August, 1917 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



641 



HIGH - PRESSURE GARDENING 



THE CHAYOTE, A WONDERFUL NEW VEGETABLE 



TO HELP US OUT ON THE HIGH COST OF 



LIVING. 



Some time about the first of the year T 

 f-aw a notice in the Jacksonville Times- 

 Union of a new, delicious, and nourishing 

 vegetable called the " chayote." The vine 

 looks much like that of the cucumber; but 

 it stands over every year, or at least it 

 does in California, and grows best on a 

 trellis, something like a grapevine. The 

 fruit, or squashes, or whatever you may 

 choose to call them, are about the size and 

 shape of a large pear; and the bulletin sent 

 out by the Department of Agriculture in 

 regard to it gives more than a dozen differ- 

 ent methods of preparing dishes of the 

 chayote. I at once applied to the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, and in response re- 

 ceived four fruits, or whatever you might 

 call them. Now, this chayote, instead of 

 having a lot of seed like a squash or cu- 

 cumber, has only one large seed, .right in 

 the center. This seed looks like an enor- 

 mous lima bean. Imagine a lima bean about 

 as large as a small hen's egg, and then you 

 have it; but instead of planting this bean, 

 or seed, you plant the whole fruit; and if 

 the fruit is not used right away when it 

 comes to maturity it sends out roots and 

 sprouts like a potato. The four fruits I 

 received were already sprouted ; and af- 

 ter being planted according to directions 

 they were up and growing in less than a 

 week. When we had that severe frost the 

 first of Februaiy I saved them by covering 

 them with empty sacks. The instructions 

 gi\ en us say the plants should be from 15 

 to 20 feet apart; and the trellis had better 

 be made overhead so the fruit will hang 

 down, say high enough so that we may jDick 

 them handily. 



Now hold your breath while I give you 

 a most important fact in regard to this 

 wonderful chayote. The government bulle- 

 tin said a single vine, if properly cared for, 

 would bear from 400 to 500 fruits in a 

 year. When I left Florida, the last of 

 April, one of the chayote-vines had got to 

 the top of the trellis, and was climbing out 

 overhead at the rate of several inches a day. 

 An expert sent out by the Department took 

 a kodak picture of my vine and gave me 

 the astounding intelligence that single vines 

 had already produced the astonisliing num- 

 ber of over 1000 fruits in a year. The 

 bulletin sent out said they would be fit to 

 l)ick in September; but I was happily sur- 

 lirised to get notice from Wesley that my 

 \ines already had fruits ready to pick. 



Rear in niiml I hey are to be picked before 

 they become mature, like cucumbers, sum- 

 mer squashes, string beans, etc. 



Well, today, June 4, we have just had 

 our first meal of the four specimens of the 

 chayote sent us by mail. Mrs. Root is a 

 little more careful than I am; in fact, she 

 claims that slie can tell before thti test is 

 made how new fruits, vegetables, etc., will 

 turn out, for I am so anxious (she says) 

 to get hold of something new and wonder- 



A PICTURE OF ONK OF TIIH CHAYOTE FRUITS. 



I am sorry I did not think to weigh or measure 

 it ; but it would pretty well fill an ordinary tall quart 

 cup. Please notice the little plant shootin? out near 

 tlie stem. If I am correct, if the fruit is not 

 gathered it will commence to grow like the above 

 while on the vine. It is now planted out by the 

 wire fence suriounding our poultry-yard; and while 

 it may climb to quite a distance before frost, I 

 hardly thiuk we shall get any fruit here in Ohio, as 

 it was not planted till the last of June. 



ful that I am almost sure to say it is the 

 " most delicious food I ever tasted." Well, 

 this time she is the one first to pronounce it 

 a really good vegetable. As I did not bi-ing 

 the directions with me, out of the dozen or 

 more ways to prepare the different dishes 

 of chayote we tried only steaming them as 

 we do our summer squash. By the way, the 

 Times-Union gave a picture of a trelKs 

 sf.mewhere in California where the woman 



