452 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Another group, more useful than ornamental, perhaps, is C. maxima, 

 the Pumpkin and Squash sections — huge fruits, veritable giants in the 

 vegetable world. 



Lagenaria vulgaris is a favourite Gourd ; there are several varieties 

 grown, from which the peasants make bottles, flasks, jars, ladles ; and pipe- 

 stems may sometimes be made from a small variety of this genus. 



Indeed, to such a degree of importance have the Cucurbits attained 

 that an annual fair or fete is held every spring at Cimiez, where Gourds 

 of every kind are displayed ; and, not content with nature's decoration and 

 colouring, the natives further enhance their beauty by designs and paint- 

 ing, and by devices cut into the rind.* 



In passing, it is not altogether uninteresting to compare the art of 

 Gourd decoration on the Riviera with that of the West Coast of Africa. 

 The natives of Sierra Leone are quite adepts at decorating the large 

 Calabash Gourds. The decoration is done both by carving and cutting 

 the rind and by burning the design with a hot iron. 



During a short residence in Georgia and Florida, some years since, I 

 was particularly struck with the importance of the Gourd from an 

 economic point of view. 



Every farmhouse, whilst paying but little attention to the growth of 

 flowers or fruit, had its patch or corner devoted to Gourds, and these grew 

 with a luxuriance only seen where the sun attains semi-tropical power. 



Hardly a domestic operation there is complete without the aid of the 

 Gourd in some form. The commonest use to which the Gourd is put is 

 that of a drinking ladle, or, as it is locally known, a "dipper." A long- 

 necked fruit of Lagenaria is the variety used. A slice is cut oft' the side 

 of the Gourd (a tangential section, so to speak), the end of the neck is 

 stopped, and then you have the most commonly used drinking cup of the 

 rural South, always to be found hanging near a pail of water under the 

 veranda of every Southern bouse. 



It would occupy too long to enumerate the various uses of the Gourd 

 in those parts. Briefly, Gourds are used for carrying operations and as 

 receptacles for every purpose ; the larger Gourds are used even as cradles 

 for negro babies. 



No cleaner or sweeter utensils for the dairy can be devised than a 

 properly prepared set of Gourd milkpans. 



There is one use to which the small short- necked Gourd is put that 

 should appeal to all naturalists. It is a common practice in the South to 

 hang up in the poultry yard several dipper Gourds with a small hole cut 

 in just large enough to admit what is commonly called in the South a 

 " martin." These little birds nest and reside in the Gourds. For this 

 protection they, in response to this kindness, mob unmercifully the 

 hawks, and other birds of prey that worry the young chickens, ducks, and 

 turkey chicks, and so act as protectors of the poultry yard. 



A feature of Gourd cultivation, both in the Northern and the Southern 

 States is the number grown for winter consumption. 



* A drawing was shown of the Riviera decorative art as a typical example of 

 treating the smaller forms of Bottle Gourds (Lagenaria). Especially beautiful were 

 the blue tints, inspired, no doubt, by the proximity of the blue waters of the 

 Mediterranean. A vase-like outline is obtained by inserting handles of split cane. 



