles and flasks. As the horn was the primitive 

 drinking vessel of pastoral folk, so the gourd may well 

 have been the earliest goblet of the agricultural races. 

 In Gaelic " corn," a horn, means cup ; on the other 

 hand the Italian " chicchera," cup, is said to be derived 

 from a word meaning gourd. Gourds were used as 

 moulds and coated with clay to form water-bottles. 

 In baking the clay the gourd of course was burnt 



