The Field and Garden Vegetables of America Part 38

Mr. F. BURR, Jun.

CANADA CROOKNECK.

The plants of this variety are similar in habit to those of the Common Winter Crookneck; but the foliage is smaller, and the growth less luxuriant. In point of size, the Canada Crookneck is the smallest of its cla.s.s. When the variety is unmixed, the weight seldom exceeds five or six pounds. It is sometimes bottle-formed; but the neck is generally small, solid, and curved in the form of the Large Winter Crooknecks. The seeds are contained at the blossom-end, which expands somewhat abruptly, and is often slightly ribbed. Skin of moderate thickness, and easily pierced by the nail; color, when fully ripened, cream-yellow, but, if long kept, becoming duller and darker; flesh salmon-red, very close-grained, dry, sweet, and fine-flavored; seeds comparatively small, of a grayish or dull-white color, with a rough and uneven yellowish-brown border; three hundred are contained in an ounce.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

The Canada is unquestionably the best of the Crooknecked sorts. The vines are remarkably hardy and prolific; yielding almost a certain crop both North and South. The variety ripens early; the plants suffer but little from the depredations of bugs or worms; and the fruit, with trifling care, may be preserved throughout the year. It is also quite uniform in quality; being seldom of the coa.r.s.e and stringy character so common to other varieties of this cla.s.s.

CASHEW.

Cushaw Pumpkin.

Somewhat of the form and color of the Common Winter Crookneck. Two prominent varieties, however, occur. The first is nearly round; the other curved, or of the shape of a hunter's horn. The latter is the most desirable. It is not cultivated or generally known in New England or in the northern portions of the United States; for though well suited to Louisiana and other portions of the South, where it is much esteemed, it is evidently too tender for cultivation where the seasons are comparatively short and cool.

In an experimental trial by the late Dr. Harris, specimens raised from seed received from New Jersey "did not ripen well, and many decayed before half ripe."

The Crooknecks of New England "may be distinguished from the Cashew by the want of a persistent style, and by their furrowed and club-shaped fruit-stems."

COCOA-NUT SQUASH.

Cocoa Squash.

Fruit oval, elongated, sixteen to twenty inches in length, eight or ten inches in diameter, and weighing from fifteen to twenty pounds and upwards; skin thin, easily pierced or broken, of an ash-gray color, spotted, and marked with light drab and nankeen-brown,--the furrows dividing the ribs light drab; stem small; flesh deep orange-yellow, of medium thickness; seeds pure white, broader in proportion to their length than those of the Hubbard or Boston Marrow.

The quality of the Cocoa-nut Squash is extremely variable. Sometimes the flesh is fine-grained, dry, sweet, and of a rich, nut-like flavor; but well-developed and apparently well-matured specimens are often coa.r.s.e, fibrous, watery, and unfit for table use. The variety ripens in September, and will keep till March or April.

CUSTARD SQUASH.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Plant healthy and of vigorous habit, often twenty feet and upwards in length; fruit oblong, gathered in deep folds or wrinkles at the stem, near which it is the smallest, abruptly shortened at the opposite extremity, prominently marked by large, rounded, lengthwise elevations, and corresponding deep furrows, or depressions; skin, or sh.e.l.l, cream-white; flesh pale-yellow, not remarkable for solidity, or fineness of texture, but well flavored; the seeds are yellowish-white, and readily distinguished from those of other varieties by their long and narrow form. Under favorable conditions of soil and season, the Custard Squash attains a large size; often measuring twenty inches and upwards in length, eight or ten inches in diameter, and weighing from eighteen to twenty-five pounds.

It is one of the hardiest and most productive of all varieties. Crops are recorded of fourteen tons from an acre. It is esteemed by some for pies; but, as a table squash, is inferior to most other sorts. Its great yield makes it worthy the attention of agriculturists, as it would doubtless prove a profitable variety to be cultivated for stock.

From the habit of the plant, the form and character of the fruit, and its great hardiness and productiveness, it appears to be allied to the Vegetable Marrow.

EGG-SHAPED, OR REEVES. _Thomp._

Fruit large, weighing from fifteen to twenty pounds; but in rich, highly manured soil, and with only a few on each plant, it may be grown to upwards of fifty pounds' weight. It is short, ovate, sometimes tapering rather abruptly. Skin, or sh.e.l.l, hard, of a reddish color; flesh firm, red, excellent in a ripe state cooked as a vegetable, or in any other way in which squashes are prepared. The stems run to a very great length, and bear all along most abundantly. Altogether, it is a sort highly deserving of cultivation.

It was brought into notice by John Reeves, Esq.; who has contributed to horticulture many valuable plants from China, where he resided for many years.

Plant in hills eight feet apart, and thin to two plants to a hill.

HONOLULU.

