294 SCHOOL AND HOME GARDENS 
To produce large fruit, pinch off blossoms after two or 
three have set; the ends of vines may also be pinched 
back. 
Harvesting. Cut off summer squash as soon as they 
ripen. The winter varieties are ready for gathering as 
soon as the stems become dry and shrunken. Remove 
them from the vines, being careful to leave two inches 
of stem on each squash. Turn the white side to the sun 
for two or three days, then store them in a dry cellar 
where the temperature does not go below 40 degrees. 
Do not bruise the fruit while handling. 
Diseases. For mildew and wilt, spray with Bordeaux 
mixture, or cover the leaves with dry Bordeaux. 
Pests. If the large squash bug, sometimes called 
stink bug, attacks the vines, protect the vines with frames 
or pick the bugs off by hand. The old bugs may also be 
trapped under boards. Pick off patches of eggs by re- 
moving them together with the part of the leaf to which 
they are attached; they are usually found on the under- 
side. Kill young bugs by dusting them with air-slaked 
lime or with tobacco dust. 
To repel the squash-vine borer throw a handful of 
air-slaked lime or tobacco dust close around the vines. 
If the vines are already infested, split them length- 
wise and destroy the borers. Cover the injured part 
with soil. 
To protect the vines from the striped cucumber beetle 
use frames, dust the plants with air-slaked lime, or spray 
early with Bordeaux arsenate of lead mixture. 
