SQUASHES 



237 



and are very high priced and hard to obtain in the market. They 

 are the most easily grown of any of the vine crops thus far discussed 

 and are much surer of making a crop than are cucumbers, especially 

 in a dry season. The chief objection to growing them is the large 

 amount of time required to gather the crop. The fruits are so 

 small and produced so continuously that the task of pickling them 

 becomes very tedious before the season is over. For home use, a 

 few hills will furnish all that an ordinary family will care to pick. 



SQUASHES 



Types. — There are two distinct types of squashes, summer and 

 winter. The summer squashes are used in an immature stage, 



Fig. 142. — Bush form of summer squash. 



before the shell or seeds harden. In some varieties the flesh be- 

 comes coarse and bitter at maturity. The winter squashes are 

 allowed to reach full maturity unless overtaken by frost, and under 

 proper storage conditions may be kept until late in the winter. 

 The summer varieties commonly grown are of bush form (Fig. 142), 

 while the winter varieties make long trailing vines. The summer 

 varieties are less exacting as to soil and climate than the winter 

 sorts and are the more reliable crop producers under unfavorable 

 conditions. They will make a crop in the shade of a corn field 



