Bottle Gourd. Cucurbita lagenaria.

The Calabash, or Common Gourd, is a climbing or creeping annual plant, frequently more than twenty feet in height or length. The leaves are large, round, heart-shaped, very soft and velvety to the touch, and emit a peculiar, musky odor, when bruised or roughly handled. The flowers, which are produced on very long stems, are white, and nearly three inches in diameter. They expand towards evening, and remain in perfection only a few hours; as they are generally found drooping and withering on the ensuing morning. The young fruit is hairy, and quite soft and tender; but, when ripe, the surface becomes hard, smooth, and glossy. The seeds are five-eighths of an inch in length, somewhat quadrangular, of a fawn-yellow color, and retain their vitality five years. About three hundred are contained in an ounce.

Cultivation.--The seeds are planted at the same time and in the same manner as those of the Squash. The Gourd succeeds best when provided with a trellis, or other support, to keep the plant from the ground; as the fruit is best developed in a pendent or hanging position.

Use.--The fruit, while still young and tender, is sometimes pickled in vinegar, like cucumbers. At maturity, the flesh is worthless: but the shells, which are very hard, light, and comparatively strong, are used as substitutes for baskets; and are also formed into water-dippers, and various other articles both useful and ornamental. The varieties are as follow:--

BOTTLE

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