Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XV.djvu/305

 SQUASH 293 determining who is to be treated as a spy is sometimes very great. Presumptively one who is within the enemy's lines in disguise or wear- ing the enemy's uniform is a spy; but the dress is only a circumstance indicative of an in- tent to deceive, and other circumstances might be equally conclusive. One belligerent may employ the subjects of the other as spies, but a peculiar infamy attaches to one who to a dis- creditable occupation adds the atrocious crime of treason. A spy is not restricted to obtain- ing information; he may inflict injury upon the enemy, so that he do not resort to assassi- nation, poisoning, or other means which, in the words of Vattel, " affect the common safety of human society." Inciting a spy to such atrocity would subject a commander and his forces to retaliation. An employment at once so dangerous and so discreditable cannot be forced upon any one; the commander must usually procure his spies by heavy rewards. SQUASH, the name of several species and va- rieties of cucurbita, of the order cucurlitacecB or gourd family, called by the North American Indians asJcutasquasJi. The characters of the family are given under GOURD, and those of the genus under PUMPKIN. In no genus of cultivated plants is there more difficulty in tracing varieties to the species from which they are derived, or in ascertaining the coun- tries in which they originated, than in cucur- bita, and in this country the terms pumpkin and squash are used very indefinitely, large forms of what are evidently squashes being called pumpkins. Naudin, who experimented with over 1,200 living plants, could make but four distinct species, to all of which he ascribes eastern origin ; only three of these are cul- ivated in this country. On the other hand, Eoger Williams and other writers on early New England history found some cucurMta in general cultivation among the Indians, and we derive from them the common name by rhich the plants are known in this country. )ne species, C. ovifera, is cultivated for orna- lent as orange gourd, mock orange, egg gourd, >r fancy gourd, and rarely in vegetable gar- dens as egg squash, to be eaten while young ; lis, which in cultivation presents a great va- riety of shapes and markings, grows wild in Texas, and Gray thinks it is probably the origi- nal of all the crook-necked squashes, vegetable marrows, and even the common pumpkins; ft will serve the present purpose to enumerate the leading varieties in cultivation, without attempting the difficult task of tracing them to their original species. The ordinary early summer squashes are also called bush squashes ; the vine has lost its tendency to run a long distance, the tendrils have disappeared, the petioles or leaf stalks are much longer than in any others, and the fruits all have angled stems ; the most common of these are the scal- loped bush sorts, in which the fruit is some- what hemispherical with an expanded edge, which is deeply and regularly scalloped; of these there are varieties with the rind pure white, yellow, green, green striped with white, and " yellow marked with green ; from their peculiar shape they are often called "patty- pans," and in Virginia they are known as cym- lings. Another very distinct bush variety is 1. Crook-neck Squash. 2. Scalloped Squash. the summer crook-neck, in which the fruit is about 8 in. long, largest near the base and tapering toward the stem, where it is usually curved ; the skin is bright yellow, and nearly covered with warty protuberances ; this is the best of the early varieties, all of which should be used while the rind is tender. The late varieties all have strong running vines, ex- tending 12 ft. or more, and taking root at the joints; they differ in their times of ripening and in their keeping qualities, but all of them, even if taken when quite young, are better for the table than any of the bush sorts. The Can- ada crook-neck is small, with a curved neck, and cream yellow or darker when ripe; the skin never gets very hard. The winter crook- neck is many times larger, and though not so fine in quality is more generally cultivated, and both with care will keep the year round ; both have angled stems, which indicate a relation- ship with the bush sorts, as have the various Winter Squash the Huhbard. vegetable marrows, which are almost the only squashes of English gardens. The fruit of the marrows is elliptical, 9 in. or more long, and of a pale straw color ; there are several sub- varieties. The autumnal or Boston marrow has an egg-shaped fruit, pointed at each end^