Southwest Museum Leaflets 



to by European travelers as melons, and this gave rise to the 

 belief that melons were native to the Western Hemisphere, 

 which is incorrect. 



There is much confusion as to which are pumpkins and 

 which are squash. Common names do not help much. The 

 so-called summer squash, such as crook-neck squash and 

 scallop squash, are pumpkins; and among the winter squashes 

 the mammoth Chile squash takes first prize at county fairs as 

 the biggest pumpkin. In England all large squashes are called 

 pumpkins. Vegetable marrow, so popular there, is a variety 

 of the American pumpkin. 



American squash and pumpkins were developed probably 

 in Middle America and South America, and their prehistoric 

 distribution extended well over both western continents. 



Tomatoes — Whether or not the tomato was poisonous was 

 a question that aroused controversy in times past; but nowa- 

 days the tomato is known to be wholesome, a great source of 

 vitamins, and a valuable addition to the modern table. The 

 United States leads all countries in appreciation of its merits. 

 The word is Indian, derived from the Nahuatl tomdtl. It is 

 believed that the plant was developed in South America; and 

 its pre-Columbian distribution was in South America and 

 Middle America. By the time Europeans arrived there were 

 several distinct species of tomato, and a great many varieties. 

 In the United States we ordinarily see only one of these species. 



Chocolate — Hot chocolate was not known to the Aztecs. 

 They drank their's cold, but with a liberal addition of chile 

 pepper in it; and they called it chocoldtl. The Spaniards 

 improved it by the substitution of sugar for the fiery chile; 

 and the English, about the year 1700, gave it the finishing 

 touch by the addition of milk. 



Chocolate comes from the seed of a tree. Both seed and 

 tree were called in the Nahuatl Indian language cacduatl 

 (kah-kah'-wah-tl). This was corrupted in Spanish to cacao 

 (kah-kah'-o) , which became its first scientific name and 

 was widely used until a peculiar corruption in English re- 

 sulted in the word cocoa, formerly pronounced ko-ko'-ah, 

 now ko'-ko. Following the general adoption of the word 

 cocoa, came the trade-name of cocoa-beans for the seeds, 

 cocoa-shells for the husks, cocoa-nibs for the roasted seeds, 

 cocoa-butter for the oil, and cocoa for powdered chocolate 

 (minus some of its oil), and also for the beverage made from 

 that powder. 



