1859. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



113 



THE HUBBARD SQUASH. 



This squash is an important acquisition to our 

 list of vegetables, as nothing of the kind ever 

 served upon our table equals it in quality either 

 for boiling or for pies. It has one property not 

 mentioned in the extract which follows from Mr. 

 Gregory's circular, and that is, that the Hub- 

 bard squash, in the early stage of its growth, is 

 far better for boiling than any summer squash 

 we have ever tasted. Mr. G. says : — 



With the single error of the absence of a con- 

 cave ring in the stem where it unites with the 

 squash, the engraving conveys to the eye all that 

 is possible without the aid of color. The color 

 of one variety is a dark, dull green, about an ol- 

 ive green, usually accompanied with lines of a 

 dirty white color, which begin at the calyx and 

 extend, in the depressions of the sutures, about 

 two-thirds the length of the squash; that por-' 

 tion of the surface exposed to the direct action' 

 of the sun's rays is often of a brownish hue.| 

 The other variety is of a light clay blue color. I 

 Each of the varieties have usually a dense, hard 

 shell, somewhat thicker than a cent, and often 

 abounding with rough, knotty protuberances. 

 The flesh is usually vi' a very deep orange color, 

 usually thicker than the Marrow, and remarkably 

 fine-grained and compact in its structure. In 

 quality this squash is universally conceded, as far 

 as opinions of its merits have been expressed, to 

 rank at the head of the numerous varieties of the 

 squash family cultivated in the United States. 

 Its characteristics are an exceeding dryness of 

 the grain from the time of harvesting until the 

 middle or close of November, after which it be- 

 comes less dry, but very sweet and fine-flavored, 

 tasting sometimes like a sweet potato, at others 

 like a boiled chestnut. In keeping properties it 

 excels the Marrow and its varieties, keeping its 



qualities unimpaired about three months later 

 than these, until late in the spring. The true 

 measure of the keeping properties of any variety 

 of squash, is, not how long it will keep from de- 

 caying, but how long it will preserve its good 

 qualities. In weight the Hubbard averages the 

 same as the pure Marrow squash, though speci- 

 mens have been raised under circumstances pe- 

 culiarly favorable, weighing upwards of twenty 

 pounds. 



While making up this account, we received by 

 mail the following note : — 



The Hubbard Squash — seeds of which are now 

 furnished by J. J. H. Gregory, of Marblehead, 

 I have raised and tested repeatedly, and find it 

 superior to any other variety I have ever met. 

 It is as superior in the quality of its meat, as it is 

 inferior in its external appearance. The speci- 

 mens I have seen, have ranged in weight, from 

 three to eight pounds, generally not more than 

 six pounds. It is worth trying by all who have a 

 taste for the delicious. J. W. Proctor. 



South Danvers, Jan., 1859. 



A New Kind of Ape. — Prof. Owen, the cele- 

 brated naturalist, delivered a lecture with dia- 

 grams, on man-like apes, and described a new 

 species recently discovered on the western coast 

 of Africa, named the Gorrilla species, the adults 

 of which attain the hight of five feet five inches, 

 and are three feet broad across the chest. Its 

 head is double the size of a man's, and its ex- 

 tremities are enormously developed. They ex- 

 isted in some numbers in the interminable for- 

 ests of the Grambia river. The negroes of the 

 country, in their excursions into the forest in 

 search of ivory, exhibited little fear of the lion . 

 as it slunk away from man, but they dreaded the 



