Squashes. How to grow them

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Y’ —-s- SQU ASHES.

HOW TO GROW THEM.

A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON SQUASH CULTURE, GIVING FULL DETAILS
ON EVERY POINT, INCLUDING KEEPING AND MARKETING THE CROP.

BY

JAMES J. H. GREGORY,

MARBLEHEAD, MASS.

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ORANGE JUDD & COMPANY,
41 PARK ROW.

1667

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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1867, by
ORANGE JUDD & CO.

At the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for the
Southern District of New-York.

Lovrsoy & Son,
ELECTROTYPERS AND STEREOTYPERS.
15 Vandewater street N. Y.

INTRODUCTION.

The recent great increase in interest in squash cultiva-
tion, which has been promoted by the introduction of new
varieties, has seemed to me to demand a more thorough .
and exhaustive treatment of the subject than is to be
found in our present standard works on horticulture or
agriculture. J am sustained in this position by the great
number of questions propounded to me annually in the
course of an extensive correspondence. To answer these
questions; and to bring so delicious a vegetable as the
squash into a more general and more successful cultiva-
tion, is the object of this treatise. The Squash family (Cu-
curbitacee) have their habitat in the tropics and warmer
portions of the temperate zones; hence they require our
hottest seasons to develop them in perfection. With the
exception of the Vegetable Marrow, the squash family is
almost unknown to our English cousins, as likewise is true
of our corn and beans, for though the average temperature
of the year is higher with them than with us, yet the ex-
treme hot weather, which these vegetables require, is
there wanting.

The introduction of the squash is a matter of the past
half century; until within that time, with the exception of
the Crookneck, the pumpkins, yellow and black, or “ nig-
ger,’ were the only varieties cultivated. ‘Though the ap-
petite for squash appears to be in a considerable degree a
matter of education, yet it is becoming more and more
popular in the vicinity of the large cities of the North,
where among vegetables, it now ranks next to the potato.

3

4 SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC.
WHAT IS A SQUASH?

In many parts of the South and West, where the fall
and winter squashes are not much cultivated, the term
“ Pumpkin” is used for all the running varieties of the
squash or pumpkin family, with the exception of the
“Cushaw’” class, which includes varieties that are closely
allied to the Crookneck. To clearly define what is meant by
the word squash in contradistinction from the word pump-
kin, as used among market-men, is no very easy matter, as all
the varieties, with the exception of the Crooknecks, easily
intercross with each other, and in the recently introduced
Yokohama, I have reason to believe we have found the
connecting link between the Crooknecks and other squashes,
thus destroying the reputation which the Crooknecks had
hitherto enjoyed of being the squashes of the squash fam-
ily. Grouping all the running varieties together, we ex-
press the marketman’s idea of a squash, as distinguished
_ from a pumpkin, when we say that all varieties having
soft or fleshy stems, either with or without a shell, and-all
varieties having a hard, woody stem, and without a shell,
are squashes; while all having a hard stem and a shell
the flesh of which is not bitter, are pumpkins; and all of
this latter class, the flesh of which contains a bitter prin-
ciple, are gourds. In a more general classification, all va-
rieties having a hard shell, are gourds, and those without
a shell, aresquashes. J had an amusing instanee under this
system of classification in alot of seed, ordered from France
as “ gourds;” on examining them, I found that several of
the kinds were varieties of our table squashes. Making a
separate classification of the summer varieties, I define —
such to be squashes, in contradistinction from gourds, as
are eatable at any period of their growth. It will be seen
that the distinctions I make are more commercial than
strictly scientific. -What'I aim at, is, to so define squashes,
pumpkins, and gourds, that experienced market-men, seed-

SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 5

men, and new beginners, may meet on common ground,
and clearly understand each other when using these terms.

In passing, I remark, that gourds are far more prolific
than either squashes or pumpkins; in some instances more
than two score having been grown on a single vine.

SELECTING THE SOIL.

All of the family thrive best, other things equal, in a
warm soil, which is a soil through which the roots can
easily find their way. The Hubbard squash appears to
attain to its highest development in regard to both yield
and quality in a soil, that, in addition to being warm, is
also a strong soil. I would not advise planting in a clay
soil, unless it be possible by thorough draining and high ~
manuring, (for this purpose, long manure is better than
fermented, ) to make such soil light and porous. A drained
meadow will often yield enormous squashes, if well ma-
nured, but they are apt to be very porous in their structure,
of poor quality, and poor keepers.

Some years since I planted a piece of rich, black
meadow to Hubbards, after manuring liberally in the hills.
The result was a tremendous growth of vine, some of
the leaves measuring twenty inches in diameter, while the
ends of the runners, in their great vigor, lifted themselves
by thousands two and three feet above the surface, and
with their blunt, arched extremities, looked like a myriad
of huge-winged serpents running a race. The squashes
were of alight green color, very large and showy, but,
when gathered, proved light in the handling, very porous
in structure, cutting like punk, were very poor keepers,
and coarse and watery in quality. Though such meadows
are thoroughly underdrained, the squashes grown on them
are light in proportion to their size, (which always insures
poor quality and poor keeping,) unless the meadows have
had abundance of sand and loam worked into them, thus

6 SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC.

adding the proper proportion of silica to the vegetable
humus. Some years ago, when the Marrow squash was a
novelty, bringing about $4.00 a hundred pounds, one of
my townsmen raised some acres on a piece of drained
meadow. Only a portion of the meadow had received a
good dressing of sand; here the squashes were of about
the ordinary size, while on the remainder they grew “as
big as barrels.” He traded a part of the crop with a
peddler for a lot of swine. When the peddler called for the
squashes, agreeable to instructions, the father being absent
from town, his son showed him the smaller sized lot, say-
ing that he had received directions to deliver them, as
they were the best of the crop. But the peddler declared
that, as he had supplied good pigs, he was entitled to good
squashes, and would be put off with no trash. He there-
fore loaded his wagons with the “big as a barrel” -Jot,and
left. for home. Before many days a friend called, and,
with a laugh, asked if he had heard of the result of the
squash investment. “There was’nt enough substance in
them to hold together until he got home; they were car-
ried to market in a few days, and two tons out of five
were rotten.” If the soil be wet and cold, the growth of
the vine is much retarded, and not only is the crop much
lessened in size and weight, but at times this singular re-
sult is seen—the squash loses its normal form. I have
seen a crop of Hubbards grown under such circumstances,
all of which were nearly flat at each end, instead of hay-
ing the elongations that belong to the normal form. ”

When two soils of equal natural strength, but one of
them being more gravelly in its structure, are heavily and
equally manured, I have noticed, in several instances, that
the more gravelly piece will give more squashes and less
vine than the others.

Unlike some varieties of melons and cucumbers, squashes
will do finely on freshly broken sod, which has the ad-
vantage (a great one in many localities) of being less in-

SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. v

fested with bugs, than old tillage soil. The practice of
digging holes a foot or two in diameter in patches of turf
in waste piaces, around hedges, or in corners of fields,
which, after filling with manure, are planted to squashes, is
but a waste of time; the result is, a growth of vine of a
few feet in length, the setting of squashes, and then both
squash and vine become checked in their growth, as the
roots of the vine make vain efforts to penetrate a dense ~
mass of hungry grass roots in search of food, the leaves
gradually turn yellow, and before you know it, have
entirely disappeared. By pulling on a dead vine, you
drag out a half grown squash hidden among the grass.

If the sod abounds in the pest known by various names,
as witch, twitch, or quack grass, there is some danger that
the grass will overrun the vines. Ifthe grass has not
been quite thoroughly torn up by the cultivator before ©
the vines begin to run, better plow up at once, as the crop
will be nearly a failure. Hoeing up and hand pulling the
grass will practically amount to nothing under such cir-
cumstances, as I once learned to my sorrow. If the sod
is not very badly run to twitch, there is but little danger,
provided the cultivator is faithfully used from the time
the vines appear above ground until the runners begin
to push.

THE MANURE.

The squash vine is a rank feeder. Night soil, barn ma-
nure, wood ashes, guano, muscle mud, hen manure, super-
phosphate of lime, pig manure, sheep manure, fish guano,
fish waste—either of these alone, or in compost, is greedily
devoured by this miscellaneous feeder. The great error
in the cultivating of the squash is to starve it. By many
cultivators, when every other crop has had its share, and
the manure heap has been used up, a piece of sod is broken
for the squash patch, about the only food depended on

8 SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC.

for the crop being what it can gather from the decay of
the fresh turned sod. Under such treatment, the crop is
small, the squashes small, and the general result unsatis-
factory. Another error of the opposite extreme is one
often committed by market gardeners, who have learned
that no paying crop can be grown without liberal feeding |
—who give all the food necessary, but do not allow suf
ficient room for the extra growth of vines under such cul-
ture. Of this latter error I propose to treat under the
head of “ Planting the Seed.”

Night soil should be used, mixed with muck and other
manures, in the form of a compost. It may, however, be —
applied fresh, directly to the hill, if sufficient care is taken
to mix it thoroughly with the soil. Some years ago, I
broke up a plece of land in the spring of the year for
squashes, and the location being difficult of access, I used
night soil from a vault on the premises, pouring about two
bushels into each hill. After we had finished manuring, I
sent my hired man, stout Jim Lane, around with his hoe
to mix it thoroughly with the soil in the hills. When
Jim came back, saying the thing had been thoroughly -
done, I send him around a second time, to give it another
mixing up, and, on his return, sent him around the third
time, though the old fellow assured me that it couldn’t be
improved on, and I had no doubt he had done his work
well each time, but, with two bushels of fresh night soil
in each, I knew that all the danger lay in one direction.
The result was, the vines came up a rich, dark-green, and
took right hold of their food.

With the exception of barn manure, it is necessary that
each of the manures mentioned above should be well
mixed in the soil when used in the hill. When wood
ashes are used, they should not be mixed with other manure,
until just as it is applied, as this would injure the value of
the manure, by setting free the ammonia, When I have
used ashes in connection with Peruvian guano, I have

SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 9

been in the habit of putting layer with layer in a wheel-
barrow, hurrying it to the hills, and then covering it im-
mediately with soil. Even with all possible hurrying of
matters, the strong, pungent smell of the escaping am-
monia could be readily detected.

Wood ashes, mixed with fresh night soil in the hill,
is considerably worse than nothing. Some years ago,
aiming to grow some extra large specimens, I selected a
favorable location, opened several large hills, and poured
into each about a couple of bushels of night soil. Into
this I stirred a liberal quantity of wood ashes, acting on
the theory that its alkaline properties would serve as a
corrective of the rank crudeness of the night soil. I pull-
ed the earth over the hills, and planted my seed. The
seed vegetated, but the young plants soon came to a stand
still, I applied a little fresh soil to the roots, thinking the
manure below might be too strong for the young rootlets
to absorb. Still, there was no growth; soon the leaves
turned yellow, and the plants died. I opened one hill to
find the cause, and there I found cause enough in the
presence of a mass having about the size and appearance
of an ordinary grindstone; the ashes and night soil in
combination had made a hard cement, and the entire con-
tents of each hill could be rolled out in one cake.

HOW MUCH MANURE?

Those who, under the stimulus of a city market, follow
market gardening, soon learn one truth that may be set
down as an axiom for successful gardening, viz.: that.
other things equal, it is the last cord of manure that gives
the profits.. There is but very little danger of giving too
much manure to your squash ground, provided the hills
are made at a proper distance apart, and the vines are not
too numerous. 7

No prudent man will plant squashes with less than four

1*

10 SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC.

cords of barn manure, or its equivalent, to the acre; this
is the minimum—when squashes are raised as a profitable
crop, from six to twenty cords of good manure per acre
are used. ee

Twenty cords to the acre will, I doubt not, sound like
a large story to many readers, and it és a large quantity,
even for the high culture required for successful market
gardening, but I have seen that quantity applied, and
once, in my own practice, applied thirty-five cords to a
little over two acres of squash land, where the soil had
been over-cropped, (or rather under-fed,) for many years
before I came into possession of it. Let us look a moment
into that axiom—“the profits come out of the last cord
of manure.” With four cords of good barn manure to
the acre, on good soil, the average yield would be about
four tons of Hubbard squashes; with six cords of manure,
the average yield would be about six tons; with eight
cords, the yield would be from seven to eight tons. These
are real results, that I have had in my own experience.
Here it will be seen that we gain about a ton of
squashes with each extra cord of manure; in other words,
by investing eight or ten dollars, we treble or quadruple ©
our money in six month’s time—quite a profitable bank
of deposit is the manure heap! Not only is the crop
heavier, but the squashes are larger, and, therefore, far
more marketable and, usually, at a higher figure, often
readily brmging $5 or $10 a ton advance in the market.
Nor is this all; the virtues of the manure are not ex-
hausted the first season; but the ground is left in higher
condition for the crops of the next season. Again, let it
be noted that the cost of cultivation of a poor crop is just
as great as the cultivation of a large one, while the promise
of a large crop is a great cheer amid the labor of caring
for it. The strongest argument for the liberal manur-
ing of this and all other crops is, that a certain portion
of the crop but pays for the cost of producing it, and

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SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 11

that the profits can only come after the cost of prodagsien
is paid.

