THE CUCUMBER, PUMPKIN, AND GOURD. 589 



Melons with Green Flesh. Bromham Hall, Queen Emma, Wills's 

 Pine-apple, Perkins' Hybrid, Cashmere, Golden Perfection, Dr. Hogg, 

 Burghley Green Flesh, Bailey's Eclipse. 



Water Melons. The water melon is the Cucurbita citrullus, a 

 trailing annual, producing a large, round, smooth, dark-green fruit, 

 with dark seeds. It is full of watery juice, which is refreshing, but 

 almost without flavour. It is much cultivated in Italy and other parts 

 of the south of Europe, but very rarely in England. The foliage is 

 very ornamental, and the shoots extend to a great length. The time 

 for ripening melons to a high degree of perfection in Britain extends 

 from about the middle of June to the middle or latter end of Sep- 

 tember. Ripened before or after these periods the flavour is inferior, 

 for want of sun. 



The Cucumber. 



The cucumber (Cucumis sativus, L.) is a trailing or climbing ten- 

 drilled annual, of which we have already given the history and culture, 

 p. 498. The varieties in cultivation are continually changing, but 

 those considered the best, at the present time, are the following : Lord 

 Kenyon's Favourite, Telegraph, Dr. Livingstone, Long Gun, Cuthill's 

 Black Spine, Conqueror of the West, Berkshire Champion, Barr's 

 Winter Prolific. James Cuthill, Nichol's Prolific, Dr. Hogg, and a host 

 of others. Of ridge cucumbers Donald Beaton and Stockwood Selected 

 Long Ridge are the best long sorts, and the Russian the best pickling 

 variety. 



The Pumpkin and Gourd. 



The pumpkin, or more properly pompion, and gourd (Cucurbita, 

 L.) are trailing or climbing tendrilled annuals, natives of tropical cli- 

 mates, and long in cultivation, both in the old and new world, for the 

 fruit. This, in seme varieties, is used in a ripe state, and in others 

 before it is fully grown, in soups, stews, pies, tarts, boiled or fried, 

 and as a substitute for greens or spinach. In Hungary sugar has 

 been obtained from the gourd at the rate of 100 Ibs. to between 2000 

 Ibs. and 3000 Ibs. of pumpkins; and an excellent edible oil is obtained 

 there from the seeds, at the rate of 1 Ib. of oil to 5 Ibs. of seeds. The 

 tender points of the shoots may in many cases be substituted for the 

 fruit, or used as preens or spinach. The kinds in cultivation are very 

 numerous, but the leading sorts are as follows : 



The pumpkin, or pompion (C. Pepo, L.) : Large, roundish, smooth, 

 green, striped or blotched with white. The oldest variety in cultiva- 

 tion in England ; tender and excellent in an unripe state as a substitute 

 for greens, and mixed with apples in pies, but not nearly so good when 

 fully ripe. 



Spanish pumpkin : Middle size, somewhat flattened ; skin green, 

 smooth, hard; flesh firm. 



The vegetable marrow (C. ovifera, var. L.) : Under the middle size, 

 oval, five inches to eight inches long ; pale yellow ; flesh tender till 

 the fruit is ripe, when it becomes stringy. One of the best gourds in 



