chronicles, married women are told to worship the cucumber that they 
may not lose their husbands. Under the name of sikuos, ancient Greece 
cultivated and partook of the cucumber, while in Rome, the emperor Tiber- 
ius so loved this fruit, that he had it grown in boxes on wheels and 
moved about so as to derive the full benefit of the sun. In winter, they 
were grown in crude hot-beds. The English were introduced to the 
cucumber in 1573 and owing largely to the cool climate, they grow peculiar 
long fruited greenhouse varieties, quite distinct in flavor from ours. The 
pickled little spiny gherkins are native to the West Indies and belong to a 
distinct species, C. Anguria L. In many oriental countries, young fruits 
of melons are used as vegetables. Thus the Hindus prepare a delightful 
vegetable dish from a two-thirds mature watermelon of a special variety 
by frying it in butter ( ghi ) with split gram peas (Turkish peas or gar- 
banzos), and a curry powder made of black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, 
cardamons, dried cocoanut, turmeric, salt and asafoetida. This melon is 
also prepared by boiling well, then adding milk, pepper, salt and nutmeg. 
Before the advent of pumpkins and our common squashes the Europeans 
used various gourds, especially the dipper or calabash gourd ( Lagenaria ) 
as a substitute. 
Beans, both dry and green shell, as well as string beans, Lima beans 
and Scarlet Runner beans are all natives of tropical and sub-tropical 
America and both the common bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris) and the Lima 
( P . lunatus) were met with commonly by the Spaniards when they first 
came in contact with the Indians of Florida, Mexico and Peru. Wild 
forms of the large Lima bean are known from the upper Amazon River 
valley and its seeds have also been found in the ancient Ancon tombs of 
Peru. When America was discovered, historic records indicate that the 
common bean had been widely distributed among the Indians of both 
South and North America. In many of the warmer sections of these two 
continents, the Lima was also well known. In the southwestern desert 
region of the United States, a distinct species has been cultivated pos- 
sibly for thousands of years, the Indian traditions indicating that the cliff 
dwellers and other prehistoric inhabitants, long since vanquished, first 
gathered it from the nearby canons and began its cultivation. Over 
300,000 bushels of these teparies, as they are called, were raised and 
marketed in 1917, the white varieties being similar to our small pea bean 
or navy. Beans first came into general usage in this country during Civil 
War times. When the soldiers returned home, they retained their liking 
for them and thus a dependable market was produced. Hundreds of 
varieties of beans were apparently known to the Indians and now the 
varieties number thousands, 500 or more of which are of the bush type. 
This bush type seems to have appeared since the “white man’s” coming to 
America, since the Indian varieties are believed to have been either pole 
or viny bush types. 
The beans of the old world, previous to America’s discovery, were the 
seeds of various legumes, especially those of Vicia Faba, the broad or 
Windsor bean, and certain species of Dolichos. 
Sweet potatoes are not of African origin, as one might logically sup- 
pose from the intimacy that exists between them and our colored popula- 
tion. Most botanists credit them to tropical America, where a closely 