The cost of producing an acre of squashes, eee
of the cost of the manure, will be:

REMC ae ck ete soo k's cus a/c auie a Sem eefe ade cta decltiee male vield s etiels sate $ 6.00
Distrib atine Manure ...).., 0... co cccc once ccine vows en cence dwcvecsncce 5.00
A eMeetoyes Mits WEATIUT CS o.o5—, ogo: oc + « Siniagceleinjshaclia(eiain © als wiaialo\s ofv'a.> olajeis sieves 3.00
820). ces ee gS Se ee eee niece 4.00
pete o rr atmre IN TAG ISse ete. oi. < os cnt seine Gee be cle'dle sociable. oie eierele He 2.00
Somreat IBN ITES ECU sig 5's 2d MS alerelats wa w'c dale pepe plete ela ele lo biaeie vawedarae ce 1.00
Cites Caltivaiines in courseOf SeaSOM,-) sa..s ees see sees sees 5.25
eR N NE coo 5. nieg ea elas) a,< +.» a's) x oedeimie Wielaitanias « ma'ela.x\w divi, ois 3.00
annie AE SITTIN”. Ehsleeas 3s a (i vin ode Seiaietee OMe ouv ins When's vale oie: wars 1.50
Hand-weeding of large, scattered Weeds, after* Runners have
Pera Chil og fe. wine nihslics <mledvache ai Sale ulaiets oi5=\b'e! Salas Siyeisiets 1.00
Gathering of Crop into ree ready for Cartier. 52. «002s ene 2.00
BMberess OF ANG a. tne cine anne anee canescens «* Voie oa fo aerate 9.00
Wear and Tear, and Tuiéilen dale Sie Hens Pe ae ee be tea 2.00
Total, exclusive of Manure............eceeceecseccceercsecreeeces $44.75
Add cost of four Cords of Manure, at $8.00, landed in Field..... 32.00
Cost of Guano, or some equivalent, to mix in Hills............... 5.00

Total cost of Crop when four Cords of Manure are used per Acre. .$81.75

Now, as we stated above, the average yield of Hubbard

_squashes, under such manuring, would be about four tons.

The average price of Hubbard squashes in the Boston
markets, for the past four years, of such a size as four
cords of manure to the acre would produce, has been about
$25 per ton. At this rate, the returns (not deducting
the cost of marketing) per acre would be $100, from which
deducting the cost of production, $81.75, we have $18.25
as the profits on the acre.

If, now, by adding two cords more of manure, or $16.00,
to the cost of production, we obtain two tons more
squashes, then the income is increased $50, (this supposes
that we get but the same price per ton, but, in fact, I get
from $5 to $10 more per ton for such squashes,) and we
have a profit of $52.25. The two cords of manure extra
have nearly trebled the profits; in other words, by ad-

12 SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC.

ding: about one-six to the cost of production, we treble
the profits. Or, again, to give a commercial look to the
matter, for every dollar invested in manure in May, in
October, or five months, we receive a return of three dol-
lars and an eighth. The returns have proved in the same
proportion up to eight cords, and at times up to ten cords,

to the acre. These statements are not visionary; they
are drawn directly from practical experience, and can be
corroborated by any farmer who has tried liberal manur-
ing. Catch a farmer of that class going backwards, and
putting less and less manure on his grounds, what a
phenomenon he would be! No; the progress of all enter-
prising farmers is in one direction. By extra manuring the
probabilities of receiving paying returns, are far greater in
agricultural than in commercial life, as figures will readily
show, though the popular belief is directly the contrary.

PREPARING AND APPLYING THE MANURE.

As a general rule in farming, the value of manures that
are good for any crop, is increased by mixing them’ to-
gether, making what is called a compost. Ashes and
common lime are an exception to this rule; each of them
sets free the ammonia, (the most valuable portion of any
manure,) and, being volatile, it escapes into the atmos-
phere. In preparing a compost for squashes, the bottom
of the heap may be made of muck that has been acted up-
on by the frost, sun, and rain of a year, if practicable; if
this can not be done, let it at least be got out the fall
previous, that it may be disintegrated, and, in a measure,
sweetened by the winter’s frost. In the course of the
winter, manure from the barn-yard may be hauled upon it.
If this has been well worked by hogs, the better. Toward
spring, if night-soil can be poured into it, the richness of
the heap will be much increased. Sharp sand can now be
thrown over the heap, and about as soon as frost breaks

SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 13

ground, the entire mass should be thrown over with forks,
and thoroughly commingled, all coarse lumps broken
up, and all frozen lumps brought to the outside of the
pile. As soon as the mass begins to heat, the process
should be repeated once or twice, until it is made as
fine and as thoroughly mixed together, as time will allow.
The sand will be found to be excellent to keep the manure
' finely divided and light, or to “cut” it, as farmers say.
In applying the manure for this or other crops, many
farmers use all the manure in the hill; some, because hav-
ing but little to use, they wish to get it as near the plants
as possible, while others seem to hold the theory, that a
circle of three or four feet in diameter is a sufficient area
for the roots of squash vines to travel over in search of
food. Where all the manure is used in the hill, the squash
vines push over the ground rapidly, until just after the
setting of the squashes, when they lose vigor, the squashes
develop but slowly, and in the end there is a small crop of
undersized squashes, for the roots, having meanwhile
pushed beyond the hills, can not find food sufficient to
sustain the growth of the vines. The roots of squash
vines increase faster than is generally supposed. There
is a theory that the roots grow to the same length as
the vines, keeping pace with them in their growth.
Whether the roots grow as long, or longer, than the vines,
I can not say, but when the runner of a vine had pushed
out but eighteen inches, I found the root over three feet
in length, thus proving that at one period of growth, the
root increases faster than the vine. This spreading of the
roots through the soil is one of the marvels of vegetable
life. I remember once lifting a small pile of litter that
- was about six inches deep, some dozen feet distant from
a squash hill, when I saw what appeared to be a fine
mist at the surface of the ground, but upon examination
myriads of fine rootlets were seen, that were doubtless
feeding on the decaying vegetable matter. Any person

se

14 SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC.

who will examine 2, squash vine of the running sorts, after
it has set its fruit, will find roots pushed down into the
earth at each,joint ; and though these may be in part de-
signed by the Creator to steady the vine, there can be but
little doubt but that they are designed also to feed the
long runners. And this is proved by the fact, that if the
connection of the vine with the main root be severed,
while these subordinate roots remain uninjured, it will still
maintain a degree of vigor. Such facts as these sweep
all theories of hill-manuring by the board, for if the roots
travel beyond the hill in search of food, there a wise cul-
tivator will put food for them. My usual practice is this:
to distribute all the manure from my compost heap over
the field, after the first plowing, and before cultivating or
harrowing. This is thoroughly worked under (and but
just under), by a small one-horse plow, driven at right
angles with the furrows, after which I follow with the culti-
vator, aiming to have everything as thoroughly fined up as
possible. Iftime presses, I dispense with the small plow, and
depend wholly on the cultivator and harrow to get my ma- —
nure under the surface. After the manure is well worked
under, the hills or drills are marked off by dragging a chain
over the surface, the first line being made straight by set-
ting up two poles ahead, and keeping them in line while
walking; afterward the lines can be kept conveniently
straight by carrying a pole of the same length as the dis-
tance desired between the hills, and using it occasionally
as a guide. After the field is thus chained out in one
direction, it is crossed in the opposite direction. The hills
are faked out by the crossing of the lines made by the
chain. If the surface is free from large rocks, the hills can
be marked out by running two sets of oe the hills
being made where they cross each other at right angles.
In the hills I work in my manure, avoiding all stable
dung, or any animal manure, as lie; is fable. to contain
eeu and to one who raises sua tes for seed purposes,

SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 15

this is quite a serious objection, for, in fact, I have found
“it almost impossible to keep squashes pure, where animal
manure is used in the hill. I manure in the hill, or drill,
with the most highly concentrated manures to be pro-
cured, such as guano, superphosphate of lime, or fish gu-
ano. The reason for using highly stimulating manure in
the hill is, to give the plants a quick start when young,
that they may grow beyond injury from the ravages of
the striped bug.

There is danger in using highly concentrated manures in
the hill, that the roots of the young plants. be destroyed
—“)burned”’ is the farmer’s phrase; to prevent this, they
should be most thoroughly stirred in with the soil. My
practice is, to take such manure in a wooden bucket, and
passing from hill to hill, scatter, if phosphates, as much as
I can take up ina half closed hand; if Peruvian guano,
about half as much, over a circle of about two feet in di-
‘ameter. A man follows immediately after with a six-tined
fork; he is directed to turn it just under the surface, and
then draw his fork across the hill three times, and again
three times at right angles with the first direction, ending
with planting the fork in the middle of the hill, and giving
it a twist around. Iam thus particular in my directions, |
because day laborers seldom realize the corrosive effects.
of these highly concentrated fertilizers. After my man,
a boy follows to plant the seed; he sweeps a circle with
his finger around each hill, as he finishes planting.

After the vines have got so far along as to show their
runners, I top dress the surface with hen manure, or some
of the special manures above mentioned, and immediately
follow with the cultivator.

It will be perceived that my system of manuring is
based upon the theory that vines prefer their food near
the surface of the ground. I draw this inference from the
fact, that vines are great lovers of heat, being quite sen-
' Bitive to changes of temperature, and also from tracing

16 SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC.

roots, and finding under the old system of deep manuring,
that they would, at first starting, run but an inch or two
below the surface of the earth, when they would spread
out horizontally, and stretch on for some feet at a very
uniform distance below the surface. Again, I find my
crops very satisfactory under this system of manuring,
and for the past four years have cultivated all my crop
(four to seven acres annually), on this plan. My friends
will note that I reduce my manure very fine, and mix it
very thoroughly with the soil. My soil is a strong loam.

PREPARING THE HILIS.

The system almost universally advised and pursued in
preparing the hills for planting, is to throw out the earth
from within a circle of from two and a half to four feet in
diameter, and from six inches to a foot in depth, oftentimes
quarrying out rocks and digging into the hard-pan to get
the standard depth. Then fillin with manure, and cover this
with earth, raising a low mound in the form of a trun-
cated cone about six inches above the surface. On this
mound the seed are planted. Where the land is freshly
turned sod, the hills are usually made by cutting a hole
of the usual diameter in the sod with a sharp spade or
axe. Inmy own practice, [have given up this method for
years. The plan of excavating a hole, and putting in it
all, or about all, the manure for the crop, appears to
be founded on ce theory that the roots will confine them-
selves to the area—an idea entirely erroneous, as we have
already shown. Quarryinginto the hard-pan and putting
manure down to such cold depths, is inviting the vine to
violate its instinctive love of heat. Again, this system
involves a great deal of labor, particularly when sod land
is planted, and on these latter the pieces of sod taken out
of the hills remain nuisances over the surface of the field,
either clogging the cultivator, or being knocked against

SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 17

the young vines. Let any farmer try the plan of prepar-
ing his hills as I have detailed above, and I will guaran-
tee that he will not again return to the present system.
If barn manure is to be used in the hills, let them be
made saucer shape, broad and shallow. In preparing
freshly broken sod, I find Share’s harrow an excellent
implement, as it will pare down the sod to an inch in
thickness, and make the soil as easy to be worked as old
ground.

HOW FAR APART SHOULD WE HAVE THE HILLS, AND
HOW MANY VINES SHALL WE LEAVE IN THE HILL?

The great error among farmers is to make these hills
too near together, and leave too many vines in each hill.
A very common distance for Marrow squashes is six feet
apart each way, three or four vines being left in each hill.

A little.figuring will show the bad policy of the prac-
tice. When a Marrow squash vine grows alone—and it
oftentimes happens that one comes up among other crops.
on the farm—it will mature as many as three squashes, and
at times half a dozen or more. Squashes so grown are
almost always fine types of the particular variety. Now,
-on the contrary, when the hills: are six feet apart, with
three or four vines to a hill, the vines will not average
one squash to each. I have been amused to receive the
estimates of farmers of the number of squashes to the
vine on the heaviest crop of Marrows-they ever saw. As
often as not the reply would be “three to the vine.”
Now an acre of ground planted 6x6 will have about
1200 hills to the acre; four vines to the hill would be
4800 vines tothe acre. The present variety of Autumnal
Marrow squashes as now. grown, will average above seven
pounds to the squash; if the vines produced on an aver-
age one squash apiece, we should then have 33,600 Ibs., or
over seventeen tons to the acre! Whereas the largest crop
on record, as far as I am aware, of this variety of Marrow
is less than eleven tons to the acre, From such figures

18 SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC.

the conclusion stands out with emphasis, that a system
that, taking the average of crops, does not give over one
squash to éwo vines, is unnatural, unfarmer-like, and un-
profitable.

The shortest distance, where the hill system of planting g
is pursued, should not be less than 8 feet each way for
Boston Marrow squash and other running varieties,
with the exception of the Hubbard, Turban, and Yoko-
hama, which are ranker growers, and should not be
pred nearer than nine or ten feet each way. The hills:
for the Mammoth varieties should be twelve or more feet
apart each way. At these distances apart, two plants in
each hill, (the vines being thinned down to that number
when the runners begin to start), will be found sufficient
to well cover the ground. Were it not for danger from
the borer, I would never leave more than one vine to a
hill,—putting the hills in each case proportionally nearer.
One of the finest crops of Turban squashes I ever raised,
a crop that took the county premium for yield that year,
was raised with but one vine to the hill, and the crop that
took our county premium the year previous was grown
with two vines to the hill. This brings us to the discus-
sion of the Drill versus Hill system of planting. On the
supposition that the great error in growing squashes has
been to crowd the roots too much together below ground,
while the vines were crowded too much together above
ground, I have advocated, and to some extent practised,
the Drill system of planting—having each vine entirely
by itself, and distributing them evenly over the ground.
Assuming that 10x 10 or 100 square feet is sufficient room
for the plant, on the Drill system, I allow 7x7 or about
50 feet for one plant. In planting on this system, the field
is marked out as if for hills, the lines crossing each other
every seven feet. In plantinee in drills I put three seeds
along in the line, and when the plants begin to show run-
ners, thin to one plant. By the drill system, in addition

SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 19

to the advantages above claimed, I think that the crop is
more uniform in size, and the squashes are better propor-
tioned in their forms than under the hill system. The
vines being in a row, instead of a circle, the cultivator can
be carried nearer to them. Most of my land is very un-
even, otherwise I should always plant in drills in preference
to hills.

