Squash

a member of the gourd family closely related to the pumpkin and less so to the cucumber and watermelon. The blossoms are of two kinds,--those with pollen and those with young fruit. Squashes are of two types. The crooknecks or bush varieties are usually American, though the winter crookneck is probably from eastern Asia. The other type with long running vine is American. It is well represented by the Hubbard squash. If the younger squashes be removed, leaving but few on a vine, the fruit will be larger. The Hubbard is the best keeper. To insure keeping, the stem should be cut, not broken off, and the fruit should be left in the sun until the end of the stem is dry. The enemies of the squash--bugs and cutworms--are so determined and so difficult to kill except by hand work that three or four times as many seed should be placed in a hill as are desired. It is an easy matter to thin them out later. The name--squash--is of American Indian origin. Botanically, the squash, like the pumpkin, is a large, hollow berry. See Gourd; Pumpkin; Hallowe'En