Squash

“ And what can be more beautiful, as it calmly lies in its bower of green vines in the crisp and golden haze of autumn, than the cute little crook-neck squash, with yellow, warty skin, all cuddled up together in the cool morning, like the discarded wife of an old Mormon elder—his first attempt in the matrimonial line, so to speak, ere he had gained wisdom by experience. ”

“ To serve the corn and beans we poured the mess into a wooden bowl and ate with spoons made from the stems of squash leaves. Figure 10 is a sketch of such a spoon. The squash stem was split at one end and the split was held open by a little stick. Stems of leaves of our native squashes have tiny prickles on them, but these did not hurt the eater’s lips. Leaf stems of native squashes I think are firmer and stronger than those of white men’s squashes, such as we now raise. ”

“ How the squash came to come up in that unusual place is unknown, but there were a number of nice plants and these were lifted on the spade and carried—a181 spadeful at a time—and planted where they were wanted and the entire patch was very thrifty and bore abundantly.
Spraying, hand picking and attention to cultivation are essential in growing squash as with other garden crops. The dust-mulch is the one certain assurance against failure. ”

“ They are boiled by the Indians and eaten chiefly with bear’s flesh.
The SQUASH. They have also several species of the MELON or PUMPKIN, which by some are called Squashes, and which serve many nations partly as a substitute for bread. Of these there is the round, the crane-neck, the small flat, and the large oblong squash. The smaller sorts being boiled, are eaten during the summer as vegetables; and are all of a pleasing flavour. The crane-neck, which greatly excells all the others, are usually hung up for a winter’s store, and in this manner might be preserved for several months. ”

“ The rest was stored away in a cache pit, covered with loose corn.
Several seasons, as I recollect, the women of my father’s family were a month harvesting and drying their squashes.
Squash Blossoms
Besides our squashes, we also gathered squash blossoms, three to five basketfuls at a picking; and they were a recognized part of our squash harvest.
On every squash vine are blossoms of two kinds; one kind bears a squash, but the other never bears any fruit, for it grows, as we Indians say, at the wrong place among the leaves. We Indians knew this, and gathered only these barren blossoms ”

“ One can’t say that the squash isn’t large, orange, and true to life. But what a squash! It has an amount of personal distinction, an air of rarity and remoteness, that would make you think twice, nay, three times, before making such a precious product of the sacred earth into pies!”
When he was chilled through and his hands were numb, Gerald remembered to pick up his candle and go to bed. ”

“ Boil and mash the squash in the customary way, and let it cool. Beat the yolks of the two eggs, the whites of which were used for the horseradish sauce, and when the squash is nearly cold, whip these into it, with three tablespoonfuls of milk, one of butter, rolled in flour and melted in the milk; pepper and salt to taste. Pour into a buttered bake-dish, cover with fine crumbs, and bake to a light brown in a quick oven. Eat hot. ”

“ After they were gone, the vines scrambled out and put forth some beautiful, deep golden blossoms. When they fell off, that was the end of them. Not a squash,—not one,—not a single squash,—not even a pumpkin. They were all false blossoms.
APPLES.—The trees swelled into masses of pink and white fragrance. Nothing could exceed their fluttering loveliness or their luxuriant promise. A few days of fairy beauty, and showers of soft petals floated noiselessly down, covering the earth with delicate snow ”

“ In such a squash you have already got the bulk of a man. Many a man, perchance, when I have put such a question to him, opens his eyes for a moment, essays to think like a rusty firelock out of order, then calls for a plate of that same squash to eat, and goes to sleep, as it is called, and that is no great distance to go, surely. ”

“ Rich warm soil is required for all the squash family and the bush varieties are no exceptions. Give in addition to the usual manuring of the garden a good forkful of manure in each hill. Space the hills four feet apart each way and plant several seeds in each hill to provide for the appetite of the squash bugs which make no exception in favor of bush varieties; when danger of bugs is past the plants should be thinned to three or four plants in a hill. ”

“ An old woman would draw a robe up over her lap, as she sat Indian fashion, with ankles to the right, on the floor of the stage. She took a squash in her left hand, and with her bone knife in her right, she sliced the squash into slices about three eighths of an inch thick.
The squash was sliced from side to side, not from stem to blossom. An old woman slicing squash would take up a squash, cut out the stem pit and the blossom, then turn the squash sidewise and slice, beginning on the side nearest her. ”

“ Under favorable conditions of soil and season, the Custard Squash attains a large size; often measuring twenty inches and upwards in length, eight or ten inches in diameter, and weighing from eighteen to twenty-five pounds.
It is one of the hardiest and most productive of all varieties. Crops are recorded of fourteen tons from an acre. It is esteemed by some for pies; but, as a table squash, is inferior to most other sorts. Its great yield makes it worthy the attention of agriculturists, as it would doubtless prove a profitable variety to be cultivated for stock. ”

“ Citrouilles, the common summer squash, Cucurbita polymorpha, as may be seen by reference to Champlain's map of 1612, where its form is delineated over the inscription, la forme des sitroules. It is indigenous to America. Our word squash is derived from the Indian askutasquash or isquoutersquash. "In summer, when their corne is spent, Isquoutersquashes is their best bread, a fruit like the young Pumpion."—Wood's New England Prospect, 1634, Prince Society ed., p. ”

“ There are several varieties of both summer and winter squashes. All the summer varieties have a hard shell, when matured. They are usually eaten entire, outside, seeds and all, while young and tender, from one quarter to almost full grown. They are also used as a fall and winter squash, rejecting the shell and that portion of the inside which contains the seeds. ”