PLANTING THE SEED.

The quantity of seed peracre for the Marrow and Hub-
bard varieties is set by practical farmers at two and a
half pounds. This allows for liberal planting with a good
_ surplus for after use, should cold or wet weather rot the
seed, or insects destroy the plants that first appear. Four
seeds in the hill and three in the drill is sufficient. The
seed should not be put in, in the latitude of Boston, earlier
than the 10th of May, and may be safely sown in ordinary
seasons as late as the first of June, and success is some-
times attained with seed planted on rich, warm land as
late as the twentieth of June. <A part and sometimes all
of the seed planted as early as the 10th of May will
rot in the ground; yet to get the vines along early, and
thus enable them to survive the attacks of the squash
bugs, farmers oftentimes take this risk. If, after a cold,
wet spell, the planter mistrusts the seed have rotted in
the ground, let him scratch away the earth carefully with
his fingers (it is infinitely easier to put aseed under than
to find it again! ), and if the seed is rotten, it will readily
show it when pressed between the thumb and finger.

Seed may be planted either by using the hoe, (dropping
the seed, and covering with the hoe,) or each one may be
thrust into the ground with the thumb and finger. If the
attempt is made to push the seed under by the finger
alone, it is frequently left too near the surface, as the
finger is very apt to slip by it unawares. If. squir-

20 SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC.

rels or field mice abound, it will be found safer to plant
with the hoe, as the little rascals appear to have a rare
faculty for smelling out the very spot where the seeds lie
when thrust under by the finger. I have known them to
begin at one end of a field and pass from hill to hill in a
straight line across the field, digging out every seed with
unerring accuracy. Seed opened with a knife and rubbed
with arsenic or strichnine and scattered in the ‘paths will
generally check them. Two inches is ample depth in any
soil, and early in the spring, or in a rather wet or heavy
soil, the seed had better not be planted more than from
an inch to an inch and a half in depth.

Seed planted on upturned sod will vegetate sooner and
come up with larger rudimentary leaves than that planted
in rich, old ground; I presume that this is because sod
land lies lighter and is better drained and, consequently,
warmer than old ground. If, when the rudimentary
leaves appear, the seed shell adheres to either leaf, it
will do no harm, but if it confines both leaves together,
it should be removed, if it can be done without injury.
If a seed pushes but a single rudimentary leaf above the
surface, the plant rarely, if ever, comes to anything. If —
these rudimentary leaves continue to increase in size, but
no leaf shows itself springing from between them, the
plant will come to nothing. If the young plants come
with a yellow color, it proves that the season is too cold
for them ; if, on the other hand, they assume a very dark,
dull green color, it is usually because the manure with
which the young rootlets are in contact is too strong for
them; it is good policy, when the manure proves too
strong, to carefully remove some of the earth around the
plants with the finger, and with the finger stir in a little
fresh earth, |

If, as at times will happen, some hills are entirely desti-
tute of plants, it is far better to plant them with seed
than to transplant surplus vines from other hills; true,

SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 21

such vines sometimes root at once, but if checked in their
growth by transplanting, they rarely amount to anything
in the end.

This is one of the great conditions of success in squash
culture, to have the vines start well and* make a rapid
growth without a check. Experience has frequently
proved that late planted vines will oftentimes ripen their
crops as early, and usually bear heavier crops, than those
planted two or three weeks sooner.

&

HILL CULTURE AND LEVEL CULTURE.

~+,

After the plants appear, it is customary to draw earth
around them ; this is a good practice as far as it tends to
keep them ao being broken off by the winds. It is
also an almost universal custom to draw up the earth into
a mound of two or three feet in diameter, gradually in-
creasing the height of it with each hoeing until it is six
inches or more above the level of the field. I consider
the labor entirely useless, to say the least, and have con-
fined my own practice for several years past to level cul-
ture, making no hills, and drawing just earth enough
home to each plant to keep it from being swayed, and
thus injured by the wind.

HOEING AND CULTIVATING. »

About as soon as the plants show themselves above the
surface, the Cultivator should be set running. — If the
hills have been made equi-distant each way, the surface
can be cultivated close home to them on every side, leav-
ing but little work for the hoe. In no department of
farming is the superiority of the Cultivator over the com- :
mon hand-hoe brought out in stronger contrast, than in
working the large open areas between squash hills. I

2 SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC.

would rather have the work done by a one-horse Culti-
vator with a boy to direct the horse and a man to hold
the implement, than have the services of twenty men
with hand hoes; for not only would the surface be gone
over in equal time, but the ground be more deeply and
more thoroughly stirred, and the weeds be better shaken up’
and turned under than would be possible with hoe cul-
ture. The cultivator should be used as often as the
weeds start, and whenever the surface appears hard, the
object being two-fold, to eradicate weeds and keep the
surface light and mellow. If witch grass abounds, the
Cultivator must be freely used, particularly when the
surface is hot and dry, that the vitality of the freshly
torn roots may be destroyed. It is not well to leave
the soil unstirred until weeds have attained to some
size, as such are very apt to re-root. If the Cultivator
is used -while the weeds are small, it can be spread
open to its utmost capacity. It is always well to have
one course of the Cultivator half overlap the preceding
course.

The last,and one of the most critical, periods when
the Cultivator is needed, is just previous to the push-
ing out of the runners over the surface of the field.
The vines are then growing rapidly, (I have found that
the large varieties, by actual measurement, grow as
much as fourteen inches in forty-eight hours), and if spec-
ial care is not exercised, the runners will push so far
as to prevent the final use of the Cultivator. The re-
sult will be a very weedy field the remainder of the
season. I have sometimes practised, when caught in
this way, breaking the hold of the tendrils and turning
aside with the hand such runners as had got so far
from the hills as to be in the way of the Cultivator;
but I have observed that where the tendrils are broken
from whatever they have naturally clung to, as often as
not the vines are injured so much by the wind that

SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 23

they yield little or nothing; they are so twisted that
they are often completely inverted; and though the
leaf stalks are true to their instincts, and bring them-
selves perpendicular to the surface, yet in doing so, the
curve they make, passing under the vine, lifts it a little
above the surface, too far for the joint roots to strike
into the earth to hold the plant in place and nourish
it. It is a bad plan ever to break the hold of the ten-
drils, and as a general rule better allow the large weeds
that appear towards the close of the season to remain,
than to pull them up and tear them out from among
the vines. If the weeds are to be removed, better cut
them off close to the surface and leave them. A
squash crop will foul the land at the very best, and let no

‘one plant to squashes with the idea that the frequent

cultivation allowed early in the season will tend to im-
prove a piece of ground already foul with weeds; for
young weeds will spring up as soon as the spread of the
vines prevents the farther use of the Cultivator, and

when the leaves begin to thin out, at the close of the sea-

son, under the stimulant of the sun and air, these soon be-
come mammoths in the rich soil. When we consider that
climbing appears to be natural to the squash vine, the in-
jury caused by breaking the hold of the tendrils, and by
the moving about among the thick net work of vines to
do this, in connection with the fact that at best it is next
to impossible to keep the ground in clean condition, I
question whether,as a general rule, it is not better to

’ allow these late and large weeds to remain untouched, and

leave the clearing of the ground to the crop of the next year.

When the area of ground is small, and very clean cul-
ture is desirable, I would advise the driving of a few
stakes among the vines to give the runners a hold when
they first push out. It is not necessary that these stakes
should protrude more than one or two inches above the

surface.

24 SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC.

Many old farmers lay down the rule that no one shall
set foot on the squash patch after the vines meet between
the rows. This is a good general rule, for most men
tread among vines as ruthlessly as though passing among
wire cables, crushing them under foot with perfect impu-
nity. I don’t think I ever saw a farmer pass among even ~
his own vines with what I should call proper care. If
necessary to pass among vines, carry a short stick in one
hand to lift the leaves to see where the foot is to rest be-

fore planting it.

SQUASHES WITH OTHER CROPS.

Tn the vicinity of large cities, where land, manure, and
labor are costly—and much of the market gardening in
the vicinity of Boston, New York and Philadelphia is
on land worth from $500 to $1,000 an acre—farmers
usually grow their squashes in connection with other
crops. These are oftentimes Peas and early Cabbages.
If early Peas or Cabbages are planted in rows three feet
apart, by omitting every third row, and planting this
to squashes at the usual time, the crops will not inter-
fere with each other, as the squashes do not push their
runners till July, after the pea crop has been marketed.
With Cabbage, the third row may be omitted, or every
third plant in the third row; this will give the squashes
9x9. It will be seen that squashes can be raised only
with the earliest varieties of Cabbage, such as Early
Wakefield, Early Oxheart, Early York, Little ‘Pixie,
Burnels, King of Dwarfs, that have been started in a hot
bed. The plan: practised occasionally of growing
squashes among corn, I consider a bad one. It is very
common in the country to plant at the second hoeing a
couple of seed of the Yellow Field Pumpkins im every
third or fourth hill, and the yield is usually satisfactory
to the farmer; though if a field was divided in two, and

SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 25

an accurate account kept of the income from each half, I
am inclined to believe that it would be found that what
was gained in pumpkin was more than lost in corn.
Squashes are more delicate in their habits than the hardy,
rough vined pumpkin, and the result of attempting to
grow them with corn is usually a small crop of inferior
specimens.

SETTING OF THE FRUIT.

Soon after the runners have put forth, blossom buds
will begin to appear at the junction of the leaf-stalks with

the vine. As the buds develop, the stems will develop

also, until the latter grow a foot or more long, a little
longer than the leaf-stalks. The blossom now opens,
and we have a large yellow flower, several inches in di-
ameter, with a powerful and rich fragrance, very similar
to that of a magnolia. This flower has at the center a
yellow cylinder, about an inch in length, covered with fine
yellow pollen. I find that many persons look for their
squashes from this class of flowers. Squash vines have
the sexes distinct in each flower, being what botanists call
monecious. These are the male flowers, and from their
structure can never produce squashes; their office is
wholly to supply pollen to fertilize the pistillate or female
flowers. The first pistillate or female blossom rarely ap-
pears nearer the root than the seventeenth leaf, or farther
than the twenty-third. Instead of having a long stem to
support it, this flower opens close down to the juncture of
the leaf-stalk with the vine. It has a small globular for-
mation beneath it, which is the embryo of the future
squash. If the structure of the center of the blossom is
examined, it will. be found to differ from the tall, male
flower, in having the central cylinder divided at the top
into several parts, usually four, sometimes six in number.
These are what botanists call the pistils, and it is necessary
2

2 SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. ©

that the fine yellow dust of the male flower should touch |
these, to fertilize them, that seed may be produced, and
consequently a squash grow—for the primary reason why
a squash grows, is, to protect and afford nutriment to the
seed, the use of it as food beg asecondary matter. This
may be proved by so confining a blossom, that no pollen.
can get access to it, when the blossom will usually wilt, —
and the embryo squash turn yellow and decay. If the fe-
male flower be broken off from the embryo squash before
the flower has come to full maturity, the squash will de-
cay. These female blossoms are so covered and hidden by
the tall leaves, that it is evident that the fertilizing pollen
must be conveyed to them by the bees, to whom the
squash field appears to be a rich harvest field. All of the
crossing or mixing of squashes is caused by the pollen
from the male flowers of one variety being carried by the
bees to the female flowers of another variety. SquUASHEs
ARE CROSSED OR MIXED IN THEIR SEED, AND NOT IN THE
FRuIT. Many cultivators are in error on this point; they
have the very common illustration of the crossing of dif
ferent varieties of corn in their mind, where the mixture
of the varieties is at once apparent to the eye, and infer
from this, that the mixture between different varieties of
squashes should make itself visible to the eye the same sea-
son it, occurs. A moment’s reflection will correct this;
the crossing of the first season is always in the seed, and
for this reason we see it in the corn the first season, as the
seed is immediately visible to the eye, while the various
colors of the different varieties also aid us in the matter.
With squashes the crossing is likewise in the seed, and
hence can not be seen in them, until the seeds are
planted, when the yield will show the impurity of their
blood. But, though the crossing can not be seen in the
squashes themselves the first season, yet, if one of the va-
rieties planted near each other, has seed having the pecu-
liar, thick, salmon-colored coating, so characteristic of

SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. ae

some of the South American varieties, this indication of
admixture may be detected by the eye the first season.
The parallelism between the crossing of squashes and. corn
may be carried further, for it is oftentimes true with corn
as with squashes, that there is a mixing of varieties, of
which no indication can be detected in the seed by the eye
. the first season, which a second season’ will develop—what
was before an eight-rowed variety, into a ten or twelve-
rowed sort, or dark kernels may be replaced with white
ones, and by numerous similar freaks, bring to light an
admixture of varieties. _

It is of considerable practical importance, that the law
of admixture should be clearly understood, that the risk,
incidental to planting-seed from squashes that look pure,
should be generally known ; for it will be seen from what
I have written, that seed taken from squashes that ex-
ternally are perfect types of their kinds, may yield a
patch, where every one may show marks of impurity.
Again, no matter how many varieties are planted together,
no crossing from the result of that planting will be seen
in the external shape, color, or appearance of the crop the
same season.