Plant twelve feet or more in length, remarkably strong and vigorous; leaves very large,--the leaf-stems often three feet and upwards in length; fruit large, oblate, depressed about the stem, broadly, and sometimes deeply, but in general faintly, ribbed; skin moderately thick, but not sh.e.l.l-like, of an ash-green color, striped and variegated with drab or lighter shades of green; flesh reddish-orange, very thick, of good flavor, but less dry and sweet than that of the Hubbard or Boston Marrow; seeds large, white.

This recently introduced variety is hardy, productive, a good keeper, excellent for pies, and by some esteemed for table use.

Specimens frequently occur of a reddish cream-color, striped and marked with drab or pale-yellow.

HUBBARD. _J. J. H. Gregory._

[Ill.u.s.tration: Hubbard Squash.]

Plant similar in character and appearance to that of the Autumnal Marrow; fruit irregularly oval, sometimes ribbed, but often without rib-markings, from eight to ten inches in length, seven or eight inches in diameter, and weighing from seven to nine pounds,--some specimens terminate quite obtusely, others taper sharply towards the extremities, which are frequently bent or curved; skin, or sh.e.l.l, dense and hard, nearly one-eighth of an inch thick, and overspread with numerous small protuberances; stem fleshy, but not large; color variable, always rather dull, and usually clay-blue or deep olive-green,--the upper surface, if long exposed to the sun, a.s.suming a brownish cast, and the under surface, if deprived of light, becoming orange-yellow; flesh rich salmon-yellow, thicker than that of the Autumnal Marrow, very fine-grained, sweet, dry, and of most excellent flavor,--in this last respect, resembling that of roasted or boiled chestnuts; seeds white,--similar to those of the Autumnal Marrow. Season from September to June; but the flesh is dryest and sweetest during autumn and the early part of winter.

The Hubbard Squash should be grown in hills seven feet apart, and three plants allowed to a hill. It is essential that the planting be made as far as possible from similar varieties, as it mixes, or hybridizes, readily with all of its kind. In point of productiveness, it is about equal to the Autumnal Marrow. "The average yield from six acres was nearly five tons of marketable squashes to the acre."

Mr. J. J. H. Gregory, of Marblehead, Ma.s.s., who introduced this variety to notice, and through whose exertions it has become widely disseminated, remarks in the "New-England Farmer" as follows:--

"Of its history I know next to nothing, farther than that the seed was given to me by an aged female, about twelve years since, in remembrance of whom I named it; and that the party from whom she received it cannot tell from whence the seed came. I infer that it is of foreign origin, partly from the fact that the gentleman to whom I traced it is a resident of a seaport town, and is largely connected with those who follow the seas."

ITALIAN VEGETABLE MARROW. _Thomp._

Courge Coucourzelle.

This forms a dwarf bush, with short, reclining stems, and upright leaves, which are deeply five-lobed. The fruits are used when the flowers are about to drop from their ends. They are then from four to five inches long, and an inch and a half to two inches in diameter. When ripe, the fruit is from fifteen to eighteen inches in length, and about six inches in diameter. It is of a pale yellow, striped with green. It should, however, be used in the young, green state; for, when mature, it is not so good as many of the other sorts. It bears very abundantly; and, as it does not run, may be grown in smaller compa.s.s than the true Vegetable Marrow.

MAMMOTH.

Mammoth Pumpkin. Large Yellow Gourd, of the English. _Thomp._ Potiron jaune, of the French. Cucurbita maxima.

This is the largest-fruited variety known. In a very rich compost, and under favorable conditions of climate, it grows to an enormous size.

Fruit weighing a hundred and twenty pounds is not uncommon; and instances, though exceptional, are recorded of weights ranging from two hundred to nearly two hundred and fifty pounds.

The leaves are very large, and the stems thick, running along the ground to the distance of twenty or thirty feet if not stopped, and readily striking root at the joints.

The fruit is round, or oblate; sometimes flattened on the under side, owing to its great weight; sometimes obtusely ribbed, yellowish, or pale buff, and frequently covered to a considerable extent with a gray netting. Flesh very deep yellow; seeds white.

It is used only in its full-grown or ripe state, in which it will keep for several months; and even during the winter, if stored in a dry, warm situation. The flesh is sweet, though generally coa.r.s.e-grained and watery. It is used in soups and stews, and also for pies; but is seldom served like squash at the table.

NEAPOLITAN.

Courge pleine de Naples. _Vil._

Plant running; leaves small, smooth, striped and marked with white along the nerves; fruit nearly two feet in length, and rather more than five inches in its smallest diameter, bent at the middle, and broadly but faintly ribbed,--it increases in size towards the extremities, but is largest at the blossom-end, where it reaches a diameter of eight or ten inches; skin bright green; stem small; flesh bright, clear yellow; the neck is entirely solid, and the seed-end has an unusually small cavity; seeds dull white.