107 



Squashes, but more truly squanter squashes, (Quere Waii- 

 ier?) a kind of Mellon or rather Gourd, for they oftentimes 

 degenerate into Gourds; some of these are green, some yellow, 

 some longish like a Gourd, others round like an Apple, all of 

 them pleasant food boiled and buttered and seasoned with spice. 

 [I consider this descriptive of our winter squashes; even the term 

 Wanter Gourds to be found in Parkinson's Theater of Plants 

 p. 770 may be a misprint — and that they were Indian cultivated 

 vegetables] but the yellow squash, called the Apple squash, be- 

 cause like an apple and about the bigness of a Pomewater, is 

 the best kind; they are much eaten by the Indians and the Eng- 

 lish, &c. &c. Here we have the Cemelon or Lymung (^Curcithita 

 'melopepo), or else the orange squash, which in size would be 

 like a Pomewater apple. 



To the same Indian cultivation we may trace also the next of 

 "New England's Rarities Discovered" in the 



Water Mellon ( Cucumis citniUus') ; it is a large fruit, but 

 nothing near so big as a Pompion. colour, smoother and of a 

 sad Grass green, rounder, or more rightly sap green with 

 some yellowness admixt when ripe ; the seeds are black, the 

 flesh or pulpe exceedingly juicy. It is often given to those 

 sick of Feavers and other hot Diseases with good success. 



New England Daysie or Primrose is the second kind of 

 Navel wort in Johnson upon Gerard. It flowers in May and 

 grows amongst Moss upon hilly Grounds and Rocks that are 

 shady. It is very good for Burns and Scalds. May not this 

 be Miiella nuda? 



BrionyofPeru (we call it though grown hear) or rather 

 Scammony ; some take it for Michoachan. The green juice 

 is absolutely Poison, yet the root when dry may be safely 

 given to strong Bodies. 



I am inclined to suppose this to be ^olanum Didcamara or Bit- 

 ter sweet, confounded with calystegia sepmni, which is called 

 Scammony, the roots of which, says Cutler, "are an active 

 purgative." The " Michochan" of Canada is Phytolacca 

 decandra, our Garget or Poke root, so well known to agricul- 

 turists as a veterinary curative But this must be conjectural, 

 in my present condition of acquiring any positive information. 



