CUCURBITA. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



CUPRESSUS. 



505 





shape of its fruit than that to which the 

 Melon and Cucumber belong. From the 

 writhing Snake Cucumber, which hangs 

 down 4 or 5 ft. long from its stem, to the 

 enormous round Giant Pumpkin or Gourd, 

 the variation in colour, shape, and size is 

 marvellous. There are some pretty little 

 Gourds which do not weigh more than ^oz. ; 

 while, on the other hand, there are kinds 

 as large as a barrel. Eggs, bottles, goose- 

 berries, clubs, caskets, folded umbrellas, 

 balls, vases, urns, balloons, all have their 

 likenesses in the family. Those who have 

 seen a good collection will understand 

 Nathaniel Hawthorne's enthusiasm when 

 he says : " A hundred Gourds in my 

 garden were worthy, in my eyes at least, 

 of being rendered indestructible in marble. 

 If ever Providence (but I know it never 

 will) should assign me a superfluity of 

 gold, part of it should be expended for a 

 service of plate, or most delicate porcelain, 

 to be wrought into the shape of Gourds 

 gathered in my garden. As dishes for 

 containing vegetables they would be 

 peculiarly appropriate. Gazing at them, 

 I felt that by my agency something worth 

 living for had been done. A new sub- 

 stance was born into the world. They 

 were real and tangible existences which 

 the mind could seize hold of and rejoice 

 in." They may be readily grown in this 

 country, and there are many ways in 

 which they may be grown with great 

 advantage on low trellises ; depending 

 from the edges of raised beds ; the smaller 

 and medium-sized trained over arches or 

 arched trellis-work, covering banks, or 

 growing on the level -earth. Isolated, too, 

 some kinds would look very effective ; in 

 fact, there is hardly any limit to their use. 

 They cover arches, and the large leaves 

 make a perfect summer roof. A cool 

 tent might be made with free-growing 

 Gourds, and it would have the additional 

 merit of suspending some of the most 

 singular, graceful, and gigantic of fruits 

 from the roof. A bold and effective use 

 may now and then be made of them on 

 walls and on the roofs of sheds or out- 

 houses, as the roofs " carry " the large 

 leaves and showy fruit so well. 



A SELECTION OF GOURDS. Amongst 

 the most beautiful are the Turk's-cap 

 varieties, such as Grand Mogul, Pasha of 

 Egypt, Viceroy, Empress, Bishop's Hat, 

 &c. ; the Serpent Gourd, Gooseberry 

 Gourd, Hercules' Club, Gorilla, St. Aig- 

 nan, M. Fould, Siphon, Half-moon, Giant's 

 Punchbowl, and the Mammoth, weighing 

 from 170 Ibs. to upwards of 200 Ibs. ; 

 while amongst the miniature varieties the 

 Fig, Cricket-ball, Thumb, Cherry, Striped 



Custard, Hen's-egg, Pear, Bottle, Orange, 

 Plover's-egg, c., are very pretty examples, 

 and very serviceable for ornament. All 

 these are well suited to our climate, and 

 there are many others equally suitable. 

 Mr. W. Young, indeed, exhibited a collec- 

 tion of 500 varieties, all English-grown, 

 the greater number of which had been 

 sown where grown, and had come to 

 maturity without protection. The ground 

 being manured and dug one spit deep, 

 the seed was sown the second week in 

 May. Many of the plants had no water 

 through the season, but others had it in 

 various quantities, and the more the water 

 the larger, freer, and better the produce. 

 Sowing in a frame at the end of April, 

 and exposing the plants to the air during 

 the day to prevent their being drawn, and 

 then removing the frame altogether to 

 harden them off before planting out, is the 

 best way to secure an early growth. Sow- 

 ing in the open ground under hand-lights 

 would do, but not so well. Where there 

 are waste heaps of rubbish or manure it is 

 a good plan to cover them with Gourds. 

 Although they grow under the conditions 

 described above, they do best with plenty 

 of manure, and should be mulched or well 

 watered if the soil be not deep and rich. 



CUPHEA. Pretty plants, of which C. 

 platycentra (Cigar-plant) is useful for the 

 summer flower garden. It is a dwarf 

 plant, about 12 in. high, with vermilion 

 tube-shaped blossoms. Easily propagated 

 by cuttings taken in September or April, 

 and put in slight heat, and also raised 

 from seed sown in heat in spring. C. 

 strigulosa is a pretty variety, useful for 

 planting out as single plants in the mixed 

 border for cutting from, but chiefly used 

 as a pot plant for the autumn greenhouse. 

 C. Zimapani is a most useful annual, grow- 

 ing about \\ ft. high, with flowers of 

 a rich deep purple bordered with a lighter 

 hue, resembling those of a Sweet Pea, 

 and of about the same size. They are 

 well fitted for cutting, as the branches 

 lengthen and the flowers expand a long 

 time in water. Other kinds are C. 

 eminens, Galeottiana, miniata, ocymoides, 

 purpurea, Roezli, and silenoides, all of less 

 importance for the flower garden than 

 those before named. 



CUPRESSUS (Cypress}. - Graceful 

 evergreen trees, forming charming 

 backgrounds, but not many really 

 hardy, save in seashore and in warm 

 southern districts, and even there they 

 often perish in hard winters. The Mont- 

 erey Cypress is beautiful in Ireland 

 and in the western coast gardens, but 

 there it even perishes in hard winters. 



