330 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



Passing from the tendril to the flower, we find in the marrow 

 a fragrance almost equal to the magnolia, a fact of wliich our 

 farmer girls seem generally to be ignorant. It is a fact, well 

 known to the botanist, that in the squash family all the organs 

 necessary for fertility are not found in the same flower. The 

 centre of the male flower is a single piece, sometimes called by 

 boys " the candle," while in the fertile flower the centre is 

 divided into several parts, the number of which vary slightly 

 in different varieties, and below the flower the miniature squash 

 appears. The unproductive male flowers are long stemmed and 

 are the first to mature. The crossing of squashes when pure 

 seed have been planted, depends on the presence of the male 

 flowers of another variety, within a distance sufficiently near 

 for the wind, or busy, but mischievous bee, to bear the fine 

 dust, which is their product, to the fertile flowers of the pure 

 variety. It will be seen, therefore, that, provided the amateur 

 has nothing to fear from his neighbor's vines, he may raise the 

 seed of any particular kind pure, provided the seed was pure 

 when planted, and he has the patience to trim tlie other varieties 

 of their male flowers as fast as they appear and before they are 

 developed. It is a mistake to infer that the seed of a squash is 

 pure because the squash itself lias all the outward characteris- 

 tics of purity. The crossing of varieties, as in the apple, pear, 

 and all our fruits, is not in the pulp, but in the seed ; and were 

 the squash vine like our trees, perennial, no matter how near 

 other varieties might grow, the fruit would always be constant ; 

 bnt when we plant the seed, be it of squash, apple or pear, then 

 the result of growing it in the vicinity of other varieties, at 

 once shows itself in fruit of all degrees of purity, though the 

 seed planted may all liave come from one squash. 



Several collections of excellent sweet corn were exhibited by 

 S. A. Merrill, of Salem, and others, but among them all we did 

 not find any specimens of the Black Mexican. Of ten varieties, 

 which we tested the past season, this was decidedly the sweetest. 

 The ear is rather below the average size, and matures somewhat 

 late, the kernels when ripe being of a rich, dark, purpl > color, 

 but when in the milk but slightly tinged with purple. The 

 Black Mexican is prolific, will bear close planting, and we can 

 confidently recommend it to the gardeners and farmers of Essex. 



J. J. H. Gregory, Chairman. 



