4 14 GARDEN FARMING 



Squashes are exceedingly interesting botanically from the fact 

 that they bear two classes of flowers staminate and pistillate, as 

 shown at A and B in figure 155 on different parts of the plants. 

 The summer squash, with its bush-like habit of growth, bears its 

 staminate flowers on long stalks, while the pistillate flowers are 

 borne upon comparatively short stalks close to the base of the plant. 

 The running sorts, which include the moschata, the maxima, and 

 the so-called pumpkin, bear their pistillate flowers at some distance 

 from the roots of the plant, while the staminate flowers are, as a 

 rule, borne near the root on flower stalks of considerable length. 



Distribution. The adaptation of the types of squashes to the 

 various parts of the United States forms an interesting chapter 

 in the geographical distribution of cultivated plants. The varieties 

 belonging to the maxima group are almost entirely confined to 

 the northern half of the United States and chiefly to the New 

 England and Middle states, but are found to a limited extent in 

 Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the Dakotas. The moschata 

 has a wider distribution, although not so generally and extensively 

 used as is the maxima group in the region to which it properly 

 belongs. The moschata, or pie pumpkin, is widely distributed over 

 the South and Southwest, but is not so extensively cultivated in 

 regions where the maxima has become well known. 



The summer squash, or cymling, although it is not of so high 

 quality as the maxima or moschata, has a distinct use and the 

 most extended range of cultivation of any of the Squash family. 

 Because of the short time necessary for it to reach edible con- 

 dition, and because it thrives well both at the North and at the 

 South, it is generally cultivated in the gardens of all sections of 

 the United States. The summer squash is never used by pastry 

 cooks, as are both the other forms. 



The pumpkin and the squash. The true pumpkin, as known in 

 the United States, is a member of the same species as the summer 

 squash (Cucurbita pepo). It is perhaps more extensively used in the 

 manufacture of pies than either the maxima or moschata squashes. 

 The use of the terms " squash " and " pumpkin " in literature is 

 somewhat confusing. So far as the moschata and maxima groups 

 are concerned, there is little need for confusion, for all the varieties 

 of these species are generally spoken of as squashes, the only 