To have squash seed pure, the squashes from which they-
are taken, must have been grown isolated, and this not
only one season, but for a succession of seasons. Should
several varieties of squashes be grown together, and it be
desirable to keep one variety pure, it can be done by pre-
venting any male flowers of the other varieties from ma
turing—no easy job, as those who have tried it know. The
product of any particular blossom may be kept pure under
such circumstances by covering with fine muslin, remov-
ing it only to fertilize with pollen from a male flower of
its own vine. 3

The location of the female blossom, in a measure cover-
ed by the leaves, and low down, but little affected by the
wind, would render it probable that it depends for fertili-

28 SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC.

zation on the bees, rather than on the wind; and the fact
(as a friend who has tested it, informs me) that if only a
high fence intervenes between two varieties, the admixture
between them is comparatively small, corroborates this
theory. To preserve the degree of purity that is neces-
sary in raising different varieties, requires planting at dis- —
tances apart varying with the natural aspect of the coun-

try; a level tract requires longer distances than would

be necessary in an undulating country, and a space inter-

vening abounding in flowers is a better protection

than an equal distance where flowers are less numerous.

The object is to get the pollen removed from the thighs

or bodies of the bees, or have it covered by the pollen of

other flowers, before they can pass from a field of one va-

riety of squash to that of another. My own practice is, to

secure the planting of one continuous district of country

with the same variety of squash, by giving to farmers,

whose lands are near my own, my stock seed for their own

planting. Even with this precaution matters will have to

be looked after, lest after all promise to the contrary, greed
can not master moral courage sufficiently, to induce them

to pull up the transient vines that spring up from the ma-
nure among cabbages or potatoes. “Old farmers will pro-

fess, from the appearance of the calyx end, to classify

squashes as male or female; this is all nonsense, for, as

will be inferred from what has been stated, every seed

from every squash contains the two sexes in itself, in its

capacity to produce both male and female flowers.

_ Squash fields usually make about three settings of fruit.

I do not mean by this that each vine makes three settings,

but that this is usually true of a field as a whole.) It often
happens, that most of one of their settings, usually the

second, turn yellow and rot, after many of the squashes

reach the size of goose eggs. This is very apt to take

place, should there be a cold, wet spell just after they

have set. Sometimes all three of the settings will grow,

SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 29

and then stories of great crops will be heard of in the
squash districts. When a young Hubbard squash is mak-
ing a fine growth, it will have a shining green appearance,
as though just varnished, Ifthe appearance of the squash
changes to a dull green color, the days of that squash are
numbered ; it will soon shrivel and decay.

PINCHING VINES.

I have seen a vine perfect the growth of a squash 20 Ibs.
in weight, though the vine was cut off within a foot of
the squash when it had reached the size of an orange, and
another squash of about the same size was also matured
on the same vine, about four feet nearer the root. The °
vine was highly manured, and grew on very deep and
rather moist muck and loam. I can not yet determine the
laws which govern the art of pruning vines. I have had
some, the young squashes of which appeared to do finely
after the extremities of the runners were nipped at near
the close of the season, and others, where the young
squashes turned yellow and died, under, seemingly, pre-
cisely the same circumstance. I am inclined to think,
that it is not well to pinch off the ends of the vines be-
fore the young squashes have attained to the size of a
large orange. How far a crop of squashes might be in-
creased by the nipping of the vines, or a pruning of the
roots, is a problem yet to be settled. The use of the
cultivator just before the vines spread, must do much
in the way of root-pruning the vines.

THE RIPENING AND GATHERING OF THE
CROP.
In seasons, in which the early part of summer is cold,

farmers sometimes get almost discouraged with the small
number of squashes that set, and the slow growth of such

30 SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC.

as do form, but a few hot weeks entirely change the
aspect of affairs.

When we have good corn weather, it takes but a few
weeks to mature a squash. I have known instances when
the first fruit set was completely destroyed by a hail storm,
which occurred late in September, and yet a fine crop of .
squashes was gathered from the vines. When June and
July are colder than usual, farmers will often come out.
from an examination of their squash patch with a signifi-
cant shake of the head, yet I have never known a season, in
which cold or wet prevented the growing of a fair crop -
of squashes on land selected with judgment, well ma-
nured, and taken care of. The degree of ripening to
: which the crop attains, will be affected by a cold and wet
season, but the chances of a crop are equally good with a
season wetter and consequently colder than usual, as with
a season hotter and dryer than ordinary, for, in addition
to the check to their development caused by a drought,
the borer and bugs are more numerous and more active
in a very dry season than during a very wet one.

Ripening -is indicated in the soft or fleshy stemmed
squashes, such as the Hubbard, Marrow, and Turban, by
the drying of the stem, and a dead, punk-like appearance
which they assume. The leaves near the root gradually
turn yellow and dry up, and the squashes themselves
change color; the Hubbard assuming a duller, more rus-
set color, and the Marrow and Turban sorts a deeper
orange. The skin of the Marrow and Turban will now
offer more resistance to the thumb-nail, while the Hubbard
will begin to put on a shell, which will be first detected
near the stem end. It is a singular fact, that the shell of
the Hubbard squash usually begins to form on the under
side—the part towards the ground. When this stage is
reached, squashes can be safely cut for: storage.

At some seasons, a large portion of the crop, and, at
most seasons, a small portion of the crop, just before

SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 31

ripening, are affected by a blight, which turns the leaves
black near the hills, when they die down, and all the signs
_of early maturity are presented to the inexperienced eye.
When the process of ripening goes on naturally, the ex-
posure to the sun’s rays, after the leaves have died, does
no harm, but promotes the full maturing of the squash ;
but when squashes become exposed before the natural
‘time, by the blighting of the leaves, they are, particularly
if of the Hubbard variety, apt to be “sun scalt,” as the
term is, by which is meant a bleaching, or whitening of
the part most exposed to the sun. Such squashes rarely
form shells, and, if badly scalded, are apt to rot at the part
affected. In cutting squashes from. the vines, a large and
sharp knife is needed. There are two ways to cut squashes
_ from the vines; one is, to cut the vine, leaving a small
piece attached to the stem. By so doing, the stem does
not dry up so readily, and as large stems, when green, will
weigh as much as a quarter of a pound, if squashes are to
be sold soon after gathering, this will give quite an addi-
tion to their weight. Narrow, selfish men sometimes cut
their squashes this way.
The usual way is, to cut the stem from the vine. When
first cut, more or less sap will run out in a stream from
the hollow stem, though the squash may be fully ripe.

A CRITICAL PERIOD.

What shall be done with the squashes after they are cut
from thevines? The stems need a little exposure to the sun
to scar them, and the earth, which adheres to those grown
on low land, needs to be dried, that it may be rubbed off
before the squashes are stored. A good way to accomplish
this, is, to let the squash remain where it is cut, provided
the leaves do not. shade it, care being taken to give it a
turn, to bring the under side up to the sun.

If there is danger from frost, it is better to gather them

32 SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC.

together at convenient distances, that they may be more
readily protected. The interval between the cutting of
squashes and the storing of them is a critical period, as
oftentimes the keeping of the crop depends upon the
course then taken. There is a pernicious practice, quite
prevalent, of placing them in piles as high as can be made, .
without their rolling off Should frost threaten, this, of
course, is necessary in order that the mass may be the
more readily covered with vines to protect them; but
when so piled, as soon as danger from frost is over, they
should at once be taken down, so that all may be exposed as
much as possible to the sun and air. Farmers, in handling
squashes at this period, are apt to lose sight of one im-
portant fact, viz.: that when a squash is cut from the vine,
its vitality is impaired, and it has no longer such power to
resist the effects of atmospheric changes as it had previous
to the separation. I say its vitality is “impaired,” for
the fact that the seed continues to fill out for a month or
two after the squashes are gathered and stored, proves
that there is a degree of vitality, however feeble, yet
remaining in the squash after separation from the vine.
The fact that sap exudes and gradually thickens into
tears, or, at times, runs in a stream from the stems
when cut, no matter how ripe a soft stemmed squash
may appear to be, seems to prove that some vital function
of the sap vessels has been disturbed; while the greater
readiness with which such. squashes decay, carries us be-
yond theory to the fact of a diminished vitality. I have
known the lower layer of a lot of Marrow squashes in the
field, to be found rotten through and through on removal—
and. this when there had been no frost to injure them—the
result being due wholly to the dampness of the ground, dur-
ing a rainy interval, acting on a diminished vitality.

Thave known instances in which lots of Marrow squashes
that had never been touched by frost, and were perfectly
sound when stored, were suddenly covered with spots of

SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 33

black rot, soon after they were put intoa dry apartment.
These lots had been exposed in the field in piles during
a series of days of cold rain. The practical lesson to be
drawn from such facts is, that squashes should never be
left in the fields exposed to cold rains after cutting.

After the stems. have had the sun a couple of days to
dry and sear them, and even before, if cold, wet storms
threaten, the squashes should be piled with great care on
spring wagons, and taken from the field. The rule ‘should
be laid down as invariable, that no squash shall be drop-
ped in any stage of its progress, from the field to the
market; they should always be /aid down.

THE STORING OF THE CROP.

Squashes are usually at their lowest price in the fall of
the year, after the crop has been gathered, and before the
first severe frosts. The crop being bulky, and requiring
dry storage, farmers are intent on getting it to market be-
fore cold weather sets in. After the first severe freezing
weather, the crop is usually held at a higher figure, as the
surplus not intended for storage has been disposed of. In
the immediate vicinity of the large cities of the North, a
large proportion of the crop is stored in buildings known
as ‘* squash-houses,” to be marketed during the winter and
spring months. These buildings are oftentimes old dwelling-
houses, school-houses, or ware-houses, removed from their
original locations to the farm, and then put to this second-
ary use. I present a vertical section of my own_squash-
house, by which the general features of all of them can
be seen at a glance.

In dimensions, the building is about 24x35 feet, with a
height of 10 feet to the plates. It is divided into three
rows of bins, which are separated from each other and
the sides of the building by aisles, (A, A, A,) about 26
inches in width,a distance which admits of the easy handling

ox , :

o4 SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC.

of a bushel basket, or barrel. The bins, (B, B, B,) are
about 5 feet wide, 26 inches high, and 54 feet long. The
uprights, which support the series of bins, are small joists,
2x4 inches, with cross-ties of inch or inch and a quarter
board sunk into them, on which the several platforms are

laid. These uprights are the length of the bins apart,
viz.: 54 feet. At the edges of the bins, boards, 6 inches

CLL LL LLL,

LLL VALLI LLLLLELLLELLELLELE

Wn LLZLLILLLLELLLLLLLLLLLLLL aye, LLL LEE ULLAL LL,
LLL LLL LLL LLL LLL

LLLLLLLLLLLT TELAT LLL be, fa

LLL LLLLLLLLLTLE
[oc a ae ee
WIOT

SECTION OF SQUASH-HOUSE.

wide, are laid, to prevent the squashes from rolling out.
These boards should be planed on the inner, upper edge,
that they may not cut into the squashes that lean upon
them. The series of floors are made of strips of board,
from four to six inches wide, nailed about half an inch
apart, to allow a circulation of air. It is well to have
the lower floor a sufficient distance from the floor of the
squash-house, to permit a cat togo under. The cellar wall
should be carried close up to the floor, by filling in front
of the timbers with brick, or small stones and. mortar ;
this will prevent rats from working through. As the
building is designed to support much weight, it should be
strongly braced by timbers crossing from plate timber to
plate timber, to prevent spreading, while the cross-timbers,
in the cellar, require props of masonry, or joist. To eco-

‘SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 35

nomize in fuel, on the two coldest sides, my squash-house
is double plastered, and has double windows all around;
some have inner wooden shutters to each window, which
are kept up during cold weather, both day and night, only
as much light being admitted, at times, as may be neces-
sary, while attending to work. The roof has five sliding
windows, which assist in ventilation and give light to the
upper part of the building, that otherwise would be quite
dark when filled with squashes. The stove is at one of
the coldest corners, with a funnel passing across to a
chimney at the opposite corner.. A building of the above
proportions will hold about one ton of Hubbard squashes
to two bins, and by careful and close stowage in all avyail-
able room, it can be made to hold about sixty tons.

There is an advantage in having a low, wide building
rather than a high and narrow one, as a greater portion of
it is accessible from the floor, it is less exposed to cold
winds, and the heat is more evenly distributed. In a high
building, the heat inthe upper portion is apt to be excessive.

The squashes should be brought to the squash-house in a
dry condition, and be stored before dew falls. The stems
being yet green, the squashes should be so piled as to
bring these to the outside as much as possible. In placing
the squashes on the shelves, put the largest ones on the bot-
tom, giving them all a slant in one direction; they will
thus pack better, and the uniformity will be agreeable to
the eye. From the beginning of the storing, every win-
dow and door should be kept open during fair weather,
and a fire at the same time will help in the drying of the
stems. Should there come a damp time of one day or
more, by all means start the fire. The stems will be apt to
mould some, and the air of the building have a disagree-
able smell if they decay, though a little moulding may
always be expected. In about three weeks from the time
of storing, the stems will be dry. In handling the squashes,
I need hardly reiterate the caution of care. My practice

36 SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC.

is to form a string of boys, from the wagon to the
shelves, and the squashes are tossed from one to another,
with the caution to handle them like eggs. Boys well
trained will not drop more than one squash to the ton, and
I have known my boys to pass several tons without drop-
ping a single squash.

CARE DURING THE WINTER.

