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Re: More on imminent Judgicide:

Your right about Pumpkins Are Of the Squash Family!!   Nice story too
Michael
Thank
 Belle
http://www.wko.com/~davis
----------
> From: Michael Cohill <mcohill@neo.lrun.com>
> To: nevus@ideasign.com
> Cc: pumpkins@athenet.net
> Subject: Re: More on imminent Judgicide:
> Date: Saturday, September 27, 1997 11:50 AM
> 
> Chris Wilbers wrote regarding the different classifications of pumpkins
> 
> > This brings up a question I wondered about as I was at Topsfield last
> > year and saw the various pumpkins on display:  What exactly is the
> > definition of a FIELD PUMPKIN.  This designation was present on a
number
> > of pumpkins on display there.  How is a field pumpkin different from an
> > Atlantic Giant...or put another way, why is an Atlantic Giant not a
> > field pumpkin?
> > 
> > Regards, > Chris Wilbers > Sioux Falls, SD
> 
> Dear Chris:
> 	The term "field pumpkin" is very old, dating back to the Europeans'
first
> settlements in the New World.  They discovered these roundish, orange
> squash growing in "Indian" fields.  Of course they stole these pumpkins
and
> killed the Indian farmers, which is an other story, but the idea of free
> food growing in "the wild" stuck, as did the name pumpkin.
> 	The word pumpkin has latin origins - a name bestowed upon these fruits
by
> those first Europeans. Today we now know the entire squash family
> (scientifically known as Curcurbita) originated in North America (which
> includes Mezo America.) 	Most of the fruits called pumpkins are
varieities
> of C. pepo.  They are called Connecticut Feild, or Cornfield, or Conn.
> Sweet Pie, or New England Field, New England Pie, Maryland Pie, etc.
Later
> these same pumpkins or slight variations were grown and sold by seed
> companies as Jack-O-Lanters, Little Gem, etc.  The variety known as
Howden,
> which today accounts for a majority of the commerically grown pumpkins
for
> Halloween, is discribed as an improved Connecticut Field Pumpkin.  These
> all have in common the same basic color, basic shape and a size from 15
lbs
> and smaller.  This is why the 38 pound "Field Pumpkin" awarded a 1st
prize,
> instead of Denise Beck's Atlantic Giant, is so truely amazing - field
> pumpkins don't usually - rarely if ever - get that big.
> 	The best part of this vegitable/history lesson  - if anyone is still
> reading :) - concerns what the Indians did with their really big squash,
> some roundish and organge and also called pumpkins by the first white
men. 
> These are the C. maxima squash, as in maximum size, like Atlantic Giants.
> While the Indians might have allowed their field pumpkins to be stolen,
> they fought very hard to protect their huge squash and the seed from
which
> they grew.  
> 	If an Indian female (the Native American farmer) grew a truely huge
> squash, it brought her and her family great honor throughout the tribe. 
> Imagine how many souls could make it through a cold hard winter if they
had
> just one of these huge squash.
> 	Local to my area is the story of a first settler who introduced a huge
> squash which today carries his name, Hubbard. Ohio might be the only
state
> in the Union without an Indian reservation and no state worked so hard at
> the job of genocide.  Eradication of the Indians' food supply played a
big
> role in that story.
> 	Today, those who compete to grow the largest pumpkins carry on a tradion
> which is older than recorded history.  And, in the giant pumpkins we grow
> today, exist genes which were first developed and cared for with the same
> determination, hard back breaking labor, jealously guarded seed and
farming
> techniques, cross pollination experimentation, etc., etc., etc., we all
> know so well.   When you go out to cut your Atlanic Giant from its vine,
> take a moment to think about those little ladies who worked and fought so
> hard to make theirs a gift to the future.
> 	So to answer your question, an Atlanic Giant pumpkin is scientificly
> classified as Curcubita maxima and most Field Pumpkins are Curcubita
pepo.
> However, orange, roundish squash are also found in the C. mixta and C.
> moschata families as well.  Go figure, the difference only makes sense to
> plant scientists and breeders any way.
> 
> Michael in Akron
> 
> mcohill@neo.lrun.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>
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