NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



185 



AUTUMNAL MARROW SQUASH. 



For the New England Farmer. 



Mr. Cole : In j'our paper of last week I ob- 

 served an article from the Maine Farmer, in which 

 the writer has confounded the cicada, or vegetable 

 marrow, of England, with the above fine vegetable ; 

 in truth, the vegetable marrow is of the gourd fam- 

 ily, and a very indifferent vegetable, being a summer 

 squash. 



If you will turn to the Horticultural Register of 

 1835, edited by Breck and Teschemacher, and pub- 

 lished in Boston, you will there find the first descrip- 

 tion, accompanied with a drawing, or cut, of the 

 autumnal marrow, (which, by the way, I think, was 

 left with you some time since,) the true autumnal 

 marrow, {tnelopcppo curcubita,) the seed of which 

 came here in a letter from Northampton some two or 

 three j'ears previous, and I have not been able to 

 trace it beyond that place, and have conjectured that 

 it was an accidental hybrid, which originated in that 

 neighborhood. 



Pears. — The prospect for pears this season is not 

 good, a great proportion of the buds, particularly 

 upon the Bartlctt, have perished. I do not think, 

 from the present appearance of pears generally, that 

 we shall have one quarter of a crop the coming year. 



I have but one tree of the Bartlctt with healthy 

 buds, and that is double worked upon the quince. 



CuEKRiES. — In some of our gardens the cherry- 

 trees present a most peciiliar appearance in their 

 buds ; the flowers arc destitute of stamens or pistils, 

 but having a perfect and full-formed calyx. The 

 kinds most affected are the late varieties. 



Yours truly, 



Salem, Maij 14, 1849. J. M. IVES. 



Editorial Remarks. 



To Mr. Ives, we believe, belongs the credit of in- 

 troducing this valuable squash into this region. It 

 is the most popular kind cultivated, always selling at 

 prices considerably higher than any other variety. 



Of late years, this squash often fails from its being 

 eaten in the root, just below the surface, by small 

 white worms, so that the vines often die after the 

 squashes are partially grown. Generally these 

 worms are the most destructive on old lands, but we 

 have noticed some cases in which they have been 

 injurious on green sward, while they have done no 

 injury on old land near by. 



Some suppose that this worm is produced in the 

 land or manure ; others think that it is from a fly 

 which lays eggs at the root. As a preventive, we 

 have, for two years, used fresh horse manure with, 

 about one fifth part of wood ashes, mixing the whole 

 up in the soil ; and our vines have not been injured, 

 and the crop has been fine ; while other vines, in 

 the same lot, where old manure and no ashes were 

 used, were all destroyed by worms. Yet this may 

 not be an infallible preventive. Numerous experi- 

 ments are necessary to settle a question of this 

 kind, where numerous causes, and some unknown, 

 may have an influence. 



Fresh horse manure is free from these worms, and 

 ashes may destroy them in the soil, and being mixed 

 with the soil, with which the seeds are covered, they 

 may be a preventive even if the worms are from the 

 eggs of a fly. 



Pears look well in many sections. We shall find 

 that our native pears are more to be depended on in 

 our changing season. Almost every body has been 

 setting the Bartlctt pear. Now, many complain that 

 it is hard to grow from the ground, and when put on 

 old trees, it soon stops growing, and endangers the 

 life of the tree, as it will not maintain its natural 

 vigor ; and when people generally become well ac- 

 quainted with excellent pears, they will learn the 

 important truth, that the Bartlett is not the very 

 best in quality. 



Cherries, so far as we have observed, have a fine 

 blowth, and are very promising. 



TO HAVE FINE MUTTON. 



The sheep, as soon as killed, should be disem- 

 bowelled. It is the neglect to remove the entrails at 

 once, and not the meat being touched by the wool, 

 which imparts to it that strong mutton taste. The 

 reason of this is, that the warmth of the body, car- 

 ried off by the loss of blood, is for a time supplied 

 from the warmth of the bowels, and thus the ob- 

 jectionable taste created. 



