JAMES J. H. GREGORY’S SEED CIRCULAR AND RETAIL CATALOGUE. 
11 
my friends may be able to compare notes. A half acre 
of these Squashes have averaged 75 lbs. in weight. 
“Iii 1871, I grew a Mammoth Yellow Chili Squash from a seed 
obtained from you, weighing 187 lbs., in my garden, crowded by a heavy 
crop of vegetables ; it was where lime and ashes had been thrown.” 
Red Bank , N. J., April 5, 1873 Alfred Earle. 
“I raised 908 lbs. of the Mammoth Chili Squash from one seed. 
Wishing you success, Yours truly, 
Piper City, III., March 29, 1873. J. W. Skinner. 
Mr. H. A. Barnes of Fair Haven, Ct., writes:—“ I 
obtained French Mammoth Squash seed, with your name 
on package, in New Haven, and from this I raised two 
squashes j one weighing 198 lbs. and one 185 lbs., and 
they were a curiosity here.” Mr. John Lehn, of Wil- 
liamsville, N. Y., writes: “ I raised a Mammoth French 
Squash from the seed 1 had of you last season, that 
weighed 180 lbs,, and one this season that weighed 186 
lbs.” Mr. Alvin Ginn of Boyer River, Iowa, writes:— 
“ I raised one Squash of the French Mammoth measur¬ 
ing 7 feet 3 inches in circumference and weighing 169 
lbs.” Mr. W. H. Spera of Ephrata, Pa., states that he 
let but one Mammoth Squash grow on a vine, and that 
weighed 210 lbs. Mr. G. Hindley of Monticello., N. Y., 
writes that he allowed four to grow, and they weighed 
respectively 101, 100, 64 and 40 lbs. Mr. L. G. M. 
Smith of Nassau St., N. Y., writes,—•“ I raised a Mam¬ 
moth French Squash from the seed I had of you last 
season, that weighed 156 lbs., which I sold for $10.” 
But Mr. James" Rister of Bethany, Missouri, takes the 
palm from all of us. He writes—“I must brag a little, for 
I believe from the seed I had of you I raised the largest 
Squash in the world ; it weighed over 300 lbs! On two 
vines I had 32 Squashes, the least weighed 40 lbs., and 
from that up to over 300; the largest measured 11 feet 
6 inches in circumference Mr. Rister adds,—•“ these 
grew on our natural soil, without manure; I can hardly 
expect you to believe this, but 1 can bring two witnesses 
to prove it.” I presume Mr. Rister grew these on some 
rich, river-bottom land. Mr. J. S. Witherspoon of Siver- 
ly, Ohio, writes :—“ I raised from five seeds of the Mam¬ 
moth Squash, got of you, over 780 pounds of Squashes ; 
one weighed 131 lbs.” Mr. J. H. Pearson of Ainsworth, 
Iowa, writes:—“ 1 raised a Mammoth Squash that 
weighed 171 lbs., from seed procured of you.” Mr. 
Samuel M. Miller of Waterloo, Iowa, writes:—■“ From 
eight seeds I had a heaping (two-horse) wagon box full, 
about the half of which had well matured. I had four 
or five that weighed over 100 lbs., the heaviest of which 
weighed 171 lbs. I can recommend them as a valuable 
Squash to raise for Milch cows.” Mr. Jonas Teachout, 
of Sterling Centre, N. Y., writes “ I raised one Chili 
squash that weighed 192 lbs. 
I hold these at 15 cents a package. 
Having reason to believe that a hint on the cooking of 
Squashes may be interesting if not of value to some of my 
many thousands of new customers, I reprint the following 
from my catalogue of 1873. 
For the Tabee. Put the pieces into boiling water to 
which a little salt has been added, and boil (or what is better, 
steam,) until they can be freely pierced with a fork, which 
will usually be in about twenty-five minutes. Now take the 
squash immediately from the water, and scraping oft the thin 
layer of fibre which surrounded the seed, pare off the skin 
from the Turban, or if it be the Hubbard, then scrape the 
squash out of the shell, mash it tine and season to taste with 
a little butter and salt, and if the sweetness is not sufficient 
mash in a little fine white sugar. 
Squash Pies. To a scant pint of squash, cooked and 
sifted, allow one quart of milk. Heat the milk to a boiling 
point and pour it on to the squash, then add two eggs, well 
beaten, with sugar, salt and nutmeg to taste, and stir. The 
pies should be baked in very deep pie plates covered with 
bottom crust. No upper crust should be used. If the crust is 
partially baked before the squash is poured in it will be im¬ 
proved. 
