SQUASHES AND PUMPKINS 



39 



Fruit small, 6-7 x 9-10 inches; weight 7-9 pounds. Shape 

 nearly globular, depressed at both base and apex; ribbed narrowly; 

 furrows numerous and moderately shallow; surface smooth; blossom 

 scar depressed, ' _•-'.! inch in diameter. Skin color orange lochra- 

 ceous orange to deep chrome); often the color is in the form of a 

 very fine lace-like color pattern over the entire surface, within the 

 mesh of which are minute specks of yellowish orange yellow ochre . 

 Fruit stalk moderately short, 2 3 inches, curved, ridged, woody and 

 tough, expanded at the attachment. Shell medium hard and 

 medium thick, '< inch, dull orange (orange buffi in color. Flesh 

 medium thick, 1-1 '4 inches; texture rather coarse, fibrous, juicy, 

 soft; insipid, quality poor; color pale yellow (,pale orange yellow). 

 Seed cavity moderately large; placental tissue medium in amount, 

 chunky, stringy, difficult to remove. 



Seed moderately small, moderately short, medium broad and 

 moderately flat, 1.6 x .86 x .28 cm. 200 per oz. I, often slightly twisted 

 at the base; face smooth, dull white 1 cartridge buff ; margin wedge- 

 like. 



Geneva Bush. Refs. 50, 101. Syns. Autumn Bush, 

 Everbearing, Philadelphia. 



This bush pumpkin described by Goff in 1887 and 

 also by Vilmorin has never been used commercially in 

 this country. It probably had rather limited use and 

 was offered from time to time as a novelty. In 1935 a 

 " new " bush pumpkin was offered by Vaughan Seed 

 Store and by Henry A. Dreer of Philadelphia. The 

 growth habit of the plant is a bush similar to the scallops, 

 crooknecks and some vegetable marrows and is of interest 

 because of its possible adaptation for use in the small 

 garden where space prevents the use of the running sorts. 



The fruits of this variety are similar in shape to 

 Mediterranean squash and Epicure summer squash. 

 However color characteristics and habit of plant growth 

 serve to distinguish these sorts. 



Plant bush: central stem dark green, medium heavy, medium 

 vigor, spread 4-5 feet: leaves medium large, 10 x 11 inches, broadly 

 5-lobed: sinuses narrow, rounded at the base; rather light green: 

 margin dentate; petiole long and moderately slender, 14-16 inches, 

 often curved, pale green. 



Fruit very small; 4-^ 1 2 x 8-8*2 inches; distinctly oblate, 

 sometimes decidedly flattened, depressed at base and apex; ribs 

 numerous, very prominent at base, narrow; surface smooth. Skin 

 color deep green when immature, pale orange when mature. Flesh 

 thin, pale yellow, used in immature stage as a marrow. 



Giant Summer Crookneek. Refs. 14, 15, 24, 26, 



32, 33, 41, 45, 59, 60, 61, 64, 73, 81, 88, 89, 94, 

 117, 129, 130. Syns. Arlington Summer Crook- 

 neck, Early Giant Summer Crookneek, Early 

 Mammoth Summer Crookneek, Genesee Giant 

 Crookneek, Large Summer Warted Crookneek, 

 Mammoth Crookneek, Mammoth Summer Crook- 

 neck, Strickler Giant Summer Crookneek, Strick- 

 ler Golden Summer Crookneek. 

 The presence of a small and a large fruited strain 

 of Crooknecks was a matter of record at the time Burr 

 WTOte his " Field and Garden Vegetables." The Large 

 Summer Warted Crookneek often produced plants that 

 were semi-runners for in addition to recommending 

 planting the hills at least 6 feet apart seedsmen occasion- 

 ally pointed out the difficulty in selecting out a strain 

 without runners. There were several local names for 

 this large Crookneek, the most important being " Strick- 

 ler " and that known in New England as Arlington 



Summer Crookneek. Minor improvements of earliness, 

 productiveness and size and shape of fruits often led 

 to the introduction of " new strains " of this widely 

 grown squash. 