If the squash-house has been built with reference to
warmth, when once filled with squashes, it is surprising
with what little fire frost can be kept out. The mass of
squashes are, in themselves, a great store-house of heat,
and with inside shutters for the coldest weather, the
building is frost proof, with a small outlay of fuel.

In my own building, capable of storing sixty tons or
more, I have a salamander stove of capacity suflicient to
hold two hods of coal. In ordinary winter weather two
hods of fresh, and'a hod of sifted coal for night use, will last
about twenty-four hours. To keep the fire over night, I
leave the cover off about half an inch, and, if very windy,
also put up the door in front within half an inch of closed.
When I first attempted to keep squashes during the winter
in very cold weather, I frequently sat up till midnight, and
then retired with much anxiety, lest Jack Frost should
steal a march on me before morning ; but from experience
I find that asalamander can be as well regulated and as
readily controlled as a Magee stove, while the greater
length of funnel that can be used with them, by reason
of their superior draft, is a decided advantage.

No one can keep squashes to the best advantage, until
he has fully learned to so control his fire as to keep the
temperature near the freezing point, and yet not endanger
the squashes. From a want of this knowledge, almost all
squash-houses are kept at too high a temperature, and, as
2 consequence, the squashes lose in weight and quality,
and, if they are Hubbards, in appearance also, losing their

SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. arf

fine dark green color, and becoming of a reddish, rusty hue.
The best temperature is as low as forty degrees. After
squashes are stored, the. great desiderata are a low tem-
perature and a dry air. Should the weather be mild in the
course of the winter, never be tempted to open the win-
dows unless the air is dry,—a very rare thing in winter,
as, on most mild winter days, the air is loaded with moist-
ure. If it is desirable to air the squash-house, select a dry
day when not very cold, start up the fire and open the
windows at the roof. Squashes that were grown in a wet
season, will rot most in winter, and vice versa. Other
things equal, the keeping of squashes depends greatly on
the hygrometric state of the air—in other words, the
dryer the air the better they will keep. This is the reason
‘squashes keep better in a squash-house than in a cellar—
the house is no warmer than a cellar, but the air is dryer.
In dry, sandy cellars, by the aid of a fire, they can be kept
about as well as in a squash-house. Squashes in dry
cellars will usually keep very well until January, and some-
times to the first of February, particularly if the damp,
external air can be kept from them. Several years ago I
lost not far from twenty-five tons of squashes in about ten
days, as I now belieye, from having admitted the warm,
damp air of a January thaw into the cellar. After squashes
are stored, the less they can be handled the better; and
in cellars, it is oftentimes better to let a few rot than to
overhaul squashes late in the season with reference to
culling out the rotten ones, for, after such overhauling,
they usually decay faster than before. Cellar-kept
squashes have some advantages over these kept in a squash-
house; they keep their original rich green color, lose but
little or none in weight, and areof better quality. They
have the two disadvantages of not keeping as long, and
perishing very soon when sent late’'to market. This latter
fact is now generally known to dealers, and they hesitate
to purchase cellar-kept squashes late in winter. The win-

38 SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC.

ter of 1866-7 will be a memorable one among the squash
men of Massachusetts. Squashes being remarkably plenty
and cheap in the fall, every squash-house in the vicinity of
Boston was filled to overflowing. As the season advanced,
squashes began to show a remarkable tendency to rot, and
the result was that, in many cases, aslarge a proportion »
as four-fifths of the crop rotted before spring opened. The
summer previous had been wnusually wet and cold.

If apples, squashes, or any other fruits are gathered
ripe, the next step is to decay; but if they are not fully
' ripe, they have this intermediate step to take before de-
caying. Heat is an agent in promoting progress in each
of these steps ; hence, the less heat above a freezing temper-
ature In which eee can be kept, other conditions
being equal, the longer they will keep.

The very small sqmadhes which are usually given to stock
as soon as gathered, are among the very best for keeping,
provided they are stored in the warmest part of the build-
ing. ‘Late in spring they are salable at a high figure for
cooking purposes. Out of about five hundred pounds of
such squashes stored so near my salamander that the
outer tier cooked with the heat, I found but about ten
pounds of defective squash when I overhauled them
for the first time, near April. Squashes planted about the
first of June will usually keep better than those planted
earlier, on the same principle that the Roxbury Russet,
and Baldwin, keep better than the Porter, or Sweet Bough
apple, the former not being ripe when gathered from the
tree. The order in nature is that fruit should ripen before
it decays.

MARKETING THE CROP.

Squashes are sold by the piece, by the pound, and by
the barrel. Sales by the piece are unknown in the Eastern
States, as far as my knowledge extends. In the markets
of New England, after the summer squashes, of which

SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 39

there is but a limited demand, the Marrow and Turban are
brought to market, and, before frosty weather sets in,
they are sold mostly by the ton to large dealers, -Late in
the fall the Hubbards begin to come to market, for if
sold just after gathering, they are rather forced on the
market, the Marrow and Turban being usually recognized
as the squashes for fall use. During the winter, the sup-
ply from the squash-houses around Boston is mostly
brought to market in barrels, and sold by the barrel with-
out weighing. This is poor practice, as there is often a
number of pounds difference made by the thickness of
the squash, its size, the packing, and the size of the barrel.
Such a system of marketing is apt totempfto petty trick-
ery.

A greater, or less proportion of stored squashes will
decay under the most favorable circumstances. It is the
policy of the squash grower to lose as little as possible in
this way, and the custom of the markets of Boston usually
allows a little latitude inthis matter. Hence, particularly
as the season advances, one or more squashes that have
small rotten spots on them, are often packed in a barrel.
The Hubbard is a very deceiving squash; it may be en-
tirely rotten inside, and yet, to inexperienced eyes, appear
perfectly sound without. If the outside has white mould
spots, looking like some of the concentric mosses, the
squash is usually sound underneath the shell; but if these
mould spots are greenish or yellow, it is usually soft rotten
in a spot just beneath them. If the shell at either end,
(and the Hubbard usually begins to decay at the ends), ~
has a watery look outside, the squash is usually consider-
ably decayed underneath. If the Hubbard is, very light,
it has usually the dry rot inside; if remarkably heavy, it
is usually water-soaken and worthless within. Ifa squash,
on being cut, proves to be water-soaken, a close exami-
nation will usually show some small opening, where, during
some stage of its growth, the external air found entrance.

40 SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC.

FROST-BITTEN SQUASHES.

With the utmost care, squashes will at times get frost-
bitten. The Marrows and Turbans show this by turning
a darker orange color on the part frozen. If as much as —
one-half of the squash has been frozen, it is frozen through.
its thickness, and will very certainly soon decay, and the
best disposition to make of it is, to keep it at about freez-
ing point in an ice-house, until fed to stock. If less than
half has been frozen, before the sun shines on it turn the
frozen surface under, and keep out the light as much as
possible; this will take out the frost and save it, if any
remedy will, though a frozen squash is always unreliable
property. Some years since, I had a load of Marrow
squashes brought me, which had been stored in a barn
during a cold spell, and the outer tiers had been frost-
bitten. I separated the badly frost-bitten ones, putting
them, frozen side down, in a dark cellar on the damp
earth, and stored such -as showed no signs of injury on
the shelves. In a few days, no sign of frost could be seen
on those stored in the cellar, and they kept apparently as
well as though they had never been injured, while those
stored on the shelves soon rotted badly. The Hubbard
squash is not as much injured by frost as are the Marrow
and Turban; if it has a shell on it, the result will usually
be the production of a dry rot under the shell as far as
the frost extended, and no further. I have cut squashes
in February that had been frozen in November, over an
area of about five inches square, and found all aa injury
done limited to this space.

MARKET PRICES OF SQUASHES.

Within the past six years, Marrow squashes have varied
in price in the markets of New England from $10 to $40
per ton; these variations are caused, for the most part, by
the quantity brought to market, for, though equal areas

SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 41

may be planted, there may be all this difference, owing to
the greater prevalence of insects one season over another.
The average price of Marrow squashes for the past six
years has been about twenty-five dollars a ton.

The extremes of prices of the Turban and Hubbard

during the same period have been from $20 to $50; the
average having been nearly thirty-four dollars.
. Previous to the war, the Marrow ruled in the market at
from $15 to $20 per ton, and the Hubbard at from $20 to
$25. ‘These prices are the market rates just after the crop
is gathered. As the season advances, prices rise to 50,
60, 70, 80, 90 and 100 dollars per ton, and occasional lots
kept late into the spring, and sold by the barrel, have
brought as high as $140 per ton, The last four tons I
sold the past season brought me $400; yet so remarkably
poorly did the crop keep the past winter, that the profit
would have been equally as great, had I sold at $25 per
ton in the fall.

The markets of New York and of the large Southern
cities are, as yet, but poorly supplied with the Hubbard
squash during the winter season. I can think of no in-
vestment in agricultural products that would pay better
than the judicious handling of a couple of hundred tons
of Hubbard squashes in New York or Philadelphia dur-
ing the winter months.

Squash farming, on lands pushed well out into the ocean,
have some advantages over inland farming. Neither the
cabbage, or turnip fly, the pea bug, squash bug, or other
destructive insect is nearly as prevalent in such sections
as just back from the coast, while the temperature is
three or four degrees higher late in the fall, which usually
carries the crop safely through.the first severe frost, and
gives them the advantage of two or three weeks good
ripening weather, that usually precedes the severe frosts
that usher in winter. I have known years when the mag-
gots and bugs proved so destructive to the crop a few

‘“

42 SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC.

miles from the coast, as to bring squashes up to 40 and
50 dollars the ton, when at the sea side the crop was as
large as usual, having received but little or no injury.

SQUASHES FOR STOCK.

When a large quantity of squashes is stored, there
will always be more or less of waste. If in a large town,
many of the spotted squashes can be most profitably
handled by cutting out the decayed portion, and market-
ing the squash at areduced price. It has been my practice
for years to dispose of many of my defective squashes in
this way, and I would state, as a very fair index of the
comparative popularity of the Autumnal Marrow, Turban,
and Hubbard squashes, in a community where they have
all been grown for years, and are well known, that the
sales of my market-man would average, late in the fall
and in early winter, ten pounds of Hubbard and Turban
to one:pound of the Marrow, though he offered the Mar-
row at one-third the price of the Hubbard and Turban.
After many trials I have found it next to impossible to
dispose of the Marrow, while having a stock of Hubbard
and Turban, hence have adopted the plan of feeding the
former to my stock.

I have fed principally to horned cattle and pigs. The
squashes should first have the seed removed, as these tend
to dry up milch-cows, or, if fed to pigs, to cause them to
urinate very freely. The Marrow should be fed to horned
stock either in quite large pieces, or in pieces about three
inches square, to prevent choking—for, if made much _
smaller, the cattle are more liable to choke. The Hub-
bard should always be cut into pieces three inches square,
as the shell and curve of large pieces combined, are too
much for the cattle to manage.

If squashes are plenty, ahi may be fed very liberally,
a bushel and more a day for each head; the only danger

SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 43

to be guarded against being lest they relax the animals
too much. In value for milk purposes, they appear to
combine the good qualities of the Mangold Wurtzel, and
the Carrot, both increasing the flow of milk and improvy-
ing its quality. This is more particularly true of the
Hubbard and Turban varieties. For fattening purposes,
the Hubbard is excellent, as might be anticipated from
the large proportion of sugar which is developed in it at
the approach of winter. I have known a cow to be fatted
for the butcher on the Hubbard squash, used in connection
with good English hay.

In feeding to pigs, it can be fed raw, or be boiled up
with meal, or meal and scraps.. My usual practice has
been, to boil the squash in a Mott’s boiler, about a barrel
and a half at a time, adding a peck of beef or pork scraps,
broken into small pieces, and stirring in meal, sufficient to
thicken it. When cooked, it should be cooled as soon as
possible, as the squash is very apt to sour, and make the
mass thin and somewhat unpalatable to the animals. I
have known a sow, with young, to be kept wholly on raw
Hubbard squashes, and on her coming in to be in better
condition than was desirable.

Squashes might be raised for cattle among corn as pump-
kins are, (they are better food for animals than pump-
kins,) though I have doubts of the profitableness of this
double crop, where each makes its growth and matures

at about the same time.

No doubt an improvement on this is, to omit every
third row of corn, and give the vacant space to the squash
hills. Among seed onions, I grow squashes with little or
no apparent detriment to the crop, but in this case the |
crops are planted and mature with’ more than a month’s
difference between them at each end of the season. Be-
sides horned cattle and hogs, many horses, goats, poultry,
and rabbits will eat squashes with avidity.

As to their comparative value as food for stock, each

44 SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM. ETC.

grower must strike the balance for himself—the facts be-
ing, that the yield is from one-fourth to one-third as great
as carrots, and from one-fourth to one-fifth as great as
mangolds, while they require but a fraction of the care in
cultivation and gathering, that either of these crops do.

VARIETIES OF SQUASHES.

Owing to the great tendency in the varieties of the
Cucurbitaceous Family to cross with each other, hybids are
very common. Seed planted the first season after the cross-
ing has been made, will usually produce a greater crop than
either of the parent kinds, and individual squashes will be
superior in quality to either of the parents ; yet, as arule,
hybridization is not desirable, for, after the first season,
there is a deterioration in the quality, below the average
of the parent kinds, while the mixed varieties are not so
marketable as the pure kinds.

