454 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



setter, and perhaps one of the hardiest of all the tropical Cucurbits. 

 Others equally as useful and interesting are Thladiantha dubia, a 

 perennial Chinese Cucurbit, and Abobra viridiflora, another perennial 

 Cucurbit having pale green, sweet-scented flowers, and small oval scarlet 

 fruits. 



Pekgolas. 



Few objects in outdoor gardens are so fascinating as a shady, well- 

 covered Italian pergola, and to obtain a really good one requires consider- 

 able care and experience ; even then some years must elapse before the 

 pergola is well covered. 



A Gourd pergola, however, can be constructed and brought to full 

 perfection in one season, given a reasonable amount of sunshine and some 

 little care in the early stages of construction and growth. (Fig. 141.) 



The site for such a pergola must, of course, depend on the space at 

 command. Perhaps the best position for it is in the kitchen garden, 

 where, for instance, you have a gravel path with parallel borders on either 

 side. Along these borders strong poles can be erected about every five or 

 six feet : these should be let into the ground and stand quite seven feet 

 high, clear of the path, and more if the material will admit of its being 

 even a foot or so higher. The tops of the poles should be connected or 

 arched with stout rods or thick bamboo canes ; poles and rods can 

 then be nailed lengthwise between the upright poles connecting them, and 

 so a continuous archway is constructed throughout the length of the 

 path. 



The material used should be fairly stout for the upright poles, but the 

 cross poles or rods need not be much more than good thatching rods, to 

 which the Gourd plants can be easily tied. 



The Gourd seedlings should be planted about three feet apart, and 

 carefully started on the framework of the pergola with a light cane or 

 rod. 



Much of the success of the pergola will depend upon first getting the 

 woodwork covered early in the season, and second, having a good variety of 

 fruits evenly placed over the pergola. The first condition can be better 

 ensured by planting, alternately with the ornamental Gourds, Vegetable 

 Marrows of small fruiting varieties such as Pen-y byd and the Malabar 

 Gourd. The Marrows should be pinched and cut back as the Gourds 

 develop. The Malabar Gourd is one of the most handsome Gourds in 

 cultivation ; it is in addition a very rapid grower. It is always the first 

 Gourd to reach the top of the pole or pergola, and is invaluable for 

 covering in wet and sunless weather. If the pergola be a fairly large one, 

 a plant here and there of the large Club Gourd Laganaria vulgaris, 

 1 Clava Herculis,' will give variety and add to the picturesque appearance 

 of the structure. 



As the summer advances a daily tying and cutting out of superfluous 

 shoots and tendrils will be necessary, as well as a judicious thinning of 

 some of the fruits. 



The object to be attained is to secure enough fruits to give the 

 pergola a good appearance ; too many will be fatal when the September 

 gales begin. 



