NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



59 



long fruit-stem tapering atone end, and very much 

 enlarged next the fruit, — a fleshy fruit, more or 

 loss deeply orange-colored within, a small circular 

 flat scar at the blossom end, and large thin seeds. 

 3d division, — represented by the Valparaiso and 

 marrow squashes ; large rough leaves, almost en- 

 tire, or lolied only by hybridization, a short, thick, 

 sctoewhat oblique fruit-stem, which is nearly cy- 

 lindrical while green and growing, is not deeply 

 5-furrowed, hut is only longitudinally and irregu- 

 larly wrinkled, — fleshy orange-colored pulp as in 

 tin' "2d division, — a small tubercle at the blossom 

 end, consisting of the indurated base of the pistil, 

 — and large plump seeds. 



I have left out of account other botanical char- 

 acters, wishing to present those only that were the 

 most obvious and that any person could easily un- 

 derstand. Nature thus seems to have stamped an 

 individual character on each of these three groups. 

 But when we come to sub-divide theni, we do not 

 find it so easy to discover and point out characters 

 that are constant, and of sufficient importance, bo- 

 tanically considered, to distinguish the several 

 kinds, — nature here seeming to sport in endless va- 

 rieties, and to allow great variations by hybridiza- 

 tion. 



Having narrowed the limits within which your 

 marrow squash is contained, by throwing out of 

 consideration the first and second divisions, — and 

 bringing it into the same division with the Valpa- 

 raiso squash, the next question regarding it, is 

 this — is it a species or a variety, and, if the latter, 

 what is its origin ? My friend, Dr. Wheatland, 

 had the kindness to inquire of you concerning it 

 in March, 1850, for me, and I have your reply as 

 given to him, in his letter of that date, in which 

 you state that it came from Northampton, and that 

 you supposed it to be a "hybrid" there accidental- 

 ly produced, a statement which coincided with my 

 own conclusion regarding it. Molina, a native of 

 Chili, and a naruralist, described a fruit, indige- 

 nous there, under the name of Cucuarbita mammca- 

 ta, so named on account of the nipple-like protu- 

 berance at the blossom end. I have no doubt that 

 this is the true original stock of Commodore Por- 

 ter's Valparaiso squash. The latter was intro- 

 duced into this country, say between 1815 and 

 1820, I do not know the precise date, and it soon 

 came into general cultivation in New England. 

 Now, unless we can, in like manner, trace the 

 marrow squash to a foreign source, and show it 

 to have been introduced from abroad, — we are 

 brought to the inevitable conclusion that it is a 

 variety or a hybrid from some other, — and from 

 what other, save from the Valparaiso, previously 

 known and cultivated here? I know of only two 

 other distinctly characterized fruits belonging to 

 the third division, both of which have been re- 

 cently introduced. One of them is a long, white- 

 striped Lima squash, the seeds of which were 

 brought to this country last year direct from its 

 native country ; the other, the very singular and 

 very valuable acorn squash, which differs most re- 

 markably from all other known species. If you 

 have any certain knowledge of the introduction of 

 the marrow squash, I shall be pleased to hear of 

 it. Otherwise, will you not adopt the same con- 

 clusion that I have arrived at? 



Yours, respectfully, T. W. Harris. 



He is unfit to rule others who cannot rule himself. 



For the New England Farmer. 



A REMEDY FOR WORMS IN SHEEP. 



It is a well-known fact that sheep are sometimes 

 troubled with worms in the head, to the great an- 

 noyance, if not damage, to whole flocks. And va- 

 rious kinds of treatment arc resorted to, to stop 

 the evil. Even spirits of turpentine and corrosive 

 poisons, enough sometimes to kill the sheep, are 

 thrown into the nasal passages, which serve only 

 to m ike the worms recede farther into the cells 

 around the brain. 



The most effective remedy that I have ever 

 known, is the following: — Take honey, diluted 

 with a little warm water, a sufficient quantity , and 

 inject it into the nose freely, with a 4 oz. syringe. 

 The worm will leave his retreat in search of this 

 new article of food ; and when once in contact with 

 the honey, becomes unable to return, and slides 

 down the mucus membrane. Then, (say two or 

 three hours after using the honey) give the sheep 

 a little snuff or cayenne, and the effort of sneezinc, 

 will place the worm beyond the chance of doing 

 harm. Some of our best farmers have tried this 

 remedy long enough to establish its merit. 



To prevent this evil, some farmers, in the month 

 of July or August, bore holes in their salt troughs, 

 with a two inch auger, and fill them with salt. 

 And around the top of the holes', apply tar, fre- 

 quently, so that when the sheep eats salt, a mor- 

 sel of tar clings to the nose, which prevents the 

 insect from depositing its eggs in that region. 



Bristol, Jan. 12, 1852. m. c. s. 



Remarks. — We like the above, because no per- 

 nicious remedies are prescribed; and without know- 

 ing anything about its efficacy from our own ex- 

 perience, should think it well worthy of trial. 



COMPLIMENT TO JONATHAN. 



Our Yankees, we think, will read with interest 

 the following, from an able English paper : 



Our cousins across the Atlantic cut many de- 

 grees closer to the ground than we do in seeking 

 for markets. Their industrial system, unfettered 

 by ancient usage, and by the pomp and magnifi- 

 cence which our social institutions countenance, 

 is essentially democratic in its tendencies. They 

 produce for the masses, and for a wholesale con-. 

 sumption. There is hardly anything shown by 

 them which is not easily within the reach of the 

 most moderate fortune. No government favorit- 

 ism raises any branch of manufactures to a pre- 

 eminence which secures for it the patronage of the 

 wealthy. Everything is entrusted to the ingenui- 

 ty of individuals, who look for their reward t i 

 public demand alone. With an immense com- 

 mand of raw produce, they do not, like many 

 other countries, skip over the wants of the many, 

 and rush to supply the luxuries of the few. On 

 the contrary, they have turned their attention 

 eagerly and successfully to machinery as the first 

 stage in their industrial progress. They seek t i 

 supply the short-comings of their labor market, 

 and to combine utility with cheapness. The most 

 ordinary commodities are not beneath their notice, 

 and even nursery chairs are included in their col- 

 lection of "notions." They have beaten us in 

 yacht-builchng, they pick our best locks, they show 

 us how to reap porn by machinery, and to make 



