SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 31 



ripening, are affected by a blight, which turns the leaves 

 black near the hills, when they die down, and all the signs 

 of early maturity are presented to the inexperienced eye. 

 When the process of ripening goes on naturally, the ex- 

 posure to the sun's rays, after the leaves have died, does 

 no harm, but promotes the full maturing fcf the squash ; 

 but when squashes become exposed before the natural 

 time, by the blighting of the leaves, they are, particularly 

 if of the Hubbard variety, apt to be " sun scalt," as the 

 term is, by which is meant a bleaching, or whitening of 

 the part most exposed to the sun. Such squashes rarely 

 form shells, and, if badly scalded, are apt to rot at the part 

 affected. In cutting squashes from the vines, a large and 

 sharp knife is needed. There are two ways to cut squashes 

 from the vines ; one is, to cut the vine, leaving a small 

 piece attached to the stem. By so doing, the stem does 

 not dry up so readily, and as large stems, when green, will 

 weigh as much as a quarter of a pound, if squashes are to 

 be sold soon after gathering, this will give quite an addi- 

 tion to their weight. Narrow, selfish men sometimes cut 

 their squashes this way. 



The usual way is, to cut the stem from the vine. When 

 first cut, more or less sap will run out in a stream from 

 the hollow stem, though the squash may be fully ripe. 



A CRITICAL PERIOD. 



What shall be done with the squashes after they are cut 

 from the vines ? The stems need a little exposure to the sun 

 to scar them, and the earth, which adheres to those grown 

 on low land, needs to be dried, that it may be rubbed off 

 before the squashes are stored. A good way to accomplish 

 this, is, to let the squash remain where it is cut, provided 

 the leaves do not shade it, care being taken to give it a 

 turn, to bring the under side up to the sun. 



If there is danger from frost, it is better to gather them 



