216 CUCURBIT ACEOUS PLANTS. 



flavored, but sometimes fibrous and watery ; seeds rather 

 large, nankeen-yellow, smooth and glossy. 



The variety requires the whole season for its perfection. 

 It hybridizes readily with the Autumnal Marrow and 

 kindred sorts, and is kept pure with considerable difficulty. 

 It is' in use from September to spring. The variety, if 

 obtained in its purity, will be found of comparative excel- 

 lence, and well deserving of cultivation. Stripes and clouds 

 of green upon the surface are infallible evidences of mixture 

 and deterioration. 



The late Dr. Harris, in a communication to the " Penn- 

 sylvania Farm Journal," remarks as follows : " The Valpa- 

 raiso squashes (of which there seem to be several varieties, 

 known to cultivators by many different names, some of them 

 merely local in their application) belong to a peculiar group 

 of the genus Cucurbita, the distinguishing characters of 

 which have not been fully described by botanists. The word 

 ' squash,' as applied to these fruits, is a misnomer, as may 

 be shown hereafter. It would be well to drop it entirely, 

 and to call the fruits of this group ' pompions,' ' pumpkins,' 

 or ' potirons.' It is my belief that they were originally 

 indigenous to the tropical and sub-tropical parts of the 

 western coast of America. They are extensively cultivated 

 from Chili to California, and also in the West Indies ; 

 whence enormous specimens are sometimes brought to the 

 Atlantic States. 



" How much soever these Valparaiso pumpkins may differ 

 in form, size, color, and quality, they all agree in certain 

 peculiarities that are found in no other species or varieties 

 of Cucurbita. Their leaves are never deeply lobed like those 

 of other pumpkins and squashes, but are more or less five- 

 angled, or almost rounded and heart-shaped, at base ; they 

 are also softer than those of other pumpkins and squashes. 

 The summit, or blossom-end, of the fruit has a nipple-like 



