History of the Limgrcn Squash. 211 



HISTORY OF THE LUNGREN SQUASH. 



By Dr. H. G. Lungren, Volusia, Fla. 



The Lungren squash originated at Volusia, Fla., in 1S67, under the 

 following circumstances : A gentleman living in Orange County, Fla., 

 planted some seeds of pumpkins which he obtained while in the Semi- 

 nole nation during the last Indian war in this state. Amongst these 

 seeds were some that produced a curious-looking pumpkin (as he called 

 it), one of which he gave to me. I planted the seeds amongst some 

 other varieties, and I suppose they must have hybridized ; for the next 

 year, on planting seeds saved from one of these squashes, I was surprised 

 to find that some of the plants were brilliantly marked on their leaves. 

 I thought that it would be a curious if not valuable addition to the squashes 

 of the North ; so I sent seeds of this new variety to my friend E. F. 

 Washburn, of Boston, with the request that he would give them a trial. 

 He was so pleased with them, that, in 1S6S, he brought it to the notice 

 of the public as a really valuable addition to the list of winter squashes. 



No squash similar to this grows in Florida, save the one with plain 

 or unmarked foliage. It has all the good qualities, with but few of the 

 objectionable ones, of winter squashes. 



The Seminole Indians living amongst the Everglades and on islands 

 in Lake Okechobee, in the southern extremity of the peninsula, have 

 some i-eally valuable varieties of vegetables, especially pumpkins, 

 squashes, melons, beans, peppers, etc., as well as many vegetables with 

 which the people of the North are but little acquainted. Many of these 

 seeds would prove valuable additions to our catalogue of vegetables. 



During the last Seminole war, the United States volunteers found, 

 on some of the islands in Lake Okechobee, small fields or patches of 

 corn, pumpkins, melons, and beans, seeds of which were brought home 

 with them. One of these really valuable seeds was the Seminole 

 sugar pumpkin — a small pumpkin which would not weigh more than 

 four or five pounds each ; verj' sweet, fine flavored, long keeping, and 

 highly prolific, a single vine often producing from forty to fifty pump- 

 kins. These pumpkins are now quite common with us, and are highly 

 prized for their good qualities, being considered the best we raise. 



