GOURDS. 289 



One sort, the Pinitpkin (Cucurbiiapepo), is occa- 

 sionnlly eaten, but always in a baked state, and com- 

 bined witli other substances of higher flavour. In 

 warm situations, and when hi^^hly manured, it i^rows 

 luxuriantly in the open air ; and villaf^ers sometimes 

 grow it, and, when ripe, convert it into a sort of pie, 

 by cutting a hole in the side, extracting the seeds and 

 filaments, stuffing the cavity with apples and spices, 

 and baking the whole. The pumpkin seems to have 

 been earlier introduced into general culture than either 

 the cucumber or tlie melon : the pumpkin is, in fact, 

 the melon of the old English writers, the true melon 

 being then styled the musk-melon. The pumpkin 

 or gourd enters more into the cookery of the southern 

 nations on the Continent, than into those of Britain. 



The Squash (Cucurbita melopepo) is little culti- 

 vated or eaten in this country, though it is often 

 used in the southern parts of Europe, and in North 

 America. It is said to be a native of the Levant, but 

 probably it is found in many other places. It is 

 better adapted for boiling or stewing, in a green 

 state, than any other gourd. At Versailles, the 

 people esteem it so much for this purpose that they 

 call it a '■'■livrede beurre." The orange fruited gourd 

 (Cucurbita aurantia) is a native of the East Indies. 

 It is a very handsome variety, but cultivated only as 

 a curiosity. The calabash, or bottle gourd {Cucurbita 

 lagenaria), is similar to the other in quality, and 

 gets its trivial name* as well from its form, as from 

 the use to which the hard and tough riad is applied. 

 It is a native both of the East and the West Indies; 

 and the humbler inhabitants employ these gourds as 

 ready made bowls and other vessels. In some parts 



* Trivia/ is a term used by botanists for a name descriptive of 

 the species only — as distinguished from other names which point 

 out a genus. 



2 c3 



