 Plintes Naturall Hiftorie. 
A halfedeep.But invery deed,thebeft & meeteft time to fowthem, is about the feaft Parilia ,howfo: 
ever there be fome that would have the feed of Gourds to be put into the ground prefently after 
the Calendsor firft day of March:but of Cucumbers aboutthe Nones,/.the feventh day therofs 
or,atfartheft,by the feat or holydaies of Aéinerva,named Quinquatrus. They love bothalike for 
to creepe & crawle with their winding top-branches or tendrels,and gladly they would be clams 
bering upon walls,and climbing up tothe honfe-roofe; if they.can meet with any.rough places 
totake holdby :fornaturally they are given'to mount on high. Howbeit,their iirength is noe 
anfwerable to their will and defi : for ftandthey cannot alone without the helpe of fomeprops, 
forkes,orrailes, to ftay them upright. Exceeding forward and {wift they be in growth. They runne 
conendwhenthey arefet onit; and if they may bee borne up and fuflemed in manner aforefaid; 
B they will gently overfhade galleries, walking places, arbours, framesjand allies under them in a 
gardengand that right quickly, Inregardok which nature and behavior of theirs; two principal 
kinds there be of them, the one Camerariumas-one wouldfay, The Frameor Traile- Gourd,and 
Cucumber,which climbeth aloft: the other, Plebeitim athe Vulgar and Common ,whicherce= 
pethalong the groundbeneath, Inthe former kind itis worth the noting;:to fee how thefruie 
(heavie asit is)hangeth ftiffe poifed as it were'in the wind and will not ftir, notwithftanding the 
fiele whereuntoit groweth bee wonderous finé and {mall. Moreover,Gourds alfo may be faihi- 
-oned inthe head every way asa man will, like asthe Cucumbers or Melons beforenamed : and 
{pecially within wickercates made of pliable oifters, into which they are put forto grow and to 
take rheirforme,fo foon as they have cafi their bloflome. The nature of them(I fay) isto receive 
C wharfigtireaman will force and putthemto: but commonly fhaped they are in their growth, 
like to a ferpent,winding and turning every way. There have beene knowne of chem(fuch | meane 
aswere of the Tiaile-kind)beingiled upon.aframe from the ground, vere permitted corun at lis 
bertie, which grew to,an incredible length :for one of shem hath beenefeenc nine foorlong.As 
for Cucumbers,tiey bloume notall at once,bie by peece:meale floureafter flourjnow oneand 
then another: yea, and floure upon floure,one upon thehead of another Hovwloeverthe Cue 
cumber loverh waterifh grounds, yetcan hee abide drier placesalfo, Coveredallover this plant 
and fruitis,with.a white downe,even atthe fill: burefpecially all she while he isin his growth. 
| Gourdsare ersploied fundrie waies,and ro inany more festhan Cucumbers, For,firfttheit 
_ young and rendexftalkes be very good meat, and being drefledyare ferved up asa difh to the ta 
D ble: buttherindis of a clearie contratie nature.Gourds of late time came to bee ufedin ftouves 
and bainesfor potsand pitchers: but long before that they ftood in {teed of rundlets or final] 
barrels to keepe wine in, [he greene of thiskind- bath arenderrind,which muft bee {craped not- 
withftanding,betorea difh of meat canbe macethereof. Andcertes,albcit Gourdsbe of dige- 
ftion hard,and fuch as will not throughly be conceded in amans ftomack, yet they are taken to 
bea light,mild,and wholefome meat,asthey be handled and drefled diverse waies: for thatthey 
make not amaiis bellic to fwell,as fome meats doe. Of thofe feeds which bee found within the 
gourd next to the necke thereof, if they be fet,come the long gourds commonly: & fuch light- 
ly you fhail haveengendred of thofe alfo that are in the bortome:howbeit,nothing comparable 
to the other. Thofe that lie in the niiddeft bring forth round ones: butfrom thefeeds thar are ta+ 
E kenoutof the fides, ordinarily there grow the thorter fort of gourds, fuchas be thicke & broad. 
Thefe graines orfeeds would be handicd in this mannet.Firft they are dried in the fhaddow:and 
afterwards when a man liftto fow them,they ought to bee fleeped in water. The longerand{len- 
derer that'a Gourds, the better meat it yeeideth and more pleafant tobe eaten : and therefore © 
itis,that they be thought more wholefome,which grew hanging upon Treiles; fiich indeed have 
leaft ftore of feed within them.Howbeit, wax they once hard,away with them out of thekitchin, ° 
for then they have loft all their grace and goodnefle which.commended themtothe cookes 
drefler.Such as areto be keptfor feed, the manner is notto cucup before Winter :andthenare 
they to hang or ftanda drying in the fmoake, as proper ftufle andimplementstobee feeneina 
countri¢e houfe,tokeep(as good chaffer){ceds for the gardener again{tthe time.Moreover,there 
F isameanesdeviled,how to prefervethemand Cucumbers too, for meat, foundand good almoft 
till new come; & thar is, by laying both the one and the other in akind ofbsine or pickle.Some 
fay alfo,that they may be keptireth and greene, enterred ina cave or ditch under the ground in 
fome darke and fhadie place, witha good courfe or bed of fand laid under them, and well cove- 
red afterwards with drie hey,and earth upon the fame in the end.Over & befides,as in allplants 
C ij and 
4 
