4S6 



THE GARDEN AND ITS FEmTS. 



[Chap. V. 



50 lbs. each, and if gathered carefully when ripe, and kept in a dry, cool 

 place, will keep sound a year, and will always ]M'ovc a good sulistitnte for 

 fruit for pics or sweetmeats. To use, peel oil' tlie skin, take out the pulp, cut 

 fine, and stew three or four hours, when- the substance will resemble stewed 

 green apples ; to which add sugar and lemon-juice, and it will nuxke })ies 

 that can not easily be told from those of apples." 



Another cultivator says : " This melon attairfs a large size ; I have grown 

 specimens the past season, eighteen inches in length, wcigliing from 30 to 

 40 lbs. Tiiey are cylindrical in form; color, wlien ripe, a golden tint, very 

 solid, and ilesh close-grained; color of seeds, a, dark green or blue; ripens 

 in September, and will keej) sound and good, it is said, for two years, but 

 we liave not as yet tested their keeping qualities. They prove hardy and 

 of easy culture, and I consider this melon a valuable acquisition. We liave 

 tested the quality of them for pies, and find them very delicious. To pre- 

 pare one for cooking, peel and cut up tlie melon small, taking out the seeds 

 and soft ]julp. Put the pieces in a preserving kettle with just enough 

 water to keep them from burning, and stew over a tolerably brisk fire for 

 three or four liours, or until the whole is reduced to a soft, pulpy mass, fi-ee 

 from lumps, and thoroughly done. You have then a substance resembling 

 green apples stewed, and by adding a little sugar and lemon-juice to it, and 

 making it witli crust in the usual way, it is impossible to tell it from a fresh 

 apple-pie. If you desire a pie like j^umpkin or custard of the melons, stew 

 as above directed, but omit tlie lemons, and bring the pulpy mass to the 

 proper richness and consistency by the addition of sugar, milk, and eggs. 

 Little of either of these ingredients will be found necessary — only suflicieut 

 to give the melon color and flavor." 



549. Squashes — Siimraer ajid Winter Varieties. — Tlie varieties of squashes 

 are so numerous, that almost every neighborhood has some favorite. The 

 most universal one is the Boston Marrow, and next the Hubbard squash ; the 

 last the best, but being a newer variety, has only become generally known 

 within a few years. They are both medium-sized, and are extremely rich 

 food for winter use, simply boiled and eaten as a table vegetable, as a 

 substitute for sweet potatoes, or for pies and other cookeries. The form of 

 the first is ovate, pointed, with thin, salmon-colored rind, and flesh of deep 

 orange color and fine-grained ; keeping all winter. Average weight, six 

 to eight pounds. The Ilubbard is a better substitute for sweet potatoes 

 than the other. It has a hard shell, and is an excellent kind to keep 

 through the winter. It grows about the same size as the Marrow, and is 

 immensely prolific. The Lima Cocoanut is a rariety much esteemed by 

 some as a winter squash ; it grows large, oblong, of a bluish color, very fine- 

 grained, and sweet. The Honolulu, a new variety, is said to excel all others 

 in productiveness, fine flavor, and good keeping qualities. A large, almost 

 white squash, wliich we have grown several years, we like full as well as 

 either of the above for pies, and it is more hardy, and sure to produce a 

 good crop in all situations. The flesh is sweet and rich, but not as fine- 