Hubbard Squash.—I have traced the history of this
squash back about sixty years, when the first. specimen

SS
—SSe
—
—SS SN
—

HUBBARD SQUASH.

was brought into Marblehead by a market-man named
Green, who lived in the vicinity of Boston. The person
who, when a girl, ate of the first specimen, is now living, an

SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 45

old lady of over four score years, and recalls the original
form, which is much like that of the present type—turned
up “like a Chinese shoe.” It is now above twenty years
since the variety was first brought to our notice by our
old washerwoman named Hubbard ; and to distinguish it
from a blue variety that we were then raising, we called
it “ Ma’am Hubbard’s Squash” ; and when the seed became
a commercial article, and it became necessary to give it a
fixed name, I called it the Hubbard squash. IfI had been
able at the time to forecast its present fame, and have fore-
seen that it would become the established winter variety,
throughout the squash growing region, I might have be-
stowed some more ambitions name; and again I might
not, for the old lady was faithful in her narrow sphere in
her day and generation, a good, humble soul, and it pleases
me to think that the name vot sau an one fia become, —
out any intent of hers, famous.

The form of the Hubbard is spherical at the middle,
gradually receding to a neck at the stem end, and toa
point usually curved at the calyx end, where it terminates
in a kind of button or anacorn. In color itis dark green,

excepting where it rests on the earth, where it is of an or-
ange color. It usually has streaks of dirty white begin-

ning at the calyx end, where the ribs meet, and extend-
ing half or two-thirds way up the squash. After the squash

ripens, the surface exposed to the sun turns to a dirty

brown color. The surface is often quite rough, and presents
quite a knotty appearance. When the Hubbard is ripe it
has a shell varying in thickness from that of a cent to that
of a Spanish dollar. —

For a year or two after we began to cultivate the Hub-
bard, we cultivated also a blue colored squash, called, at
the time, the Middleton Blue. In a few years this squash

_ became so thoroughly incorporated with the Hubbard, by

repeated crossings, that it appeared to share the character-
istics of a new varietv: hence we called it the blue Hub-

46 SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC.

bard, and forsome years I spoke of two varieties of the
Hubbard, a green and a blue kind. On testing the blue
variety by itself, I found it had the characteristic of all
hybrids, a tendency to sport. For this reason, of late
years I have endeavored to throw it entirely out of cul-
tivation in my seed stock.

After the Hubbard squash became somewhat noted, a
communication occasionally appeared in the Press claiming
that it was but an old variety revived. After giving all
these claims, including those made to me personally by
private correspondence, a fair examination, I am persuaded
that the Hubbard is not an old variety revived, and that
until it was sent out from Marblehead, with the exception
of such cases as could be traced to seed distributed occa-
sionally by me during the course of few years previous, it
it was unkown in the United States. In my endeavors to
trace its origin, the nearest I have come to it was in a
variety of squash procured from one of the West India
Islands, which had many characteristics In common with
the aes | though the shells fie squash were uni-
formly blue in color, vand its quality was somewhat inferior.

Several claimed that it was but the Sweet Potato squash
revived. I have raised a squash called by that name my-
self, and have seen two or more other lots that were raised
by friends, from seed procured in different sections of the
United States, and never saw one yet that resembled the
green Fluid.

The apparent connection between the Sweet Potato and
Hubbard squash, I am convinced, has been made through
the blue variety, which, when without a shell, has a shoe
resemblance to some of those kinds that go under the
name of “Sweet Potato” squash.

American Turban Squash.—I have given the pr tie
American Turban Squash, to distinguish it from the French
Turban, with which many seedsmen have confounded it.
The French Turban is the most beautiful in color, and the

SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETc. 4%

most worthless in quality of all the varieties of squash
that have come to my notice. Nearly flat in shape, grow-
ing to weigh ten to twenty pounds, it has a large promi-
nence at the calyx, and shaped
like a flattened acorn; this is
elegantly quartered, with a
button in the middle, and is:
most beautifully striped with
white and a bright grass green,
while a setting of bead work
surrounds it.- The body of
the squash is of the richest
_ orange color. In quality the
pe ce TURBAN SQUASHY Breneh (4 2urban®is) coarse,
watery, and insipid.

The American Turban is, without doubt, a combination
of the Hubbard, Autumnal Marrow, Acorn, and French
Turban, and the finest achievement that has as yet been ob- °
tained by hybridization. Like all hybrids it tends to sport,
and varies somewhat in quality, so that while most of the
squashes are of first quality, some will be found that are
inferior; yet, with such parents as the Hubbard, Acorn,
and the Autumnal Marrow (when we recall its early excel-
lence), we might expect to find a superior squash, and in
the average quality of the Turban we shall not be disap-
pointed, for in dryness, fineness of grain, sweetness, deli-
_ eacy of flavor, and richness of color, when fully ripened,
it cannot be surpassed. Like the Hubbard, it is edible before
it is fully ripe, either of these varieties, particularly the
Hubbard, being superior for table use when unripe to any of
the varieties of summer squashes. The form of the body of
the squash is nearly cylindrical, the two diameters being
usually in the proportion of three to five, while it is more
or less flat at both the stem and calyx ends, At the calyx
end: there is usually more or less prominent an acorn.
This may be very clearly defined, standing out very .

48 SQUASHES, HOW TO ‘GROW THEM, ETC.

prominently from the body of the squash, or it may be
very much flattened and sunk within the body, with the
acorn barely traceable. In degree of prominence the
acorn sports greatly, for on squashes growing on the same
vine, I have found in one specimen the acorn projecting
very prominently, and very fully developed, while on a-
second specimen it could only be traced in a rudimentary
form. It is not desirable that the acorn should be promi-
nent, as the seed extends into it at the calyx end of the
squash where the meat is very thin, and if the acorn is
very prominent, a slight bruise will injure it and cause
the squash to rot. For this reason I have selected seed
squashes for the last two or three years from those in
which the acorn was not very prominently displayed, en-
deavoring to produce a type in which it should be little
more than rudimentary.

Some writers on vegetables treat the American Turban
squash as but an improved form of the French Turban,
whereas it is a distinct variety. It is indebted to the
French Turban for nothing more than the principal fea-
tures of its form, getting its quality, keeping properties,
color and fineness of grain from its other parent. As the
American Turban is the result of hybridization, there is
more or less of variety in the shape and color of the crop,
and this will continue to be so unless by long and close
cultivation of a particular type, sufficient individuality
shall be acquired by this one type to stamp the entire crop.
Though it may be avery pleasing thing to the eye to see
every specimen alike, yet I consider it too great a risk to
cultivate. a hybrid squash for this end; for who knows
what characteristics each parent has contributed or how
much these are affected by each other in combination ?
Until these points are determined, there is danger, lest in
continued selections of a given type some good traits
should be eliminated. peta

We know that in some way the original excellence of

SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 49

the Autumnal Marrow squash has been lost, and no one
can, for a certainty, tell when or how this disappeared, and
though originally an admixture of other sorts was doubt-
less the first step towards this deterioration, yet we are
inclined to believe that a tendency to give prominency
and individuality to the original admixture, has gradually
borne under the good traits of the original Marrow.

Autumnal Marrow Squash.—This is also known as the
Boston Marrow, or Marrow, it having been a very promi-
nent squash in the markets of Boston for a series of years.
A mongrel early variety of it is also known as the “ Cam-
bridge Marrow.” ‘This squash was introduced to the

AUTUMNAL MARROW SQUASH,

troduced, it was a small sized squash, weighing five or six
pounds, fine grained and dry, with an excellent flavor.
Marketmen found that by crossing with the African and
South American varieties, they could increase the size of
the original Marrow; they did this without troubling
themselves about any risk of deteriorating the quality,
and I doubt not that much of the present inferior quality
of the Marrow squash is due to this vicious crossing. In
form the Marrow is much like the Hubbard, but with less
distinctive prominence in the neck and calyx. In color,
the Marrow is between a lemon yellow and a rich orange;
3

50 SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC.

the skin is covered with fine indentations, giving it a pock-
marked appearance. The body of the squash is divided
into sections by slight depressions in its longest di-
ameter. Under the :thin outer skin, or epidermis, is a
thicker skin of a dark orange color. The flesh is orange
colored. The seeds are somewhat larger and thicker than
in the Hubbard, and considerably larger but not so thick’
asin the Turban. In quality the Marrow of to-day varies
much; sometimes we find specimens that are all that can
be desired, particularly as. we get near to the original
type, (this has been kept more nearly correct in Marble-
head than elsewhere), but in its general character the
Autumnal Marrow is watery, not sweet, and oftentimes
deficient in flavor and fineness of texture. From its
great productiveness, it is a favorite squash with market-
men, and its rich orange color and handsome form render
it popular with those who have not become acquainted
with the more recently introduced and finer varieties.
There are two varieties grown extensively for Boston mar-
ket known as the Cambridge Marrow. One of these is
quite large in size, usually having the green color at the
calyx, indicating a mongrel variety; the other is of me-
dium size, and is characterized by a brilliant orange
color, that makes it very attractive to the eye. Both of
them mature a little earlier than the purer sort.

These three varieties of fleshy stemmed squashes, the
Hubbard, American Turban, and Autumnal Marrow, in-
clude most of those raised for market purposes. There is
a large number of other varieties, such as the Valparaiso,
African, Honolulu, Cocoa-nut, Sweet Potato, ete., some of
which have quite distinct characteristics, that are more
or less raised in the family garden, but several of them
are of inferior quality, some are hybrid, and though one
or two may be desirable for the garden, yet none of them,
as far as I have made acquaintance with them, have char-
acteristics which would invite their general cultivation.

SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. D1

In that excellent work by my friend, Fearing Burr,
“The Field and Garden Vegetables of America,” will be
found quite a list of summer, fall and winter varieties. I
am often in receipt of varieties of high local repute in dif-
ferent sections of the country, and it is possible that some
of them when tested may prove worthy of general culti-
vation.

Passing to the hard or woody stemmed varieties, we
find included among them the Winter Crookneck, the
Canada Crookneck, Yokohama, and Para.

The Crooknecks had their day and generation before the
introduction of the soft-stemmed varieties. They were then
the standard sorts, and the kitchens of thrifty farmers were
adorned with choice specimens hanging suspended around
the walls by strips of list, to be used during the winter,
in the course of the spring, and even well into the sum-
mer months. The Crooknecks are characterized by long,
usually curved necks, terminating ina bulb-like prominence
at the calyx end, which contains the seed. The vines are
covered with rough spines, and in the shortness of their
leaf-stalks, the smaller size and different color of the leaves,
are readily distinguished from the soft-stemmed sorts.
They vary much in color at the time of the gathering, and
there is a general tendency in all of them to change to a
yellow hue in the course of the winter. In quality, the
Large Winter Crookneck is coarse grained and watery,
while the Canada Crookneck is finer grained, and at times
quite dry and sweet. The Winter Crookneck weighs
from ten to twenty-five pounds and upwards, and the true
Canada Crookneck, which is rarely found pure, averages
from four to six pounds. In keeping properties, the
Crooknecks excel, frequently keeping in dry, warm apart-
ments the year round. and, in a few instances, two years.
When kept into the summer the seeds are at times found ©
to have sprouted within the squash.

The Crooknecks are subject to a kind of dry rot, par-

52 SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC.

ticularly in spring, which gives them a peculiar appear-
ance when cut, the tissue between the cells having a dull,
white color, though the fibres
of flesh still retain their bright
yellow color. Worthless for table
use. The true measure of the
length of time a squash keeps,
is how long it keeps its quality,
and not its mere structure.

The Yokohama is compara-
tively a new visitor from Japan,
it having been received in this
country in the year 1860, by Mr.
James Hogg, from his brother then residing at Yokohama
in Japan. The vine is a very free grower and a good
yielder, though from the comparatively small size of the
squash, the weight of the crop is not large when compared.
with the Hubbard, Turban, or Marrow. It is quite flat in
shape, with somewhat of a depression at each end. The
diameters are to each other about as one to three or
four. It is deeply ribbed, and the flesh, which is of a
lemon color, is remarkably thick, making it the heaviest
of all squashes in proportion to its size. The fleshis very
fine grained, smooth to the taste, and has a flavor resem-
bling the Crookneck. With those who like the taste of
the Crookneck, the Yokohama will likely be very popular.

- CROOKNECK SQUASH.

In external color, before ripening, it is of an intensely
dark green, covered with blisters, ike a toad’s back; as
it ripens, it begins to turn of a light brown color at both
the stem and blossom ends, and, after storing, it soon be-
comes entirely of a copper-like color, and is covered with
a slight bloom. It may be well to start this squash under
glass, on squares of turf, though, after an experience of
three seasons, I am pursuaded that it is becoming ac-
climated; indeed, my crop of last season ripened with the

SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 53

Hubbard and Turban. The cultivation of the Yokohama
is mostly confined, as yet, to private gardens.

Para, or Polk Squash.—This is a half-bush squash.
In the first stages of its growth, it has a bush habit, and
sets its first fruit like a bush squash, but later it pushes
out runners eight or ten feet in length, and bears fruit
along them. The squash was brought to this country
from Para, in South America. In shape it is oblong;

PARA, OR POLK SQUASH.
it is ribbed, of a tea-green color, excepting the portion
which rests on the ground, which is of a rich orange
color. The squashes weigh about three pounds each.
They require the whole season. to mature, and when
in good condition, the flesh is dry and of a rich flavor.
Like the Yokohama, I apprehend they will be very popular
with a class, rather than with the community at large.
Both the Yokohama and the Para can be kept well into
the winter. I have kept a Yokohama, crossed on the
Turban, fourteen months, and Hubbards, in two instances,
twelve months.

THE SUMMER SQUASHES.

