172 AMERICAN HOME GARDEN. 



taining two or three eyes each ; let them dry a little before 

 planting; set them out as directed ; give them good culture, 

 and your crop will be as good as soil and season justify you in 

 expecting. Nipping off all the blossoms before they open, if 

 you can find time for the operation, will somewhat increase the 

 product. See Analysis and Value, page 500. 

 For Sweet Potato, see page 182. 



PUMPKIN. 



French, Oitrouille. Potiron. German, Kiirbis. Spanish, Calabaza 

 Amarilla. 



1. SEVEN-YEAR. ' 2. CHEESE. 3. COMMON FIELD. 4. MAM- 

 MOTH. 



BRIEF DIRECTIONS. 



Plant in very rich warm soil, in hills six feet apart, six or 

 eight seeds in a hill. When well up, thin to the three best 

 plants. Hoe often till the blossoms open. 



Time : throughout the time of main corn-planting. In all 

 May at New York. 



The keeping, or " seven-year" pumpkin, is an excellent veg- 

 etable, drier and richer in quality, and keeping better than any 

 other, though not actually lasting seven years. The cheese, or 

 West India pumpkin, is also of great excellence, being far 

 handsomer and perhaps more delicate than the former. The 

 common, or field pumpkin, is too well known to require descrip- 

 tion, and is sometimes preferred by those who love its genuine 

 pumpkin flavor. 



The mammoth pumpkin, in all its varieties, is rather matter 

 of curiosity than profit. It is seldom of fine quality, is too 

 large for profitable domestic use, and does not generally yield 

 more weight of produce from a given quantity of land than the 

 moderate-sized varieties. 



The brief directions given above are ample for the successful 

 cultivation of this vegetable, which is also often planted among 

 corn. Pumpkins (and also squashes) may be kept well into 

 winter in any dry, cool place, out of the reach of fro^t, either 



