October, 1911 
excellent quality. It ripens late and can be kept a long time. 
Among the squashes derived from Cucurbita maxima, 
the rough-netted squash is a very strong growing variety, 
the stems of which attain a length of from thirteen to six- 
teen feet. The fruit has the form of a flattened spheroid 
and is covered with characteristic excrescences. ‘he flesh is 
thick, orange-yellow, and very sweet. The Thoumain 
netted squash differs from the preceding only by its form, 
which resembles that of a club. The chestnut squash pro- 
duces on each vine three or four medium or small fruits, 
with smooth rind of brick-red color and thick, dark yellow, 
mealy flesh, which is very sweet and keeps well. The very 
early prolific squash resembles the chestnut squash in color 
and the Hubbard squash in form. Its trailing stem ceases 
to grow after having attained a length of from six to ten 
feet and produced three or four fruits, which seldom weigh 
more than seven pounds, but which ripen earlier than any 
other squashes. The Hubbard squash, which is better ap- 
preciated in America than in France, is a vigorous grower, 
with a branched, creeping stem from sixteen to twenty feet 
long, and round leaves with slightly wavy and indented 
edges. The fruit, which keeps well, has a very hard, dark 
green rind, sometimes veined with brick-red, and deep 
yellow flesh, which is very mealy, but dry and not very 
sweet. [he Ohio squash, which is cultivated extensively in 
the United States, bears some resemblance to a huge, elon- 
gated lemon, but the rind is almost smooth and of a salmon- 
pink color. The olive squash resembles an enormous olive. 
The Portuguese squash is recommended by the abun- 
dance of its sweet, dark yellow flesh. The rind is marked 
with orange-red stripes. The whale squash is the largest 
of the varieties derived from Cucurbita maxima. The fruit 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
361 
often measures more than three feet in length, and weighs 
from ninety to one hundred and thirty pounds. ‘The rind 
is greenish-gray, the flesh orange-yellow and of excellent 
quality. Ihe turban squash is so named from its resem- 
blance to an Oriental turban. It weighs from six to nine 
pounds and is marked in a variable and irregular manner. 
Sometimes dark green, yellow, and red appear on the rind, 
sometimes one of these colors is lacking, and occasionally 
the entire fruit is dark green. 
The gourds derived from Cucurbita moschata have long, 
creeping stems, which root easily and which, together with 
the leaves and leaf stalks, are thickly covered with hairs. 
The peculiar characteristic presented by the five-sided 
peduncle, expanding at its insertion in the fruit, has been 
already mentioned. ‘The leaves are not incised, but are 
sharply polygonal. ‘They are dark green in color, but 
usually bear silvery white spots, caused by air bubbles dis- 
tributed through the epidermis, which rises between the 
principal ribs. The seeds, which are of variable size, but 
always of a dirty-white color, with a distinct margin and a 
downy appearance, preserve their power of germination for 
six years. The flesh of the fruit has a musky flavor, from 
which the name of the species is derived. In the first rank 
of these varieties stands the large Naples squash. ‘The 
fruit of this very productive variety has a smooth, dark 
green rind, which becomes yellowish at maturity, and attains 
a length of 20 to 24 inches, and a maximum diameter of 
6 to 8 inches. ‘The part nearest the stem is cylindrical in 
form, while the lower part is more or less swollen. The 
seeds occupy the center of the spherical portion, while the 
. neck is entirely filled with sweet, fragrant, orange-yellow 
flesh. The portmanteau squash differs from the foregoing 
The French manner of raising vegetables under bell glasses, popular with French market gardeners during frosty or cold weather in the spring. 