Squash Pudbiku. Should be made the same as the pies, 
with the exception that, but one egg is needed, and it should 
be baked in a deep pudding dish without any crust. To be 
baked about two hours. 
Cold Frame and Hot Bed. 
Early tomato plants in a small way may be raised in flower pots or 
boxes in a warm kitchen window; so also may egg plants and peppers. 
When raising them in the house, the pot or box containing the seed 
should be placed quite near the stove fora few days, and the soil be kept 
well moistened until the plants begin to break ground, when they may 
be removed to a warm window. It is best, if practicable, to have but 
one plant in 4 each pot, that they may grow short and stocky. If the seed 
are not planted earlier than the middle of April for out of door cultiva¬ 
tion a cold frame will answer. Cold frames are extensively used by 
market gardeners to carry lettuce and cabbage plants through the winter. 
Select the locality in the fall, choosing a warm location on a southern 
slope, protected by a fence or building on the north and northwest. Set 
posts m the ground, nail two boards to these parallel to each other, one 
about a foot in height and the other towards the south about four inches 
narrower; this will give the sashes resting on them the right slone to 
shed the rain and receive as much heat as possible from the sun. Have 
these boards at a distance apart equal to the length of the sash, which 
may be any common window sash for a small bed, or the length of a 
usual gardener s sash. If common window sash is used, cut channels in 
the cross bars to let the water run off. Dig the ground thoroughly, (it is 
best to cover it in the fall with litter to keep the frost out,) and rake out 
all stones or clods; then slide in the sash and let it remain closed three 
or four days that the soil may be warmed by the sun’s ravs. The two 
end boards and the bottom boards should rise as high as the sash to pre¬ 
vent the heat escaping, and the bottom board of a small frame should 
have a strip nailed inside to rest the sash on. Next rake thoroughly in 
guano or phosphate or finely pulverized hen manure, and plant in rows 
two to six inches apart, depending on whether the plants are to be allow¬ 
ed to remain or are to be transplanted; ff the latter then two inches will 
be sufficient distance. Thin out the tomato plants when quite small, but 
allow peppers to remain rather thick at first by reason of danger from 
depredations of the cut worm. As the season advances, raise the sashes 
an inch or two in the middle of the day and water freely at evening with 
water that is nearly of the temperature of the earth in the frame. As 
the heat of the season increases whitewash the glass, and keep them 
more and more open until, at about the close of May, just before the 
more tender varieties are set in open ground, allow the glass to remain 
entirely off both day and night, unless there should be a cold rain. This 
will harden them so that they will not be apt to be injured by the cabbage 
beetle, as well as chilled and put back by the change. If the tomato 
plants have been well hardened, the stalks will be of a red color. Should 
the plants be getting too large before the season for transplanting, they 
should be checked by drawing a sharp knife within a couple of inches of 
the stalk. If it is desirable to dwarf the tomatoes and thus force them 
into a compact growth, transplant into another cold frame, allowing 
each plant double the distance it before occupied. 
The structure and management of a Hot Bed is much the same as 
that of a Cold Frame, with the exception that being started earlier the 
requisite temperature has to be kept up by artificial means, fermenting 
manure being relied upon for the purpose, and the loan of this heat has 
to be checked more carefully by straw matting, and in the far North by 
shutters also. The front and back are also made higher than in a cold 
frame. 
Horse manure with plenty of litter and about quarter its bulk in 
leaves, if attainable, all having been well mixed together is thrown into 
a pile, and left for a few days until steam escapes, when the mass is 
again thrown over and. left for two or three days more, after which it is 
thrown in the pit (or it may be placed directly on the surface) from 
eighteen inches to two feet in depth, when it is beaten down with a fork 
and trodden well together. The sashes are now put on and kept there 
until heat is developed. The first intense heat must be allowed to pass 
off, which will be in about three days after the high temperature is 
reached. Now throw on six inches of fine soil, in which mix a very lib¬ 
eral supply of well rotted manure free from all straw, or rake in thor¬ 
oughly superphosphate or guano, at the rate of 2000 pounds to the acre 
and plant the seed as in cold frame. Keep day temperature 70 to 80 de¬ 
grees and don’t allow it to fall below 55 degrees at night. If the tem¬ 
perature exceed 75 degrees the plants are liable to grow spindling and 
weak. Do not move the sashes to give air immediately after removing 
the mats in the morning, least the young plants damp off. 
