GOURDS 



315 



sometimes more or less incised or deeply cut ; the flowers are 

 large, yellow, and monoecious ; and the fruit is round or elongated, 

 almost always ribbed, and with the seeds in a central cavity, 

 surrounded by usually thick flesh. The plants grow very rapidly, 

 and heat is indispensable for their development. Being originally 

 natives of warm climates, they cannot be sown in France before 

 May without the aid of artificial heat, and their growth is com- 

 pletely stopped by the early frosts, which make havoc of all 

 their green parts. 



Culture. — The seed is usually sown in the open ground in 

 May. In order to forward the growth, round or square holes, of 

 various widths and about 20 in. deep, are filled with manure, upon 

 which is placed a layer of soil or compost from 6 to 8 in. thick. In 

 this the seed is sown, two or three seeds being usually given to 

 each hole. The space to be left between the plants varies according 

 as the variety grown is of a more or less spreading habit of growth. 

 For an early crop, the seed may either be sown in a hot-bed and 

 the seedlings pricked out into another hot-bed before they are 

 finally planted out, or it may be sown in pots placed on a hot-bed 

 in which the plants are left until they are finally planted out. 

 When very large fruit are desired, only two or three should be left 

 on each plant, the best being selected, and the branches should be 

 cut a few leaves beyond the last fruit. The readiness with which 

 the stems of Gourds take root may also be turned to account by 

 covering those stems which bear the finest fruit here and there 

 with soil at the joints, where they soon strike root, especially 

 if watered now and then, if needful. The effect of this is to 

 increase the size of the fruit, in consequence of the additional 

 supply of nutriment. 



Uses. — The fruit, whether young or fully grown, is cooked and 

 sent to table in an infinite variety of ways, and there are also some 

 varieties which are eaten raw, like Cucumbers. The only Gourd 

 generally cultivated in England is the Vegetable Marrow, and the 

 importance and value of the others, especially the keeping kinds 

 grown in America and France, deserve to be better known here. 



I. Cucurbita maxima, Duch., and Varieties 



This species is the parent of the largest-sized Gourds ; amongst 

 others, of those known by the name of Pumpkins. All the cultivated 

 varieties of Cucurbita maxima exhibit in common the following 

 characteristics : The leaves are large, kidney-shaped, rounded, and 

 never deeply divided ; the numerous stiff hairs which cover all the 

 green parts of the plant never become spiny ; the segments of the 

 calyx are united for a certain portion of their length, and the whole 

 of this portion is devoid of well-marked ribs and presents only a 



