STURTEVANT S NOTES ON EDIBLE PLANTS 217 



New England soon after its colonization. Josselyn,' about the same period, names also 

 gourds, as quoted in ova notes on the squash. Kalm,^ about the middle of the eighteenth 

 century, traveling in New Jersey, names " squashes of the Indians," which are a stmuner 

 fruit, " gourds," meaning the winter crookneck, and " melons," which we may conclude 

 are piimpkins; Jonathan Carver,' 1776, speaks of the melon or pumpkin, called by some 

 squashes, and says the smaller sorts are for summer use, the crane-neck for winter use 

 and names the Large Oblong. In 1822, Woods'* speaks of pompons, or pumpions, in 

 Illinois, as^ften weighing from 40 to 60 pounds. 



The common field pimipkin of America is in New England carried back traditionally 

 to the early settlement and occurs under several forms, which have received names that 

 are ustially quite local. Such form-varieties may be tabulated alphabetically, as below, 

 from Burr: 



Canada. Form oblate. 14 in. diam., 10 in. deep. Deep orange-yellow. 

 Cheese. Flattened. 16 in. diam., 10 in. deep. Deep reddish-orange. 

 Common Yellow. Rounded. 12 in. diam., 14 in. deep. Clear orange-yellow. 

 Long Yellow. Oval. 10 in. diam., 20 in. deep. Bright orange-yellow. 

 Nantucket. Various. 18 in. diam., 10 in. deep. Deep green. 



I. 



The Canada Pumpkin. 



The Canada pimipkin is of an oblate form inclining to conic, and is deeply and regu- 

 larly ribbed and, when well grown, of comparatively large size. It is somewhat variable 

 in size and shape, however, as usually seen. The following synonymy is justified: 



Cucurbitae indianae and perefrinae. Pin. 191. 1561. 



Cucurhita indica, rotunda. Dalechamp 1:616. 1587. 



Pepo rotundus compressus melonis effigie. Lob. O65. 365. 1576; /com. 1:642. 1591. 



(f) Pepo indicum minor rotundus. Ger. 774. 1597. 



Pepo silvestris. Dod. 668. 1616. 



Melopepo. Toum. t. 34. 17 19. 



Canada Pumpkin. Vermont Pumpkin. 



II. 



Cheese Pumpkin. 

 The fruit is much flattened, deeply and rather regularly ribbed, broadly dishing about 

 caArity and basin. It varies somewhat widely in the proportional breadth and diameter. 

 Melopepo compressus alter. Lob. /com. 1:643. iSQi- 

 Pepo maximus compressus. Ger. 774. 1597. 



Cucurbita genus, sive Melopepo compressus alter, Lobelio. Bauh. J. 2:266. 1651. 

 Large Cheese. Fessenden 1828; Bridgeman 1832. 



Cheese. 



This variety, says Burr, was extensively disseminated in the United States at the time 

 of the American Revolution and was introduced into New England by returning soldiers. 



' Josselyn, J. New Eng. Rar. 109. 1865. Grig. 1672. 

 ' Kalm, P. Trav. No. Amer. i:2yi, 272. 1772. 

 ' Carver, J. Trav. No. Amer. 211. 1776. 

 * Woods, J. III. Country 122. 1822. 



