COMMON GARDEN PLANTS 109 



Unfortunately these Persian and Syrian 

 melons are exceedingly variable as to quality. 

 Some are far superior to the best cantaloupe, 

 while others will be hardly edible. 



The amateur gardener might find it a useful 

 and interesting task to improve these melons in 

 this regard by careful selection. 



The squashes, gourds, and pumpkins consti- 

 tute a tribe that differs from the watermelon 

 and muskmelon in that their flesh is not edible 

 until it is cooked. 



There are great numbers of species of this 

 tribe, a large variety of which are under cul- 

 tivation. Among these are the forms col- 

 loquially known as crookneck, turbine squash, 

 giant Chile Hubbard, bush scallop and 

 gourds of various types both ornamental and 

 useful. 



The pumpkins, grown often in the cornfield 

 of the farmer but seldom in the garden, consti- 

 tute a form rather distinct from the others, as 

 evidenced not only by their appearance but by 

 the fact that they do not cross very readily with 

 the other squashes. 



There is, however, a good deal of confusion in 

 the use of the names pumpkin and squash in 

 different regions. This is brought out promi- 

 nently in California where a squash if grown 