The remarks made relative to the cultivation of the fall
and winter varieties, will apply to the cultivation of the
summer squashes, with the exception of the distance be-
tween the hills; this, as they are of a bushy habit, should
be about five feet. In quality, the summer squashes have
but little to recommend them; it is principally their fresh,
new taste that makes them acceptable for the table. South
of New York, the cultivation of squashes is confined al-

54 SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC.

most wholly to the bush varieties. Until recently, the
New York market, for fall and winter squashes has been
supplied largely by the growers around Boston.

I find that there is a strong belief among prominent
seedsmen in the Middle States aia the running varieties

of squashes will not succeed in their section—they will.

not form the thick, fleshy root, they say. We, im the
North, have always looked upon the squash as a half
tropical fruit, and anticipated finding greater and greater
‘success in its cultivation, the farther South it was planted.
It has all the characteristics of a semi-tropical plant, like
the tomato and melon, and should it be true that there is
such a climacteric limitation, it would be a marked excep-
tion toa general law. I presume a canvass of my cor-
respondence would settle the question, and regret that I
have not time to do this; yet I have but little doubt that,
under proper culture in the South, our running varieties
would do as well, or better, than they do North. It oc-
curs to me, at this moment, that Dr. Phillips, the enter-
prising editor of the Southern Farmer, stated to me, in
the course of correspondence, that he had raised them by
’ the acre in Mississippi with complete success.
The standard summer varieties are the Yellow aa
White Bush Scollop, often
called Pattypan or Cym-
bals, and the Summer
Crookneck. Of these the
= Summer Crookneck is the
= best. All of these form a
* shell as they ripen, and are
then unfit for the table.
They should not be cooked
after the shell can be felt by
the thumb-nail. The Green Striped Bergen is an early
variety, quite popular in the markets of New York. A
small squash, about twice the size of a large orange, some-

WHITE-BUSH SCOLLOPED SQUASH.

J

SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 55

what fluted, called Sweet Potato Squash, is highly prized
by some who are of high repute among squash fanciers.
Several of the varieties that are grown as gourds, for
ornamental purposes, are edible, a large proportion of
them, indeed, as I have found on testing the largest of my
Specimens before feeding to the pigs. As a general rule,
all that are not bitter to the taste are edible. __

The Vegetable Marrow is about the only variety of the
squash family cultivated by our English cousins. With
them, it is brought to the table in the same style as our
own varieties, or so cooked as to form part of a soup.

A friend, who resided some years in England, informed
‘me that one of the greatest novelties to an English eye
was 4n Autumnal Marrow Squash, which he kept as a
center piece on his marble table for a month or more.

The Custard Squash, one of the hard stemmed sorts, of
a yellowish cream color, oblong in shape, deeply ribbed,
weighing from twelve to twenty pounds, is quite a favorite.

ENEMIES OF THE VINE.

The insect enemies are the striped bug (Galeruca
vittata), or pumpkin bug (Coreus tristis), and the insect
that produces the squash maggot. The striped bug ap-
pears about the first of June, and several broods being
hatched in the course of the summer, they continue their .
depredations throughout the season. After the vines
have pushed their runners two or three feet, their vigor
is such that the after depredations of this little Insect is
of no practical importance—with the exception of injury
occasionally done to immature squashes, the upper sur-
face of which are sometimes found covered with them, and
hundreds of little cell like holes are eaten out. The injury
done by the striped bug is mostly confined to the period
in the growth of the vine between its first appearance
above the ground and the formation of the fifth leaf. They

56 SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC.

feed on both the upper and under surface of the leaf, and,
sucking its juices, soon reduce it to a dry, dead net-work.

The eating of the seed leaves of the plant, the two leaves
which first appear, is not always fatal, provided the leaf
that starts from between them is uninjured; if this, how-
ever, is eaten out, for all practical purposes the plant is de-
stroyed, and should be pulled up and thrown away, no
matter if the seed leaves are wholly uninjured. In those lo-
calities where the striped bug is not very prevalent, the
greatest harm of its ravages is sometimes prevented by
planting the seed about the tenth of May, should the
weather permit, which will enable the vines to get so far

along as usually to be beyond the reach of serious in-
jury. The preventives to the ravages of this little inSect, ~

which attacks the whole vine family, including cucumbers
and melons, are numerous. ‘They may nearly all be
brought under two classes : those which act mechanically,
by covering the leaves so as to make them inaccessible to
its punctures, and those which repel the insect by their
disagreeable odors or pungent flavor. The best protectors
of the first class are hand glasses, little frame-works
covered with millinet or some very coarse cotton cloth,
or, as this insect usually flies but a few inches above the
surface of the earth, any box, circular or square,
from which the bottom has been removed, having
sides about ten inches in height. The remedies of
the second class are those which are principally relied
on where squashes are cultivated on a large scale. These
should be applied early in the morning when the dew is
on, or directly after a rain, when the leaves are wet, that
they may adhere. In using them a small fine sieve will
be found very convenient. The best of these remedies I
name in the order of their popularity im great squash-
growing districts. Ground plaster, oyster-shell lime, air
slaked lime, ashes, soot, charcoal dust, and common dust.
Plaster and oyster-shell lime I consider of equal value, and

SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 5 va

the use of protectors In my own grounds is confined to
one or the other of these. Against air slaked lime, which
is very commonly used, there is this serious objection.
However thoroughly it may be air-slaked, it still re-
mains sufficiently caustic in its nature to seriously in-
jure the leaves, causing more harm by its burning prop-
erties than good, by preventing the ravages of the
bug. I have seen an acre of thrifty vines entirely de-
stroyed, through the caustic properties developed in the
lime by a gentle shower that fell just after its appli-
cation ; the leaves were so burned that they rubbed to dust
in the finger. Charcoal dust and soot not only protect
the vines, but serve also to draw the heat of the sun, often-
times very grateful to the young vines in the early season
of the year; while soot and ashes in all localities, and
plaster and lime in some localities, as they. are washed
from the leaves by the rain, serve as a stimulating manure
to the young plants. The advantages of plaster oad oyster-
shell lime are, that being very wore powdered, they can be
easily ied. over the vine, while their white color has the
advantage that it can be seen at a glance whether the leaves
are fully covered. Common dust sounds cheap as a pro-
tector, but the trouble of collecting and separating from
stones that might otherwise injure the leaves, is more
than an offset to the cost of other articles. These pro-
tectors should be applied as soon as the young plant breaks
ground, before it has fairly shaken off the shell of the seed,
as the insect is often at work then, and the application
should be renewed after every shower, the coject being to
keep every leaf entirely covered as far as practicable until
the fifth leaf is developed, when the plants are usually be-
yond reach of injury from this little enemy, provided the
hills have been supplied with rich, stimulating manure, suf-
ficient to give them a rapid growth. Among this class of
remedies, watering the plants with a decoction of tobacco,
a little kerosene oil, stirred in water while being applied,
3%

58 SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC.

(the proper proportion of this had better be tested by experi-
ment), applying water in which hen manure or guano has
been dissolved, sprinkling the leaves with a mixture of
wheaten flour and red pepper, or snuff, or sulphur, ete.,
etc., have been found efficacious by various persons. Dr.
Harris states that these insects fly by night as well as by —
day, and are attracted by the light of burning splinters of
pine knots, or of staves of tar barrels. As insects breathe
through pores in their bodies, such strong ammoniacal odors
as are given off from a liquid in which hen manure,
guano, or kerosene have been mixed, must tend to suffo-
cate and so repel them.

As new land is much less infested with bugs than old
land, in sections where these insects are very troublesome,
it will be better to break up sward.

In fighting these pests, where but few hills are cultiva-
ted, pieces of board or shingle laid around the young
’ plants, just above the surface of the ground, will collect
many on ‘their undersides over-night, and by examining
them early in the morning, many can be brushed off into hot
water. I don’t think much of the plan of killmg them
about the vines; the old saying that “ when one is killed
fifty will come to his funeral” appears to have a savor of
truth in it, for I have noted that where I have killed them
about ‘the vines, there seems to be no end to the business ;
with constant attention, still the bugs appear to be about
as plenty as at first. I think that the odor from the dead
ones attracts others. .

The large black bug I consider rather a pumpkin than
a squash bug, as in this section, and in others, as far as my
knowledge extends, where the cultivation of the pump-
kin has been given up for a number of years, it has al-
most entirely disappeared. Occasionally a leaf of a vine
will be seen pretty well covered with the rascals late in the
season, but so scarce are they that for several years past
I have not seen, on an average, more than one a season

—S
on X <* i i

SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 59

on my vines, and I cultivate several acres annually. When
the plants are young, they are likely to be found, if at all,
below the elementary leaves, sucking out the juices from

_ the vine itself. For these fellows there is nothing like fin-

ger work. Ihave known an instance in the interior where
they were so numerous on Pumpkin vines planted among
corn, that the-mere smell of them acted as an emetic to
three separate sets of hands that attempted to hoe the
corn patch.

The squash maggot is hatched from the egg of an insect
bearing a close resemblance to the lady-bug, but of a size
considerably larger. The eggs are usually deposited near
the root of the vine, within an inch or two of the ground;
and in seasons when this insect abounds, eggs are depos-
ited at the#junction of the leaf stalks with the vine along
some six or eight feet of. vine. As soon as the egg is
hatched, the maggot begins to eat his way through the
center of the vine, and his boring will be seen outside his
hole, like those of an apple-tree borer. The vines thus at-
tacked will wither under a mid-day sun, and the injured
ones are thus readily detected. Squashes on such vines
usually make but little growth, and the vines ultimately
die. If the presence of the borer is early detected, he can
sometimes be killed by thrusting a wire, or stout straw
into his hole; sometimes the vine is slit open and the in-
truder found and killed, but vines thus treated do not
always recover. Ifthe slit portion is covered with earth
and pegged down, sometimes but little mjury isdone. I
have taken thirteen borers froma single vine, some of the
largest being an eighth of an inch in diameter and an inch
in length.

It happens, at times, after the vines have made a vigorous
growth of several feet, they suddenly wilt and die with-

out any perceptible cause; no insects are to be found on

the leaves, there are no borers in the vines, and on exam-
ining the roots, everything to be seen by the naked eye

¢
60 SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC.

appears sound and healthy. I am at a loss to explain the
cause of this, unless it be that the vine has been poisoned
by something that it has taken into its circulation. Ihave
picked halfgrown plums from a tree that tasted as salt as

brine. The tree had received a heavy manuring with salt, .

and ultimately died, proving that there is such a thing in
the vegetable world as a tree poisoning itself by feeding
to excess on one variety of food ; and what is true ofa
tree may be true of a vine.

WOODCHUCKS AND MUSKRATS.

On low land, near water courses, Muskrats will some-
times make sad havoc with the growing fruit; while on
uplands, the Woodchuck is sometimes exceedimely destruc-
tive. If the portion troubled by muskrats is of small area,
the squashes can be protected by taking boxes of sufficient
size, cutting a narrow slit in their sides, and setting the
squashes in them, having the vines enter and go out of
the narrow slits. When muskrats begin on a squash, as
far as I have observed, they make a finish of it before in-
juring others.

Woodchucks are exceedingly destructive; they rarely
entirely devour a squash, but gnaw more or less all in the
vicinity of their burrows. — If these burrows are not con-
veniently near the squash patch, they will leave the old
and make new ones close by, or even in the midst of the
squash field. The wounds made by their broad teeth soon
heal, if the squashes have not reached their growth, and
the gnawing has not been through the squash, but the
crop is much injured for market purposes, and the squashes
are apt to rot at the gnawed places after they are stored.
I have had a ton injured in this way one season by a sin-

gle woodchuck.. A thousand-and-one ways are given to

catch and destroy the woodchucks; traps set a little way
down in their holes, and carefully hidden with earth, and

Se

v
SQUASHES, HOW FO GROW THEM, ETC. 61

apples containing arsenic, rolled into their burrows, are
among those that have proved successful. It is worth
while to offer five dollars for the skin of a woodchuck that
has commenced depredations in a squash field.

SAVING SEED.

In selecting squashes for stock seed, take, while the
squashes are in the field, or immediately after they are
gathered, neither the largest nor the smallest specimens.
The largest specimens are very tempting, particularly so
if they have the true form, appear to be well ripened, and,
if Hubbards, have a hard shell; but experience has proved
that these, as a class, are most likely to be of impure
blood. About a year ago two of my neighbors, who had
become famous for their large Hubbard squashes, came to
me to get a new stock of seed to start from; they stated
that within afew years a large proportion of their squashes
grew soft-shelled. Now, as they had made it a rule to se-
lect the largest specimens for seed, I have no doubt but
that the admixture that was evident, from the loss of the
hard shell characteristic of the true Hubbard, had crept in
that way. Every old squash grower is aware of the great
change that has come over the Autumnal Marrow squash.
When introduced, it was of small size, weighing about five
or six pounds, exceedingly dry, fine grained, and rich
flavored. Now its quality is uncertain, for the most part
greatly deteriorated below the original standard, but éz
grows to double the average size of the original squash. I
have not the slightest doubt but this deterioration is due
to the vicious practice of saving seed stock from the largest
specimens grown, these specimens having got their extra
size from larger and coarser varieties of the African or
South American type. If any one has doubts of this theory,
he can easily satisfy himself by examining the calyx end of
a crop of the largest sized variety of Marrow squashes,

62 SQUASHES, HOW TO-GROW THEM, ETC.

when he will find a proportion of them with the green
color stolen from the African or South American family.

