52 



THE VEGETABLES OF NEW YORK 



across, orange; ovary balloon-like, pale green, mottled and spotted 

 with pale yellow; sepals medium long and moderately heavy, 

 1*4 inches, leaf-like at the tip; — staminate medium large, 5'_>-6 

 inches across; sepals moderately long and heavy, 1 J _> inches, leaf- 

 like at the tip; pedicle moderately short, 7-8 inches. 



Fruit small, 6-7 x 9-10 inches; weight 8-10 pounds. Shape 

 nearly globular, flattened much at base and apex, slightly depressed 

 at both ends; ribbed widely: furrows moderately shallow; surface 

 smooth; blossom scar ; ; - 1 inch in diameter, depressed and blackened. 

 Skin color consists of a uniform lace-like pattern of cream (cinnamon 

 buff) over the entire surface, through the mesh of which shows a 

 ground color of pale cream (pale ochraceous buff). Fruit stalk 

 medium long 3-4 inches, slightly curved, moderately furrowed, 

 woody, tough, and decidedly expanded at the base. Shell moder- 

 ately soft and thin, fg inch. Flesh moderately thick, l'-i-l^ 

 inches, slightly thinner at the apex; texture very coarse, fibrous, 

 juicy and rather tough; moist, sweet; color pale orange salmon 

 (capucine orange I. Seed cavity moderately large; placental tissue 

 very abundant, moist, tough, very coarse and fibrous, cord-like, very 

 difficult to remove. 



Seed medium size; medium length and medium breadth, moder- 

 ately flat, 1.7 x .93 x .23 cm. (216 per oz. I; face rather rough and 

 scaly, buff tilleul buff); margin rounded, crinkled and stringy; 

 brownish fawn color). 



Canada Crookneck. Refs. 14, 24, 26, 37, 42, 43, 44, 



50, 59, 61, 64, 101, 102, 114, 130, 136, 137. Syns. 

 Canada, Canadian Winter Crookneck. 



The Crooknecks were, in early times, the chief winter 

 squashes available and as such were of course very 

 popular. This variety was one of the very earliest 

 recorded by American seedsmen as it was listed by Hovey 

 in 1834, by Breck in 1838 and Thorburn in 1840. Canada, 

 one of the best of the Crooknecks, came to maturity 

 about the same time as Autumnal Marrow and was 

 much esteemed as a table vegetable. 



This was the smallest of the cushaw group. The 

 fruits were more uniformly cream colored and were 

 finer grained than those of Winter Crookneck; also 

 the plants had smaller leaves and a less vigorous vine 

 growth. 



Plant trailing; vines very dark green, slender, moderately 

 vigorous. Leaves small, very dark green, moderately shallow, 

 5-lobed; blades decurrent; margin dentate. 



Fruit small, 10-12 inches long, 5-6 inches in diameter at the 

 apex; 1 ' _>-2 inches at the base and medial. Shape crookneck, with 

 apex distinctly and abruptly swollen and the neck slender and 

 distinctly curved; surface nearly smooth, slightly wrinkled, some- 

 what leatherlike. Skin color creamy-yellow, covered with a heavy 

 bloom. Fruit stalk slender, tapering, expanded at the base, shal- 

 lowly furrowed. Shell soft. Flesh thin at the apex, solid at base 

 and medial; texture fine, dry; sweet, well-flavored; color orange to 

 reddish salmon; quality good. 



Seed small 300 per oz.-. dull grayish white with fuzzy, 

 rough, yellowish brown margin. 



Cheese. Refs. 14, 19, 24, 28, 32, 33, 41, 42, 49, 50, 64, 

 73, 125, 129, 130. Syns. Big Cheese, Buff Pie, 

 Family, Finest Cheese, Finest Yellow Family, 

 Landreth Cheese, Large Cheese, Large Cheese 

 Western Sweet, Large Mammoth Yellow Cheese, 

 Large Sweet Cheese, Mammoth Cheese, Sweet 

 Pumpkin, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Pie, West 

 India Pumpkin, Yellow Family. 

