September, 1907 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



337 



Wonders of the Gourd Vine 



4* 



By E. E. Willcox 



HK gourd vine is easily one of the most re- 

 markable of horticultural growths. It will 

 produce genuine freaks of nature, and will 

 retain their forms for generations if prop- 

 erly cared for. The product of the gourd 

 vines is not only astonishingly interesting 

 and varied in itself, but it is capable of being 

 applied to all sorts of useful and decorative purposes, which 

 add immensely to the interest of their culture. As the fruits 

 vary greatly in size and shape, even on the same vine, their 

 decorative uses can be equally individual 

 and distinctive. 



Gourds should be planted in the 

 same manner as pumpkins, watermelons, 

 squashes and cucumbers, but never near 

 them; for being of the same family they 

 readily hydridize when grown in the 

 same vicinity, and the fruit, under such 

 circumstances, will speedily decay. In 

 northern climates it is well to start the 

 seed within doors about the latter part 

 of March. The seed should be planted 

 in three-inch squares of upturned sod, 

 the root end of the seed being placed 

 down and covered to its length with soil. 

 It should be transplanted when the warm 

 weather is certain, and given plenty of 

 sun exposure, training and tying the vine 

 to an ample and strong support. They 

 are lusty climbers, growing a foot or 

 more in twenty-four hours. 



The large varieties should be tied to 

 their support near the stem, while the 

 large bottles and sugar-troughs must be 

 supported underneath, as otherwise they 

 will tear away from the \'ine during storms. Hercules clubs, 

 dippers and all the long-necked varieties must hang clear of 

 everything lest they chafe, which causes decay or an imperfect 



A Large Bottle Vase with Spoon- 

 Gourd Legs 



gourd. The fruit should never be distorted during its 

 period of growth with the idea of obtaining a strange shape. 

 Such products are unnatural and of no real interest. It is 

 much more fascinating to hydridize, a work done partly by 

 the plant grower and partly by the bees. To accomplish this 

 work successfully freely flowering plants should be grown 

 near the vine to be hybridized. The gourds should be 

 grown in groups to secure good results: the long-handled 

 dipper with the novelty gourd; the short-handled dipper with 

 the long-necked bottle ; the Hercules club with the long ser- 

 pent. Never plant a Hercules club with 

 a sugar-trough, for they are too widely 

 separated, even if they be somewhat 

 near, and will either be late in fruiting 

 or blast when partly formed. When the 

 plants show signs of flowering, a minia- 

 ture gourd before the buds burst is an 

 indication of a female blossom. This 

 will continue to develop if the bees, in 

 their search for honey, have attacked 

 sufficient male blossoms to gather suf- 

 ficient pollen on their legs to bring about 

 the fertilization of the female flower. 

 If the flower develops the result is sure 

 to be as strange and odd as can be 

 desired. 



When the fruit turns a light or yellow- 

 ish color it has developed sufl5ciently to 

 be saved. When frosts kill the vine, or 

 moldy spots appear, the fruit may be 

 cut off. The cuticle-like covering may 

 then be scraped away with the edge of a 

 spoon, and the gourd thoroughly washed 

 with a rough cloth. It should then be 

 placed in the sun to dry, or subjected to 

 artificial heat, the drying process, by either method, being 

 one of the utmost importance. The gourds are now ready 

 for decorative treatment. Only the best and most perfect 



