172 A Little Maryland Garden 
first frost came there had been produced one 
nest-ege gourd of fair size, and the small 
beginnings of several others. This year 
I divided seeds with a friend, whose long 
stretch of picket fence and grape arbours 
promised ideal support for them. But the 
only result of our united efforts is the spoon 
gourds now hanging on my wall. They are 
very quaint and pretty, half dark green 
and half butter-coloured. There is some- 
thing very amusing and attractive about these 
oddly coloured and shaped little things. 
They are the playthings of the vegetable 
kingdom. Their neat shapes and gay colours 
always please, and I never saw any one come 
upon a gourd vine, hanging its pretty fruits in 
the sun, that did not exclaim with pleasure 
and smile at their freakishness. 
When I was a child in California, the Span- 
iards used to bring us presents of very sweet- 
scented gourds, yellow flecked with green, 
if my recollections are right. I loved them 
as playthings, and they gave me that child- 
ish delight that I see them awaken now, even 
