438 GOURD TRIBE ; CALABASHES, PUMPKINS. 



rior is removed, furnishes two basins. Others grow in the 

 shape of bottles ; and these sometimes attain the dimensions of 

 six feet long by a foot and a half in circumference ; when very 

 young and small, they are made into spoons. Such vessels are 

 known in the East and West Indies, Arabia, Egypt, &c., as 

 Calabashes. Some of the fruits from which they are made, are 

 as harmless as the cultivated Melon and Cucumber; but others 

 contain much of the bitter purgative principle ; and, in preparing 

 the latter, it is requisite not merely to scoop out the entire pulp, 

 but to allow water to stand in them, and to change this several 

 times, till all the bitterness be removed from the rind. The 

 common Pumpkin is remarkable for its rapid growth ; in good 

 soil, and well supplied with water, it will form shoots 40 or 50 

 feet long, and will cover an eighth part of an acre ot ground in a 

 season. Its pulp is eatable, but it is not much used in this 

 country. On the Continent, however, it is frequently employed 

 as an ingredient in various dishes ; and it is extensively culti- 

 vated, for the purpose of feeding cattle and hogs, as well as on 

 account of the seed, which yields an oil suitable both for food and 

 for burning. The Vegetable Marrow, which within a few years 

 has become a common dish, is the produce of an allied species of 

 gourd. The Water Melon approaches in character to the Cucum- 

 ber. Its fruit is so succulent that it almost melts in the mouth ; 

 and in warm climates or in hot seasons, is a most refreshing 

 article of diet. To the Egyptians it may be said to be both food 

 and physic. It often grows to a large size even in this country ; 

 but it is only between the tropics, that it attains its greatest 

 dimensions ; in Senegal, one has been known to weigh 60 Ibs. 



608. Very nearly allied to the Gourd tribe is the order PAS- 

 SIFLORELE, or Passion- Flower tribe, which also consists of plants 

 having creeping stems, supporting themselves by tendrils, and 

 bearing large juicy fruit. This order is principally to be met 

 with in America ; and its name is derived from the superstitious 

 fancies, entertained by the Spaniards who discovered that con- 

 tinent, respecting the flower, which they considered to be an 

 allegorical representation of the crucifixion and sufferings of our 

 Saviour. In its anthers, they saw his five wcunds ; in the three 



