SQUASH 



281 



The crop is made more certain by having bees near 

 by to pollinize the flowers. In some places, the absence 

 of many insects is the reason why cucumbers, melons, and 

 squashes, which are similar in the construction of their 

 flowers, fail to produce much fruit, though the vines may 

 grow freely. This is a common complaint in some new 

 prairie sections, as there 

 is often a deficiency of 

 pollinizing insects in such 

 places. Where small cu- 

 cumbers, squashes, and 

 melons fall off and fail to 

 mature, this matter of 

 pollination should be 

 closely studied, and if in- 

 sects are not present the 

 work can be quickly and 

 easily done by hand. For 

 this purpose a rather large 

 camel's hair brush is used, 

 which can be filled at one 

 time with enough pollen 

 from a few male flowers 

 to pollinize twenty or 

 more female flowers. 



The seed is oval and 

 flat, generally white or yellow, but varies greatly in size. 

 There is a common belief among gardeners that vines 

 from old seed do not grow as strong as those from new 

 seed, but produce more fruit. This seems to be borne 

 out by some experiments. 



Cultivation. The cultivation of the squash and the 

 pumpkin is much the same as for cucumbers. About 



Fig. 123. Flowers of the squash; at the 

 left, two staminate (male) flowers; at the 

 right, two pistillate (female) Bowers. 



