2860 



PUMPKIN 



PUMPKIN 



inches across, that has been freshly hoed or spaded and 

 leveled off. Oil this hill, from six to ten seeds are 

 dropped, and they are covered an inch or less in depth. 

 In order to provide the seeds with moisture, the earth 

 is usually firmed with the hoe. When the very best 

 results are desired, particularly for the home-garden, 

 hills may be prepared by digging out a bushel of soil 

 and filling the place with rich earth and fine manure. 



3259. Summer Crookneck squash. Cucurbita Pepo form. 



It is expected that not more than three to five of the 

 plants will finally be left to each hill; but there are 

 many contingencies to be considered. The young 

 plants may be taken off by cutworms or by other 

 insects, or they may be caught by frost, and it is well 

 not to remove the extra plants too soon. 



If it is necessary to start the crop in advance of the 

 season, the seeds may be planted in pots or boxes in a 

 forcing-house or hotbed about three weeks before it is 

 time to set them in the field. If the seeds are started 

 much earlier than this, the plants are likely to get too 

 large and to become stunted. When set in the field, the 

 roots should fill the pot or box so that the earth is held 

 in a compact ball, and the plant should be fresh, green, 

 and stocky. Sometimes the seeds are planted on sec- 

 tions of inverted tough sod, and the entire piece is 

 transferred directly to the field. Plants that become 

 stunted and develop one or two flowers when they are in 

 the box are usually of little use. Sometimes seeds are 

 planted directly in the field in forcing hills, and when the 

 plants are established and the season is settled the pro- 

 tecting box is removed and the plants stand in their 

 permanent positions. 



A good vine should produce two or three first-class 

 fruits; if, however, one flower sets very early in the 

 season, the vine may devote most of its energies to the 

 perfection of that single fruit and not set many others, 

 or may set them too late to allow them to mature. If it 

 is desired, therefore, that the plants shall produce more 

 than one fruit, it is advisable to pick off the first fruit, 

 providing it sets long in advance of the appearance of 



3260. Summer Bergen squash, a form of Cucurbita Pepo. 



other pistillate flowers. These remarks apply particu- 

 larly to winter squashes in northern regions. With small 

 varieties and under best conditions, as many as a half- 

 dozen fruits may be secured from a single vine, and in 

 some cases this number may be exceeded. Squash vines 

 tend to root at the joints; but so far as general culture is 

 concerned, this should be prevented, because it tends 



to prolong the growing season of the vine, although it 

 may have to be encouraged if the borer is prevalent. 

 It is usually well, therefore, to lift the joints occasion- 

 ally when hoeing, although the vine should not be 

 moved or disturbed. This precaution applies particu- 

 larly in the short-season climates of the North, where 

 every effort must be made to cause the plant to set its 

 fruit early in the season and to complete its growth 

 before cool weather. 



Tillage is simple. It consists in light working of the 

 surface until the plants begin to run strongly, after 

 which the big weeds are pulled by hand. For early 

 results with bush squashes, or when the land is of a 

 cold or backward type, the plants may be grown in 

 hills that are raised a few inches above the general 

 level; this adds to the expense, and in most cases it is 

 better to practise level culture. 



The varieties of pumkpins and squashes are numer- 

 ous, and it is difficult to keep them pure if various kinds 

 are grown together. However, the true squashes 

 (Cucurbita maxima) do not hybridize with the true 

 pumpkin species (Cucurbita Pepo). There need be no 

 fear, therefore, of mixing between the Crookneck or 

 Scallop squashes on the one side and the varieties of 

 Hubbard or Marrow types on the other. The summer 

 or bush squashes are of three general classes: the Crook- 

 necks, the Scallop or Pattypan varieties, and the Pine- 

 apple or oblong-conical varieties, all forms of C. Pepo. 

 The autumn and winter varieties may be thrown into 



3261. The Pineapple Summer squash, one of the Scallop, 

 Pattypan or Custard Marrow type. Cucurbita Pepo. 



several groups: the true field pumpkin, of which the 

 Connecticut Field (Fig. 3257) is the leading representa- 

 tive, being the one that is commonly used for stock and 

 for pies; the Canada Crookneck or Cushaw types, which 

 are varieties of C. moschata; the Marrow and Marble- 

 head types, which are the leading winter squashes and 

 are varieties of the C. maxima; the Turban squashes, 

 which have a "squash within a squash" and are also 

 varieties of C. maxima. The mammoth pumpkins or 

 squashes which are sometimes grown for exhibition and 

 which may weigh 200 or 300 pounds, are forms of C. 

 maxima. 



In Europe the vegetable marrow type is much prized. 

 It is a form of Cucurbita Pepo. In this country it is little 

 grown, although it thrives well, the various summer 

 squashes of the Crookneck and Scallop types being more 

 popular. The following English advice on this vege- 

 table is from a contribution to Gardening Illustrated, 

 from which Fig. 3263, representing Moore's vegetable 

 marrow, is also reduced: "Vegetable marrows should 

 be eaten young say when about one-fourth or one- 

 sixth their full size. Cut in this state, and boiled quickly 

 until quite tender in plenty of water, carefully strained, 

 and served with melted butter, they are second to no 

 vegetable that comes to table, not even excepting green 

 peas or asparagus. Early cutting, careful cooking, and 

 serving are the chief points to which attention should be 

 paid; but there are others, one of the principal being 

 rapid growth. Grow vegetable marrows quickly, and 

 they are almost sure to be good; grow them slowly, and 

 you will find them often tough and bitter. Hence the 

 soil or place in which they are grown can hardly be too 

 rich for them. Not but what they do fairly well in any 