Having decided on medium sized specimens for seed
stock, select those that are most strongly marked exter-
nally with the characteristics of the variety. If a Hub- —
bard, it should be very thick and hard shelled, of a dark
green color, and the rougher and more nubbed the better.
Let it have a good neck and calyx end, and be as heavy
in proportion to its size as possible. The stem of both
this and the Marrow squash should stand at quite an
angle with the squash, and have a depression where it
joins, as this indicates an early ripened specimen. The
flesh should be hard, fine grained and thick, and not
stringy on the inside. See to it that the squash swells
out to a fair degree in the middle, and has an average
proportion of seed. Having selected such specimens
as these, bring them to the final test of the dinner table,
and reject every one that does not there show all the char-
acteristics of dryness, flavor, and fineness, that belong to a
first-rate specimen.

I know that the injunction to select specimens that
swell out to a fair degree in the middle, is contrary to the
course pursued by most farmers; yet I advise it on the
ground that such squashes, having a good quantity of seed,
have superior vitality and nude one and are nearer na-
ture’s ideal of perfection in the animal and vegetable king-
dom, being better able to maintain the species.

I have seen the working of this law most conspicuously
in the Crookneck family of squashes. The cultivator’s
type of a fine market squash is one with as large a neck
and as small a seed end as possible. Following out this
idea, they select for seed, specimens with a small seed end, °
and the result, as far as I have observed, has been that the
squash, in the course of a few years, has deteriorated and
become worthless.

SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 63

When to Take Out the Seed.—We have advised
that the specimens for seed purposes be selected early
in the season, because later, particularly when they
have been exposed to a high degree of heat, the color
becomes so changed that the work of selection becomes
far more difficult. The next question to discuss is,
when shall we seed them?. Contrary to the generally
received opinion, the seed is not ripe when the squash is—in
other words, after the squash has completed its growth,
the vines dying naturally and the stem being dead and
hardened, still the seeds are not fully matured till some-
time after the squash is stored. The length of time will
vary with the season, it being longer in a wet season and
shorter in a dry one, the two extremes being from one to
three months. If seeds are taken out as soon as the squash
is gathered, though at the time they present a very plump
appearance, yet if they are examined after they are dry, a
large proportion will be found to be plump only on one
side, most of them to be,twisted, and not a few of them
entirely wanting in meat. When seeding large lots for
market, I have found the percentage of loss in the weight
of the seed quite an important matter, it being as high as
one-fifth. After the squash is gathered, the process of
ripening the seed goes on until the entrails are absorbed,
or eaten up by the seed, and the seed continue to increase
in plumpness and weight until their entrails are so far con-
sumed that only so much remains as is necessary to hold
together the seed structure. This final ripeness is indicated
by the seed compartments in the squash becoming dis-
tinct, and the attachments peeling off like the skin from
an orange. If, when the squash is opened, the seed are em-
bedded in a hard, dense mass of growth within, that
does not readily separate from the squash, they will be
twice as hard to clean, and will weigh full twenty per
cent. short of the weight of well ripened seed when cleaned.

The seed is cleaned from the intestines by being either

64 SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC.

squeezed out or washed out. If squeezed out, it will dry
sooner, and when rubbed and winnowed when dry will
have a more velvety look than when washed. Where a
large quantity is to be handled, it is cleaned more quickly

by washing than by rubbing, but it requires to be dried.

upon a pris vas clean sur nr. whereas rubbed seed
can be dried upon any surface, no matter how dirty, as
the refuse squash that remains adhering to it effectually
protects it from all injury. Washed seed should not be
spread over one deep, and squeezed seed not over one and
a half deep; each should be stirred after the second day.
If washed seed is stirred earlier, it is apt to be injured by
the tearing of the epidermis, which, for the first day or
* two, adheres strongly to the surface it is spread on. The
temperature for drying seed should not be over about one
hundred degress, and better less than higher. ever dry
seed in an oven, or very near a stove. The upper shelf
of a kitchen closet, or a plate on the mantle piece, not too
near the stove funnel, are each of them handy, though
housewives will sometimes say they are not suitable
places—if mice are apt to gnaw the seed in the closet,
or children to see them on the mantle, for a certainty I will
not dispute them. When the quantity to be cleaned is
small, the sooner it is attended to, after the entrails have
been removed from the squash, the brighter the seed will
look; but if the quantity is large, by letting the mass stand
one or two days, until fermentation begins and the entrails
_ are partly deeayed, the seed can be cleaned with far greater
expedition. Much care and some experience is requisite
to determine how far fermentation can be allowed to ad-
vance. As a, general rule, if, on thrusting the hand into
the middle of the mass, it feels milk warm, it should be at
once mixed well together, and the whole be washed out
within six hours. The great danger in permitting fer-
‘mentation to advance too far is losing the white, ivory-like
epidermis of the seed, thus destroying much of their beauty,

ee
SS Oe

~

SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 65

and lowering their value for market purposes. In washing
the seed, the water used may be made about milk warm, and
so soon as they have been squeezed out of the entrails,
skim them off the surface, dropping them into a sieve
about as coarse as a common coal sieve; when this is nearly
full, dash over them a couple of buckets of water, giving
them immediately a quick shaking, which will tend to
work out through the meshes fragments of the entrails that
were taken out with them. If the hand is thrust into a
mass of freshly washed seed, it will collect a good many
pieces of the entrails. After pouring the water on the
seed, incline the sieve at a sharp angle, in order to drain
off the water. After they are well drained, pour them
out on a large piece of soft cotton cloth, and rub and
roll them well to absorb as much of the moisture as possi- _
ble. Now spread as above directed. Two good hands,
with seed in the right state, will sometimes wash out not
far from one hundred pounds of seed in a day.

When are Squash Seed Sufficiently Dry !—It took mea
couple of years to learn a very simple rule by which this
can be infallibly determined; meanwhile I suffered a great
deal of anxiety, took a great deal of extra care, (I got out
twenty-six hundred pounds of squash seed one season,) and
yet after all had a feeling of uncertainty in the premises.
The ordinary way is to call squash seed dry when the en-
veloping skin has separated from the seed, and the seed
itself is much contracted and has a dry look. If the tem-
perature to which it has been exposed is quite low,
this is a pretty safe guide, but if it has been dried at a
somewhat high temperature—though the seeds may rustle
with quite a dry sound when handled, yet appearance
is a very deceitful guide—and if such seed are packed
in barrels, they will be very likely to sweat, and when
turned out, come out in caked masses, and if left together,
will soon become musty. Squash seed, to be really dry,

66 SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC.

must be so in the meat as well as in the shell, and this
can be in a moment determined by endeavoring to bend
them. If they are pliable, they are not yet sufficiently
dry; if they snap instead of bene they can be safely
stored for future use.

How long will Squash Seed keep their Vitality ?—Squash
seed, like all other seed, are best kept in a cool place,
where the air is dry and the temperature is as even as pos-
sible. Ihave found that of the same lot of seed, those which
were kept in an open bag did not retain their vitality as
long by a year as those which were kept in the same bag,
but put up in paper packages.

I have known squash seed to be fairly good at six years
old, and again to be worthless when but three years old,
and with no perceptible difference in the getting out and
method of keeping of the two lots. I would lay down
the rule to always test squash seed before planting, if it
be over two yearsold. This can be easily done by putting
a few in a cup, with water sufficient to swell them, covering
_them with some cotton wool, to prevent evaporation, and

placing the cup where the heat is gentle, near the stove |

or on the upper shelf of a closet.

If the oil that enters into the composition of the meat
of the squash seed has become rancid, the vegetative power
of the seed is destroyed. This is easily determined by
breaking the seed, when the meat will be of a dark color,
and have a rancid taste. Under. such circumstances, the
shell of the spoiled seed will be usually darker colored than
that of good seed. In a lot of seed saved at the same time,
a portion will be spoiled, while the remainder will readily
vegetute, and some that to the eye and taste appear to be
perfectly sound, will prove to be utterly worthless. The
cause of the difference in either case I do not know.

The proportion of seed and entrails of squashes to their
entire weight is less than is generally supposed. By tests,

.

—_—_
.

SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 67

applied towards the close of February, a few years ago, I
found that the weight of seed and entrails to the entire
squash, in the Turban, was as 65 to 1000; and, in the Hub-
bard, as 55 to 1000. At that date the entrails had less
weight than they would have shown earlier in the season.

INSTINCTS AND HABITS OF SQUASH VINES.

It seems hardly fitting to close this treatise without
alluding to something higher than the mere pecuniary or
culinary value of the squash family. In common with all
the vegetable world, it has instincts which are both

curious and wonderful. How singular itis that roots have

power to push through the soil directly to the spot where
the best food is found, descending, if necessary, below the
plane of growth, or ascending above it to the very surface
and developing a perfect mist of rootlets to catch up the
decaying particles found under a small heap of rubbish!
Still more wonderful are some of the instincts of the vine
itself. Hach tendril stretches out to catch hold of, and fasten
to something by which it can support the vine, and rarely,
if ever, will it make the mistake of catching hold of any
but the best supporter within reach. Yet more and higher
even than this is the instinct they develop. They not only
reach out for a support, and make selection of the object to
which to cling, but they will vary the direction of their
growth through quite a number of degrees in pursuit of
the particular object they have selected. To see this
wonderful phenomenon in its most striking aspect, select a
vine of some one of the mammoth varieties, under cir-
cumstances in which its most vigorous growth will be
developed. Let every stick, weed, or the like, be removed
from the vicinity of the main runner, and then thrust firmly
into the ground a slip of shingle, not over half an inch

wide, on one side of the vine, a fewinches beyond the out-
stretched tendril that is always found near the extremity,

68 SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM ETC.

noting with care at the same time the direction in
which the extremity of the vine points. Within twenty-
four hours it will be found that the vine has turned
from its former course, towards the side on which the
shingle is placed, while the tendril has turned towards the
shingle and perhaps found and grasped it! In proof that
this is no mere chance event, let the slip of shingle be now
removed, and placed in the same relation to the vine as
before, but on the opposite side. Within twenty-four
hours the vine will be found to have turned from its former
course and to be inclined towards the side on which the
shingle is placed, while the tendril on that side has shown
a corresponding instinct. Then study the tendril. It is.
most admirably adapted for its office; it is usually a com-
pound spiral, one-half of it winding to the right and the
other half of it to the left, thus combining the greatest
strength with the greatest possible elasticity. As another
illustration of its wonderful instincts, I have seen a squash
vine run about ten feet along the surface of the ground,
keeping its extremity within a few inches of the surface,
until it passed under the projecting limb of a pear tree,
which was about four feet above the surface of the earth;
here it stretched up almost vertically towards the tree,
until it had almost reached it, when, not having suf
ficient stamina to support it to a further effort, it fell
over towards the ground, forming an arch. It imme-
diately turned up with a second effort to reach the tree,
made a second failure and formed a second arch, and with
still another failure a third arch, by which time the ex-
tremity had passed out from under the tree, when a kept
on its horizontal growth the same as before it had reached
the tree! Such instincts are wonderful. How did the vine
know the tree was above it, or that the slip of shingle was
at either the right or left of it?

During the best growing weather the growth of the
vine is very rapid. I have found, by actual measurement,

SQUASHES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 69

that a vine of the mammoth variety grew above fourteen
inches in twenty-four hours. Sometimes, during a season
of drouth, a surprising tenacity of life is displayed. I well
remember one piece of vines growing on a shallow spot
above a ledge, where, during a season of severe drouth, I
could find nothing but earth as dry as dust, close down to
the ledge; yet these vines, for more than a week, would
_ wilt and apparently dry up each day, to renew themselves
with the dews over night. I have very rarely (and Ihave
often examined them for this,) found the tendrils of the
squash vine seizing on the Apple of Peru, (Stramonium,) a
large weed quite common near the sea shore, of disagree-
able odor and poisonous in its nature, when taken inter- ©
nally. Now, the Apple of Peru is very common in our
squash fields, and presents the most stable support of all the
weeds of the field. Then why this apparent antipathy ?
[have endeavored to make my little treatise as complete
a manual as possible. If, from the directions given, so de-
licious a vegetable as the squash shall be more generally
and more successfully cultivated, I shall be well pleased.

o*

oe Ee

SMALL FRUIT CULTURIST.

BY

ANDREW 8. FULLER.

‘« Beautifully’ Tllustrated.

We have heretofore had no work especially devoted to small

fruits, and certainly no treatises anywhere that give the information
contained in this. It is to the advantage of special works that the
author can say all that he has to say on any subject, and not be
restricted as to space, as he must be in those works that cover the
culture of all fruits—great and small.

This book covers the whole ground of Propagating Small Fruits,
their Culture, Varieties, Packing for Market, etc. While very full on
the other fruits, the Currants and Raspberries have been more care-
fully elaborated than ever before, and in this important part of his
book, the author has had the invaluable counsel of Charles Downing.
The chapter on gathering and packing the fruit is a valuable one,
and in it are figured all the baskets and boxes now in common use.
The book is very finely and thoroughly illustrated, and makes an
admirable companion to the Grape Culturist, by the same author.

——_+>+—_—_. S

CONTENTS:

CHar. IJ. BARBERRY. CHap. VII. GoOSEBERRY.
CuHap. IJ. STRAWBERRY. Cuap. VIII. CoRNELIAN CHERRY.
Cuap. II]. RASPBERRY. CHap. IX. CRANBERRY.

Cuap. [V. BLACKBERRY. CHAP. X. HUCKLEBERRY.
CHap. V. Dwarr CHERRY. CHap. XI. SHEPERDIA.

Cap. VI. CURRANT. .CHap. XII. PREPARATION FOR

GATHERING FRUIT.
Sent post-paid. Price $1.59.

CRANGE JUDD & CO., 41 PARK ROW.

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