October, 1918 



THE GARDEN AND FIELD. 



a05 



Interesting Vegetables. 



TllK CliOKU. 

 The Choko, as it is calle<l hero 

 —this being one of its very numer- 

 ous names — cannot lie. called a 

 vegetable of the highest class. It 

 is usually considered to be some- 

 thing between a marrow and a 

 stiuash with no particular Ilavour 

 or peculiarity of its own. It is 

 however, an interesting plant for 

 a variety of reasons ; it makesi tre- 

 mendous cucumber-like growth, and 

 is thus useful to cover a trellis or 

 bpoakwind, which, bv the way, 

 must be substantial, for the 

 weight of a single plant, grown in 

 rich and well watered soil is very 

 great. The flowers are qiuife dil- 

 fe.-ent to the true cucumber tribe, 

 being white, and as far as thev 

 are conspicuous, ornamental, plea- 

 sant to the eye, and suggesti%'e of 

 a pieachv fragrance. 



The fn'iit, commonlv grown here, 

 is rough, roundish, and about the 

 size of a closed hand, and encloses 

 one large seed. In addition to the 

 fruit the root tubers, which are 

 perennial, are, in manv parts of 

 the world, esteemed as food of 

 some importance. 



Another item of interest in con- 

 nection with the choko is that it 

 is almost unique in its method of 

 reproduction. Botanically, it is 

 known as Sechium Edide, though 



this, by the way, is a matter of 

 discus.sion. Speaking of names— 

 sprcvul as it is over a large por. 

 lion of the tropical and .semi- 

 tropical portions of the world, it 

 rejoices in a great variety, such 

 as Mirliton, Peiiinella, Tayote, 

 Il'P'opo, Vegetable Pear, One-sided 

 Cucumber, Chayote, and a dozen 

 or m«re lesser known ones. 

 Choko, b\- the way, seems to ha\''e 

 been a, Ouecrusland adaptation of 

 one of its native central .\merican 

 names. 



Hailing as it does ■P.'om' semi- 

 tropical countries, it is evident 

 that heat and moisture are both 

 indispensable for its successful 

 growth. Both in Queensland and 

 New South Wales, as far south as 

 S^•dney, in which it is one of the 

 recogni.sed vegetables, it grows 

 luxuriantly. As an instance, a 

 case is on record of a vine planted 

 in February, com.menced flowering 

 in May, but was killed down by 

 cold weather, and did not resume 

 growth until August, when it 

 sprouted from the root, and by 

 January it had covered fifty feet 

 of a fence six feet high. From the 

 end of February to June three or 

 four dozen fruits were taken, or 

 about fine hundred fruits for a 

 season of three months — and this 

 for the first year of bearing. As 

 the perennial root continues to in. 

 crease in size, the plant may well 

 have been larger in subsequent sea- 

 sons, and one observer claims to 



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WHY BUY WATER? 



BICKFORD'S 



"Our Jack" 



ARSENATE OF LEAD 



and 



BORDEAUX 



is Sold in POWDER Form. 



Use 



SOUBLE RED OIL 



for 



WOOLLY PHIS. 



Manufactured by A. M. BICKFORD & SONS, LTD. 

 Currie Street, Adelaide. 



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have counted three hundred fruits 

 on VI \'ine at once. In Algeria, where 

 the fruit is grown for shii)inent tc 

 Paris and London, lifty tlvousana 

 per acre with an average weight 

 of one pound, is considered a good 

 crop. 



Very various oin'nions are ex- 

 pressed as to its quality, they 

 range from "tasteless and insipid" 

 to " the be.st of marrows." It is 

 firmer in flesh than most of the 

 squa.shes btit not fibrous. In India 

 it is popular as an ingredient of 

 curries. In Florida it is used for 

 tarts and as a sul)stitute for apple 

 sauce. In France it is largely 

 consum.ed— unknown to the con- 

 .sn-mers — as the true artichoke, 

 which vegetable, when properly 

 cooked and .seasoned and cut into 

 discs to give^t the same external 

 appearance, it is said to greatly re- 

 semble. In Mexico the tender ra- 

 pid growing spring shoots are eat- 

 en as a substitute for asparagus, 

 in Oueensfand, in conjunction with 

 the ro.sella, it is considered to 

 make a satisfactory tart. If all 

 other uses fail, pigs vnil not refuse 

 the fruit nor cattle the vines, and 

 the fibres of the ripened \-ines are 

 woven into hats. 



The large tuberous roots are 

 largely used in Mexico as a foiod 

 either boiled or roasted. Whilst 

 in Queensland and New South 

 Wales they are used for a stock 

 food. The onlv other use we can 

 find, is that it is an admirable 

 honev plant. To establish it the 

 whole fruit after or before it is 

 sprouted, should be placed in the 

 ground just under the surface. It 

 is sold bv some of the seedsmen 

 for a few pence and is well worth 

 a trial. 



THE CxUA^A BEAN. 



This is a well known Queensland 

 edible gourd variously known as 

 Snake Bean, Snake Gourd, Car- 

 pert Snake Bean, Indian Snake 

 Vegetable — or most generaUv as 

 the Solomon Island Bean, Under 

 which name it was considerably 

 spoken of a vear or two ago.. Bo- 

 tanically it is Trichosanthes An- 

 guinea. 



Though called a bean it is real- 

 Iv a gourd, says the " Queensland 

 .Tournal of Agriculttyre," but is in 

 appearance something like a hol- 

 low cucumber. The fruit grows to 

 considerable length, four to five 

 feet, and up to seven feet. For 

 table use it may be cut at any 

 time, til it commences to ripen. 

 ^^^len ^'oung it is slightly rough 

 arid if scraped has a very distinc- 

 tive scent, this smeU vAll disap- 

 pear, but before cooking it is 



