CUCURBITACEiE. 113 



size ; and that from Ohio is remarkably sweet. In England the 

 pumpkin is cultivated to considerable extent. " When the fruit 

 is ripe, they cut a hole on one side, and having taken out the 

 seeds, fill the void space with sliced apples, adding a little sugar 

 and spice, and then, having baked the whole, eat it with butter, 

 under the name of pumpkin pie." Loudon. This English pie 

 is very different from the pumpkin pie of New England, so 

 necessary to Thanksgiving, that a Yankee, it is said, cannot be 

 without it, and that in one town the good people actually post- 

 poned the day of Thanksgiving till the needed molasses should 

 arrive for its composition. Our pumpkin pie is likely to be a 

 permanent manufacture and article of consumption in the season, 

 and not to be displaced by any substitute. 



Cucumis. L. 19. 15. 



Has a similar derivation with the preceding genus, and its 17 

 species chiefly belong to the eastern continent. We are familiar 

 only with 2 species, both natives of India. 



C. sativus. L. Cucumber. Too well known to need de- 

 scription, and, by cultivation, now showing nearly a dozen varie- 

 ties, half that number being common in the gardens. 



C. melo. L. Muskmelon. The reason of the English name 

 is obvious to all who have tasted this fruit. The specific name 

 is derived from the Greek word for apple, from the shape of some 

 varieties of this melon, as that of C. colocynthis, which has the 

 " size and color of the orange." One variety of the Muskmelon 

 is commonly called canteleup, or, as often written, cantelope, a 

 very delicious fruit. There are many varieties cultivated, as the 

 yellow, long, netted, green, citron, nutmeg, egg, &c. 



MOMORDICA. L. 19. 15. 



Has its name from the Latin to chew, from the chewed appear- 

 ance of the seeds ; has about a dozen species, nearly all belong- 

 ing to India. 



M. echinata. Muhl. Balsam Apple. Wild Cucumber. 

 15 