 The name was apparently suggested because of the 



similarity in shape of the mature fruit to a cheese box. 



It is one of the oldest varieties cultivated in America, 

 having been listed as early as 1824 by Thorburn, 1826 

 by Sinclair and Moore, and in 1834 by Hovey. The 

 cheese pumpkins are, as a group, quite different from 

 other squash and pumpkins, and have remained remark- 

 ably stable. The group as a whole is characterized by 

 having flesh of a deep salmon orange color. The Cheese 

 pumpkins are hardy, productive, and much superior to 

 most of the field grown sorts. It is largely grown for 

 canning cr stock feed and is well adapted to growing con- 

 ditions as found in every part of the country. 



At Geneva this variety matured in 110 days, in 

 season with Calhoun, and 15 days earlier than Kentucky 

 Field. The vines are very much like those of Kentucky 

 Field, have leaves which are marked with smaller gray 

 blotches and have longer and more slender petioles. 

 The fruits are slightly smaller and much more uniform 

 in color, particularly in the early mature stages, and have 

 more uniform and thicker flesh. 



Plant trailing; vines moderately slender, very vigorous, 15-18 

 feet long; branches moderately many, basal and medial. Cotyle- 

 dons medium long and moderately narrow, 2}± x 1 ] _> inches; long 

 oval to rectangular; apex notched, truncate; veining prominent; 

 color distinctly grayish green. Leaves shallowly lobed, medium 

 size, 9 x 11 inches, blades moderately decurrent; margin slightly 

 incised at the base of the blade, otherwise denticulate, slightly 

 frilled; color moderately dark green, moderately marked with small, 

 pale grayish green blotches at intersection of vein and veinlets: 

 petioles moderately long and slender, 16-18 inches. Flower — pistil- 

 late, very large, 8 inches across, orange; ovary oblate, pale green, 

 spotted with creamy white; sepals medium long and slender, 1 inch: 

 — staminate, moderately large, 6—7 inches across; sepals moderately 

 long, 1 ] 2 inches, leaf-like, flattened, distinctly pubescent; pedicle 

 moderately long, 9-12 inches. 



Fruit medium size, 5' 2-6 x 12-14 inches: weight 10-14 pounds. 

 Shape oblate, distinctly flattened and moderately depressed at 

 base and apex; ribbed widely and furrowed shallowly; surface smooth. 

 Blossom scar 3 _i-l inch in diameter, not prominent. Skin color 

 dark cream icinnamon buff) network over the entire fruit, having a 

 slightly lighter cream ground color cream color 1 within the mesh of 

 the color pattern. Fruit stalk medium long, 3-3 ' 2 inches, curved, 

 ridged, woody, tough and distinctly expanded at attachment. 

 Shell medium thick, j\— } s inch and moderately soft. Flesh moder- 

 ately thick at the base and medial, l'.j-l's inches, considerably 

 thinner at apex, '21 inch; texture very coarse, fibrous, juicy, 

 soft, tender; distinctly sweet; quality poor; color deep orange 

 (zinc orange to salmon orange). Seed cavity large, contains much 

 placental tissue which is moist, very fibrous and tough and difficult 

 to remove. 



Seed moderately small; moderately short and medium broad, 

 moderately flat, 1.55 x .85 x .25 cm. 244 per oz.): face slightly rough, 

 light brown tilleul buff); margin distinct, wedge-like, fuzzy and 

 dull brown (fawn color). 



Chirimen. Refs. 33, 73. Syn. Japanese Winter Squash. 

 This moschata variety represents one of the most 

 unique groups in the whole squash family in its fruit 

 characters and habit of growth. When Aggeler 8b 

 Musser Seed Co. of Los Angeles introduced it in 1922 

 it was said to have been " popular with the Japanese 

 ever since their advent into California gardening." The 

 origin of the variety is unknown, although the fruits of 

 the variety Yokohama introduced many years earlier 

 have the same blister-like protuberances on the skin, an 

 inference which may indicate close relationship. In 

 California the variety has had limited use. It requires a 