“ Moreover, squashes that were four days old we could slice for drying, knowing that the slices would be firm enough to retain their shape unbroken. If the squashes were plucked greener, the slices broke, or crumbled.
We could tell when a squash was four days old. Its diameter then was about three and a quarter inches; some a little more, some a little less; but we chiefly judged by the color of the fruit. A white squash should just have rid itself of green; a green colored squash should have its color a dark green. ”

“ Cook for about an hour. When tender drain off all water, chop with a knife, season and serve. For a garnish use hard-boiled eggs, sliced.
Squash
Large, yellow squashes should be cut in two, and the seeds removed. Place in pan and roast in a hot oven. When tender remove the brown skin that has been formed on top of the squash, add butter and salt and place the halves on a platter to serve. Or the squash can be scooped out of the shell, seasoned and served from a dish.
String Beans
Buy only those that are crisp and green or crisp and yellow. ”

“ Summer squashes boil whole, when very young. When older, quarter them, and take out the seeds. Put them into boiling salted water; when done, squeeze out the water by wringing in a cloth, and add butter and salt to your taste.
The neck part of the winter squash is the best; cut it into slices, peel it, boil it in salted water till tender, then drain off the water, and serve it without mashing, or, if preferred, wring it and season with butter and salt. What is left over is excellent fried for next day’s breakfast or dinner. It must be in slices, and not mashed. ”

“ Yet, late as it now was, there still arose a pleasant hum out of one or two of the squash-blossoms, in the depths of which these bees were plying their golden labor. There was one other object in the garden which nature might fairly claim as her inalienable property, in spite of whatever man could do to render it his own. ”

“ Perhaps it will pretend that it has as good a seat on a horse? Or will it play me a single-wicket match at cricket? I should not have minded so much if it had been a water-melon, "simlin," or some other refined variety of or even a the family. But that a squash, the 'poor relation' of the pumpkin, should—. But enough. Let us be generous, even to squashes.
Some one ought to write the psychology of the squash. There is a very large human family of the same name and character. If you ask what the bulky, tasteless thing is good for, people always say, "Oh, for a pie!" ”

“ At a certain season, when the squash is ripe, their villages seem covered with the seeds, which everybody spreads out to dry. When dried they are packed in leaves, and placed over the fireplaces in the smoke, to keep off an insect which also feeds upon them. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The flat white ones are the best summer squashes; the striped green are more watery; the cashaw, or yellow winter squash, is best of all, and grows well in the New England states, from whence, as it keeps well all winter, it is often brought in barrels. ”

“ Squashes Dislike Hardship.
What caused these squashes, of which I send you samples, to be so hard and woody? They were grown without irrigation.
Your squashes were grown without irrigation under conditions which were too dry for them and became inferior in quality. Possibly the variety itself is not of good quality or the specimen from which the seed was taken may have been inferior. A squash, in order to be tender and acceptable, needs rich feeding and plenty of drink. Otherwise, it is apt to resent ill treatment by very undesirable growth.
Harvesting Sunflowers. ”

“ I am forced, however, to carry on a continual warfare with the squash-bugs, who, were I to let them alone for a day, would perhaps quite destroy the prospects of the whole summer. It is impossible not to feel angry with these unconscionable insects, who scruple not to do such excessive mischief to me, with only the profit of a meal or two to themselves. For their own sakes they ought at least to wait till the squashes are better grown. ”

“ Ingredients.—1 pint of squash puree, 1 pint of bread or cracker crumbs, 1⁄4 of a pint of milk, 1 oz. of butter, pepper, salt.
Method.—Prepare the squash as directed in either of the following recipes, cook until tender, and pass through a wire sieve. To the purée thus obtained add the breadcrumbs, milk, butter warmed, and a seasoning of salt and pepper. Mix all well together, turn the preparation into a greased fireproof dish, and bake in a moderate oven for one hour. Serve hot. ”

“ The baby food of the squash vine, like that of the bean, is stored away inside the seed leaves, which on this account are so large that they quite fill the seed shell. They are not so thick as those of the bean, but thick enough to hold all the nourishment that is needed to keep the young plant alive and hearty until it is big enough to shift for itself.
Very soon after this seed is laid in warm, moist earth, its little plant begins to grow too large for the seed shell, and the white stem is pushed out through the hole you notice at one end of the seed. ”

“ Strain through a sieve. To a quart of the strained squash add one quart of new milk, with a spoonful or two of cream if possible; one heaping cup of sugar into which has been stirred a teaspoonful of salt, a heaping one of ginger, and half a one of cinnamon. Mix this with the squash, and add from two to four well-beaten eggs. Bake in deep plates lined with plain pie-crust. They are done when a knife-blade on being run into the middle comes out clean. About forty minutes will be enough. ”

“ Then he explained that if the pollen of the squash-blossoms should happen to fall on the melon-blossoms, the fruit would be neither good melon nor yet good squash, but a poor mixture of both. This piece of practical farming was not lost on Charlie; and when he undertook the planting of the garden spot which they found near the cabin, he took pains to separate the cucumber-beds as far as possible from the hills in which he planted his cantaloupe seeds. The boys were learning while they worked, even if they did grumble occasionally over their tasks. ”

“ Our next crop was squashes. We had the earliest squashes in all Flushing. Their broad leaves covered the ground and reached up like hands toward heaven; their insinuating runners spread in every direction; large yellow flowers, into which bumblebees retired for honey till they were out of sight, appeared innumerably, and at last the creamy, delicate fruit shone through the thick foliage. It was with no little exultation that I handed a fine large ripe one to Weeville, whose vines were not nearly so forward. ”