First edible fruits were produced at Geneva in 60 

 days, 3 days earlier than Giant Summer Straightneck 

 and 5 days later than Summer Crookneek. The plants 

 are slightly more vigorous than those of Giant Summer 

 Straightneck, have larger and distinctly more blistered 

 leaves with straighter and much darker petioles and 

 have larger pistillate flowers with distinctly crooked 

 ovaries instead of nearly straight ones. The fruits are 

 much the same except in the degree of crook near 

 the base. 



Plant bush; central stem coarse, very heavy, dark green, 

 vigorous; branches few, basal. Cotyledons short and moderately 

 narrow, l :i 4 x lj^ inches; oval; apex tapered; veining moderately 

 prominent; color grayish green. Leaves moderately large, 12 x 15 

 inches; very broadly five-lobed; sinus shallow, narrow and acute 

 margin incised near the base, otherwise dentate, slightly frilled 

 surface rough, distinctly blistered and occasionally crumpled 

 color dark, glossy green; petiole moderately long and heavy, 15-18 

 inches, moderately dark green in color. Flower — pistillate, 

 moderately small, 4^ inches across, orange; ovary club-like, con- 

 stricted and curved pear the base; sepals short and slender, > 2 inch; 

 — staminate, medium large, 5 inches across; sepals medium long and 

 heavy, 1 inch; pedicle moderately short, 7-8 inches. 



Fruit mature edible stage 12-14 inches long, 3 ;i 4~4 inches in 

 diameter at the apex and l 3 4-2 ] 4 inches at the base; shape club- 

 like, distinctly curved and moderately constricted near the base, 

 gradually enlarged at the apex; ribbed very narrowly; furrows 

 shallow; surface rather deeply and profusely warted: skin color 

 deep yellow cadmium yellow), irregularly and rather obscurely 

 mottled and streaked with pale yellow apricot yellow'. Interior 

 greenish white flesh. Mature fruit moderately small, 16-18 inches 

 long, 5-6 inches in diameter at the apex and 2 ' >-3 inches at the 

 base, weight 3 ' £-4 pounds. Shape much the same as mature 

 edible stage; blossom scar with button *2 inch in diameter, slightly 

 extended. Skin color orange 1 orange); fruit stalk short and moder- 

 ately slender, 1 ' £—2 inches, slightly curved, moderately ridged, 

 woody and tough. Shell thick to very thick, J^— Jij inch; hard and 

 woody, orange 1 deep chrome ) in color. Flesh thin at the apex and 

 medial, basal portion solid; texture moderately fine, slightly granu- 

 lar, soft, rather moist, cream color 1 cream colorj. 



Seed moderately small; moderately short, moderately broad 

 and flat, 1.42 x .86 x .20 cm. (316 per oz.); face smooth, dull yellow- 

 ish white 1 light buff); margin wedge-like. 



Giant Summer Straijihtneck. Refs. 27, 64, 130. 

 Syns. Early Giant Summer Straightneck, Giant 

 Straightneck, Giant Yellow Summer Straightneck, 

 Long Golden Straightneck, Straightneck, Straight- 

 neck Summer. 

 This is a selection from the Giant Crookneek. It 

 was offered in 1896 by Vaughan, Ford and others but 

 apparently most growers preferred to grow the real 

 " goose neck " shaped fruits. The last decade has seen 

 several strains offered which produce 90 per cent or 

 more straight fruits and they are proving popular in 

 many market centers. 



First edible fruits were produced at Geneva in 65 

 days, 5 days later than Giant Summer Crookneek and 

 10 days later than Summer Crookneek. The plants are 

 slightly less vigorous than those of Giant Summer Crook- 

 neck, have somewhat smaller, less blistered and crumpled 

 leaves with distinctly more crooked and lighter green 



