Sweet Cheslnul ), in crosses with But- 

 ternut. The selection from this cross 

 has been for a family-sized squash 

 larger than Butternut. According to a 

 vote of visitors at an exhibition of 

 various varieties and squashes of 

 many sizes, shapes and color patterns, 

 preference was for a squash of modi- 

 fied Butternut shape with an attrac- 

 tive mottled bicolor external pattern 

 of green and tan. A selection meeting 

 these qualifications and having dark 

 orange rather sweet moist flesh has 

 been called Amber. Its cooked quali- 

 ty resembles Butternut, but it is not 

 equal to Baby Butternut. Hence, though some people who have grown 

 and tested Amber like it very much, we have not encouraged its wide 

 distribution because the Baby Butternut seems better. Amber is being 

 used by other plant breeders in crosses to aid in development of new 

 Butternut types free of the undesired crookneck fruits. 



Amber squash, coming from cross with 

 Butternut, has bright orange flesh. 



Bush Squash With Edible Seed 



In Europe a pumpkin, Cucurbita pepo, which produces peel-less seeds, that 

 is, those lacking the outer seed coats of normal seeds, is grown as an oil 

 seed crop. Peeled pumpkin seeds are eaten as peanuts or nut meats in this 

 country. As a food, these peel-less seeds are nutrionally equal to peanuts. 



The individual-size winter squashes, such as Table Queen ( Des Moines) 

 and Delicata, belong to C. pepo and cross readily with both the summer 

 squashes and pumpkins since they are all within the same species. 



In 1939 a cross was made at Durham, New Hampshire, between Table 

 Queen and a naked-seed pumpkin from Hungary. Dr. L. C. Curtis, while 

 at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, also did some breed- 

 ing work with the naked-seed pumpkins before 1948. The breeding project 

 at New Hampshire did not progress rapidly until 1948, after seed of a 

 naked-seed pumpkin. Olkurb. a variety that came from Margot Schubert, 

 Henmarkt, Germany, had been furnished us through the courtesy of F, D. 

 Hager, Needham, Massachusetts. Olkurb has vines that grow 30 feet in 

 length and matures round oblate pumpkins over one foot in diameter. A 

 cross of Olkurb was made with summer squashes: (1) an F^ -hybrid of 

 UConn X Early Yellow Prolific, and (2) an Fj -hybrid of Early Yellow 

 Prolific X Early Chinese, with the immediate objective of getting bush 

 plants that bore squashes with naked seeds. Bush plant and naked seed 

 are both recessive characteristics. Only one out of sixteen plants in the 

 second generation from the cross of Olkurb x summer squash had this 

 desired combination of bush plant and naked seed. 



Following selection through several generations of self-pollination to 

 insure lines breeding true for bush plant and naked seed, crosses of such 

 purified lines were made with Burpee's Bush Table Queen and Delicata. 

 Both varieties are high-quality table squashes, but have long vines, though 



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