which is cultivated in the alluvial soil left by the inundation of the Nile, serves them for meat, drink, and physic. The cucumber of Syria was cultivated in large open fields, in which a hut was erected for the abode of the watchman, who guarded the fruit against foxes and jackals. These fields, doubtless, were far away from the habitations of men; for Isaiah, speaking of the desolation of Judah, says, "The daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard-as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers." India beyond the Ganges, Bishop Heber saw a man in a small shed of bamboos and thatch, watching a field of cucumbers; and he was naturally interested in the circumstance, as being the same custom to which Isaiah alludes. He again observed a watcher of cucumbers, who lighted a fire during the night, to keep off the wild dogs and wolves from his fruit. On the west side of the Jordan, Buckhardt saw fields of cucumbers.

In

The cucumber has been known in England from the very earliest records of horticulture. Gough says, that it was common, like the melon, in the time of Edward III.; but being neglected and disused, became entirely forgotten till the reign of Henry VIII. It was not generally cultivated till about the middle of the seventeenth century. There are many varieties of cucumbers.

Some cucumbers are cultivated for their fantastic shapes, of which the Snake is remarkable for its great length and small diameter; but it is of no value, except for shew.

GOURDS-Cucurbita.

Of the gourd there are many varieties, some of them of beautiful form and colour, and others of an immense size. In England, however, they are cultivated more as matters of curiosity than for food.

One sort, the Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo), is occasionally eaten, but always in a baked state, and combined with other substances of higher flavour. In warm situations, and when highly manured, it grows luxuriantly in the open air; and villagers sometimes grow it, and, when ripe, convert it into a sort of pie, by cutting a hole in the side, extracting the seeds and filaments, stuffing the cavity with apples and spices, and baking the whole. The pumpkin seems to have been earlier introduced into general culture than either the cucumber or the melon: the pumpkin is, in fact, the melon of the old English writers, the true melon being then styled the musk-melon. The pumpkin or gourd enters more into the cookery of the southern nations on the Continent, than into those of Britain.

The Squash (Cucurbita melopepo) is little cultivated or eaten in this country, though it is often used in the southern parts of Europe, and in North America. It is said to be a native of the Levant, but probably it is found in many other places. It is better adapted for boiling or stewing, in a green state, than any other gourd. At Versailles, the people esteem it so much for this purpose, that they call it a "livre de beurre." The orange fruited gourd (Cucurbita aurantia) is a native of the East Indies. It is a very handsome variety, but cultivated only as a curiosity. The calabash, or bottle gourd (Cucurbita lagenaria), is similar to the other in quality, and gets its trivial name as well from its form, as from the use to which the hard and tough rind is applied. It is a native both of the East and the West Indies; and the humbler inhabitants employ these gourds as ready made bowls and other vessels. In some parts

*

*Trivial is a term used by botanists for a name descriptive of the species only-as distinguished from other names which point out a genus.

of the East, gourds are sufficiently large to support a man in the water, who floats upon a cross bar fastened to the top of two of vast dimensions.

Vegetable marrow (Cucurbita succada) is a very important gourd; and though it has been but lately introduced into this country, it is already cultivated to a considerable extent. It is straw coloured, of an oval or elongated shape, and when full grown attains the length of about nine inches. When very young, it eats well, fried in butter; when half grown, it may be cooked in a variety of ways, and is peculiarly soft and rich, having an oily and almost an animal flavour; when fully matured, it may be made into pies, for which purpose it is much superior to any of the other gourds. But it is in the intermediate or half grown state only, that it deserves its common appellation of vegetable marrow. The vegetable marrow gourd is a native of Persia; but if the soil on which it is placed be rich and warm enough, it thrives very well with us in the open air.

"I have been able," says Mr. Sabine, " to obtain but very imperfect accounts of the origin of this gourd. It was certainly new in this country within a few years; and I think the most probable account, of the many that I have heard, of its introduction, is, that the first seeds were brought here in one of our East India ships, and came probably from Persia, where, as I am told, it is known, and called Cicader. Its cultivation is easy." If any other kind of gourd grow in the neighbourhood, no reliance can be placed on the goodness of the seed of the vegetable marrow.

The Water-melon (Cucurbita Citrullus), though not much cultivated in this country, is one of the most valuable vegetables in warm and arid climates, answering there both for food and drink. The fruit,

is large, the flesh sweet and succulent, and the juice delightfully cool. Hasselquist, however, recommends caution in the use of this gourd, "for," says he, "it chilled my stomach like a bit of ice* " It is a native of the south of Europe, of Egypt and the Levant, and of South America. In the peninsula of Araya, where sometimes rain does not fall for fifteen months, water-melons weighing from fifty to seventy pounds are not uncommon t. It was introduced into England about the same time with the common melon.

The love-apple, or tomata, is a native of the tropical parts of South America; but as it now thrives well in the warmer countries of Europe, and will, if the plants are forwarded in a hot-bed in the early part of the season, produce fruit with as much certainty in this country, upon a warm border, it may be considered as naturalized in the temperate regions. It is an an nual: the leaves and flowers have some resem

*Travels in the Levant, p. 257, 8vo.
Humboldt, Voyages, liv. iii., chap. viii.

blance to those of the potatoe, only the latter are yellow. The fruit, when ripe, attains the size of a small apple. It is compressed at the crown and base, and furrowed along the sides; the whole is of uniform colour, and smooth and shining. There are some varieties both in the shape and colour of the fruit; bright red and orange are the prevailing colours. The love-apple is used for eating in every stage of its growth. When green, it is pickled or preserved; when ripe, it is employed for soups and sauces, and the juice is made into a kind of ketchup. In this country, however, where the culture requires a good deal of care, except in favourable situations, the love-apple is not in very general use; but in warmer countries it is in much more esteem, so that in Italy whole fields are covered with it, and it is a general article at table.

Humboldt describes a species of the Solanum, which he conceives indigenous to the isle of Cura, and which is at present cultivated in many parts of South America. The fruit is round and small, but very savoury.

The Egg-plant belongs to the same family, has the same habits, and requires nearly the same culture as the love-apple. It is found in the warmer parts of Africa, Asia, and America: it is an annual; rises to the height of about two feet; bears light violet flowers, which are followed by large fleshy berries, having the size and shape, and, in the white varieties, very much the colour and resemblance of eggs, whence the common name. The forms of the egg-plant are globe-shaped and oval; and some of both forms are white and others purple or mottled. The egg-plant, according to the 'Hortus Kewensis,' has been cultivated in England since the year 1596; but it has seldom been made use of as