BOTANY AND THE ZOOLOGY OF CHINA 155 



The native gourds or the Japanese gourd (M $>, f£ 2£), 

 belong to the Cucurbita Pepo L. This gourd has a different 

 shape (See PL II, Fig. 4). Its colour is dark green, yellow 

 streaked, changing when ripe into yellow with green spots. 

 The flesh is white or red and sweet in taste. The Japanese 

 gourd is eaten during the summer and through the winter. 

 It is cultivated in the same way as all large gourds. 



The decorative gourd (Cucurbita Peto L.) (/h 21 M) has 

 also been seen in Chinese villages. It has (See PL II, Fig. 3) 

 small oval green-yellow streaked fruits of 12-15 cm. in length 

 and 8-10 cm. in breadth. 



The white gourd of India (Benincasa cerifera Sav.) (%• BL, 

 & UL ) is cultivated in Manchuria only near towns. The fruits 

 of this gourd (See PL II, Fig. 5) are oblong of greyish-light 

 green colour with a waxy exudation and with many small 

 seeds inside. The white gourd of India is sown in the open 

 ground in the early part of May. It is planted in narrow 

 beds about 2 feet wide, the plants about 3-5 apart in rows 

 and grow on poles, placed between two rows (See PL V, 

 Figs. 5 and 7). 



The bottle-shaped gourd (Lagenaria vulgaris L.) (HI), 

 3S 81 H ) grows in North Manchuria : there are three principal 

 varieties. 



1. — The long club-shaped gourd (% -p) or the vegetable 

 Hu-lu (m®W) (See PL IV, Figs. 4 and 5). 



This variety has long fruits, 2-3 feet in length and 10-15 

 cm. in breadth. The ripened specimens have a hard, solid 

 pulp which are used by farmers as drills ( i% i$f M) for various 

 sorts of millets. It is also cultivated for its young fruits 

 (See PL IV, Fig. 5) and eaten as a vegetable. They are 

 cultivated in the same way as the white gourds of India 

 (See PL XI, Figs. 4 and 5). 



2. — The double -bellied or the bottle-shaped gourd (3P W 

 31 M ) (See PL IV, Fig. 3) are used for water, drugs, for 

 making scoops, etc. A small variety of the bottle-shaped 

 gourd is grown as a curiosity. The large bottle-shaped 

 gourds twisted in different ways (t.,il) (See PL IV, 

 Fig. 6) which are often seen in Manchuria in Chinese 

 medicine shops, and are produced in central China. 



3. — The pear-shaped gourd (^C^IM) (See PL IV, 

 Figs. 1 and 2) is very common in all Manchuria, Korea and 

 North China. The dried pulps of this gourd are used as 

 pots, scoops (SH2IM) and as drills. Sometimes they are 

 double-bellied (See PL IV, Fig. 2). 



Lagenaria vulgaris is cultivated by Chinese near houses. 

 They are planted on the south side and are grown on poles. 

 At Harbin, the club-shaped gourd is cultivated as a vegetable- 



