PUMPKINS AND
SQUASHES.
Mammoth Golden Cashaw Pumpkin, One of the Best for Market or Stock Feeding.
There is no clear dividing line between pumpkins and squashes, as they belong to the same botanic family—the Cucurbita. Some members of the group are clearly pumpkins, and others just as clearly squashes, but when an attempt is made to draw a sharp line between them, we get into difficulty. In general terms the pumpkin has a soft rind or shell and the squash a hard rind. But even this thumbnail test is not infallible.
These vegetables belong on the farm, on account of the large ground space occupied by the vines. Pumpkins may be economically grown in corn fields, the seeds being planted along with the corn—one pumpkin seed to every fourth hill. No special care is needed besides the cultivation given the corn.
Farmers should give far more attention to growing squashes, as they are much superior to pumpkins in food quality, both for the table and for stock.
There are numbers of excellent squashes now catalogued by the seedsmen which many farmers have never tried, but which are worthy of cultivation for market purposes. When a farmer by experiment has found a high-quality squash adapted to his soil, he has put himself in possession of a product of permanent market value.
Pumpkin.—We especially recommend Mammoth Golden Cashaw and Winter Luxury. For descriptions, see "Johnson & Stokes' Garden and Farm Manual."