10 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Different varieties of squashes and pumpkins seem to come from 

 different countries, yet, with a few exceptions of recent introduction, 

 we know very little about their origin. Prof. Asa Gray, says : 

 " The pumpkin was cultivated by the North American Indians, be- 

 fore the coming of the whites." He also says : " The orange and 

 egg gourd grows wild in Texas, and is probably the original of all 

 this group." 



It seems to me that the pumpkin might have originated from the 

 gourd, and the squash from the pumpkin. The fact that the gourd 

 is more vigorous and productive than the pumpkin, and that the 

 pumpkin is more vigorous than the squash, seems to indicate this 

 order of improvement. It is a well established fact that the farther 

 from the original an animal or plant is carried by domestication and 

 improvement, the less vigor it has, and certainl}^ our best squashes 

 have less constitution and vigor than the pumpkin, and the pump- 

 kin less than the wild gourd. 



Selecting the Soil. The first step in order to raise a paying crop 

 of squashes, is to select a soil suited to the crop, for without the 

 right soil it is useless to waste time, seed, and manure. The squash 

 requires a rich, warm soil, — such a soil as will- produce seventy- 

 five bushels of corn per acre. It should be a strong loam, without 

 too much sand, or too heavy with clay, yet it would be better to be 

 quite light than heavy and cold. As a general rule squashes grown 

 on light, warm land are not so large, but are more solid, keep 

 better, and are of better flavor than those grown on low or cold 

 land. A side-hill with a southern aspect is preferable, especially 

 when one's land is late and cold. It is useless to attempt to grow 

 squashes on cold or wet land, for, like corn, they are very sensitive 

 to cold, and will not grow in the shade, or where the land is satu- 

 rated with water. Squashes may be grown either on inverted sods, 

 or on old tillage land, but I prefer the sod land, because it is freer 

 from weeds and bugs than old land. 



Preparing the Soil. Having selected a suitable soil, how shall 

 we prepare it for planting? If old tillage land, I would plough it 

 in the fall, and again in the spring plough and harrow just before 

 planting ; but if green sward is to be planted, plough and harrow 

 late in May, as near planting time as possible, so as to avoid the 

 weeds, which will start before the squashes, if the land lies un- 

 worked long before planting. Then again by ploughing grass just 

 before planting, we turn under a light crop of green grass which 



