September, 1907 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



339 



The Golf-Stick Gourd Has a Practical Utility The Dipper Gourd as Flower Vase The Drum- Major Gourd 



closely resembles an egg 

 that an unexpected fall to 

 the ground invariably 

 draws a scream from the 

 unsuspecting. The small 

 varieties, however, do not, 

 as a rule, dry well. 



There is no labor in- 

 volved in raising gourds 

 that can not be performed 

 with the utmost ease. And 

 the interest they yield is 

 immense. Seeds grown 

 from one hybridization 

 one year, may he hy- 

 bridized again the next, 

 with stranger still results. 

 The foliage is always 

 beautiful, and the vines, 

 quite apart from their 

 fruit, are of real decora- 

 tive value. T cordially 

 commend this vine. 



to grow, beautiful to see, 

 and fascinating in the op- 

 portunities it yields to 

 home-made decoration. 



Of the peculiar shapes 

 in my collection the most 

 singular is the hybrid re- 

 sembling a golf stick. It 

 is as perfect as though 

 made mechanically. The 

 fruit grew with a handle 

 as straight as an arrow, 

 with the bulb part curved, 

 the whole measuring four 

 feet in length. It is a 

 novelty quite unknown to 

 the Department of Agri- 

 culture at Washington. 

 The drum-major's stick 

 comes next in novelty. Of 

 smaller varieties, one of 

 the most striking is the 

 egg gourd, which so 



A Late Season Growth of Gourds 



The Strangest of All Gourds is the Golf Stick 



Decorating the Gourds Affords Endless Occupation 



