SQUASHES 



413 



SQUASHES 



The squash is one of the garden products the value and merits 

 of which few people know or appreciate. The types of squash 

 which are in cultivation are sufficiently varied to provide a con- 

 tinuous supply of this vegetable from early summer to late winter. 



Botany. The im- 

 portant varieties of 

 garden squashes be- 

 long to three species, 

 which are known as 

 Cucurbita maxima, 

 Cucurbita pepo, and 

 Cucurbita moschata. 

 Of these, the first, 

 Cucurbita maxima, 

 is perhaps the most 

 important. To this 

 belong the " long- 

 keeping " varieties, 

 which are richest and 

 finest in flavor. Next 

 to it in importance 

 from the market gar- 

 dener's standpoint is 

 Cucurbita pepo; to 

 this species belong 

 the scallop, bush, or 

 summer squash, the 

 field pumpkin of the 

 North, and the cymling of the South. Of the so-called summer 

 squash, or Cucurbita pepo, there are a number of types, the most 

 important of which are the summer crookneck and the scallop 

 and pattypan squashes, also called cymlings. 



The third type is the Canada Crookneck, Cucurbita moschata. 

 The moschata group is chiefly valuable for its use as a pie filling. 

 It is also known as the pie pumpkin. In some sections it is ex- 

 tensively grown for cattle food the same as the field pumpkin. 



FIG. 155. A maxima squash leaf and flowers 

 A, staminate ; B, pistillate 



