VEGETABLE SUBSTITUTES FOR SOAP 



Missouri Gourd and in California as Mock Orange. 

 Botanically it is Cucurbita foetidissima, HBK, and 

 the rank, garlicky odor given off by the crushed 

 leaves makes the specific appellation very apropos. 

 It is a coarse, creeping vine with solitary, showy, 

 yellow flowers and robust, triangular leaves that 

 have a fashion of standing upright in hot weather, 

 like ears ; and it spreads so industriously that at the 

 summer's end its tip may be as much as twenty-five 

 feet away from the starting point, which is the crown 

 of a deep-seated, woody, perennial root shaped like 

 a carrot. In the autumn the shriveling leaves reveal 

 numerous, round, yellow gourds, which conspicu- 

 ously dot the ground and are likely at first glance 

 to deceive one into thinking them spilled oranges a 

 fact that accounts for one popular name. These 

 gourds are pithy, but such pulp as they contain, as 

 well as in the roots, is saponaceous, and crushed in 

 water both fruit and root yield a cleansing lather. 

 It is, however, apt to leave the skin with a harsh 

 feeling for a few moments, not altogether pleasant. 

 There appears to be saponin in the vine also, since 

 Doctor Edward Palmer has stated that in northern 

 Mexico a Cucurbita, that is undoubtedly this species, 

 has been extensively used by laundresses who mash 

 up the vines with the gourds and add all to their 



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