PREFACE 



Under authority from the State, Laws of 1925, the New York State Agri- 

 cultural Experiment Station has published a portion of a work entitled The 

 Vegetables of New York. The publication was to be issued in three volumes of 

 several parts each. Part I of Volume 1, The Peas of New York, was printed in 

 1928; Part II. The Beans of New York, was printed in 1931; Part III, The 

 Sweet Corn of New York was printed in 1934; The Cucurbits of New York 

 now appears as Part IV of Volume I. 



The Vegetables of New York is intended to be a more or less complete 

 record of the vegetables grown in New York State. In this part the separate 

 chapters give the historical and botanical status of Cucurbitaceae cultivated in 

 the northern states, and full horticultural descriptions of all present-day (and some 

 other) varieties of squashes and pumpkins, muskmelons and cucumbers, with 

 the history of their development. 



Since the chief value to seedsmen and to growers of the cultivated cucurbits 

 lies in the discussion of varieties, it is worth noting that the considerations which 

 have governed the selection of varieties for full description and separation into 

 major and minor sorts are as follows: The present value to commercial and home 

 growers of vegetables, the potential merit of new varieties, and the previous 

 importance of historical varieties to the trade. An effort has been made to give 

 the vegetable breeder as complete information as possible on the characters of 

 seeds, plant, and fruit of squashes and pumpkins and of the fruit of muskmelons 

 and cucumbers, to describe varieties which have in the past been leading sorts 

 and which therefore are of value in showing the trend in their development, and 

 to indicate the comparative values between the varieties. 



Chapter II on the Systematic Botany of the Cultivated Cucurbits and that 

 part of Chapter I on the early history of these crops were written by Professor G. P. 

 Van Eseltine, Systematic Botanist for the Station. The remainder of the work was 

 written by Professors W. T. Tapley and W. D. Enzie. All illustrations, with the 

 exception of the muskmelons Bender's Surprise, Sugar Rock, and Golden Cham- 

 plain and of the cucumbers Davis Perfect, Early Fortune, Vaughan, Arlington 

 White Spine, and one depicting several pickle types, were prepared some years 

 ago under the direction of Professor F. H. Hall, co-author of The Peas of New 

 York. 



The authors wish to acknowledge many helpful suggestions from Professor 

 C. B. Sayre, Chief of the Division of Vegetable Crops at this Station. 



U. P. HEDRICK 

 Director, New York State Agricultural Experiment Station 



