SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 27 



some of the South American varieties, this indication of 

 admixture may be detected by the eye the first season. 

 The parallelism between the crossing of squashes and corn 

 may be carried further, for it is oftentimes true with corn 

 as with squashes, that there is a mixing of varieties, of 

 which no indication can be detected in the seed by the eye 

 the first season, which a second season will develop what 

 was before an eight-rowed variety, into a ten or twelve- 

 rowed sort, or dark kernels may be replaced with white 

 ones, and by numerous similar freaks, bring to light an 

 admixture of varieties. 



It is of considerable practical importance, that the law 

 of admixture should be clearly understood, that the risk, 

 incidental to planting seed from squashes that look pure, 

 should be generally known ; for it will be seen from what 

 I have written, that seed taken from squashes that ex- 

 ternally are perfect types of their kinds, may yield a 

 patch, where every one may show marks of impurity. 

 Again, no matter how many varieties are planted together, 

 no crossing from the result of that planting will be seen 

 in the external shape, color, or appearance of the crop the 

 same season. 



To have squash seed pure, the squashes from which they 

 are taken, must have been grown isolated, and this not 

 only one season, but for a succession of seasons. Should 

 several varieties of squashes be grown together, and it be 

 desirable to keep one variety pure, it can be done by pre- 

 venting any male flowers of the other varieties from ma 

 turing no easy job, as those who have tried it know. The 

 product of any particular blossom may be kept pure under 

 such circumstances by covering with fine muslin, remov- 

 ing it only to fertilize with pollen from a male flower of 

 its own vine. 



The location of the female blossom, in a measure cover- 

 ed by the leaves, and low down, but little affected by the 

 wind, would render it probable that it depends for fertili- 



