The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-09-01
THE IELLOW CROOk NECk.


~" ~" ~ NV
Il sing" said Mr.. Kilkinby. tho yellow
crook necked squash. Not the crai,
colored. fat. round. scallop edged squash.
watery. insipid. tasteless. but the crook
necked squash Of the golden hue. Of which
| have golden memories.
In my youth We had a garden in which
We raised vegetables. all sorts Of vegetables.
including. for instance. cucumbers such
an No man however rich can nave set upor
his table unless he lives in the country and
has "A garden Of his own; cucumbers Of
Just the right ripeness that we picked In
the early morning when the dew wss still
ON them. and that cracked when we Gu;
them. cool and crisp and brittle.
And we had corn such as ! have never
seen the like Of since. and lima beans,
and various other things that arr at their
best only freshly gathered. like the yellow.
crook necked squash.
what "a delight tho yellow crookneck,
! can remember well the summer DAYS,
when the trees were waving gently in the
breezes and the sun was shining brightly
through their branches. making shifting
patterns Of light on the green grass below
when the bees were dronirg and the hum
ming birds were hummipS and tho flowers
were blooming and all he world was gay
when we had dinner az noon. and whom !
used TO get ravenously hungry long before
that hour. and when all the smells and sounds
hat came from the kitchen were a. thu per-
fumed notes OF an orchestra playing n
And among all those preliminary smells
and sounds none was more charming than
the smothered pounding that indicated
the srnas ing OF the squash. Those little
yellow c~rookneGks that we grew in
own garden. to be picked when they we're
precisely and exactly ripe. were now. hav-
ing been duly cooked, smashed up In n
wooden %cbopping bowl with . plate, and
this was tho sound that We heard. the
;STG%. Of the the s ,sSs. OF s the Bi. x.,, Snsa .o y .sns
TO bring up softly On the wood.
And 40 they were smashed. amooth and
fine, these freshly picked. delightful vel
low ~crooknecks, to DO duly seasoned with
butter and salt IN the course OF the smash,
ing; and then they, were served hot and
delicious. and II there 10 any vegetable
grown that gives a greater JOY In the >sA'n9
I don't know 4.
"The crisp fresh cucumbera ~ which
J spoke arr a delight; but . ds'iEh, Of quite
more gent and awakening: and aspar-
sgus has a Joy that 10 all its own; and there
are other very pleasing vegetables, TO he
sure, each delightful In its way; but for a
certain suavity and soothingness and
profoundness OF satisfaction the yellow
o~rookneck stands alone.
Il sing the yellow crook necked squash
whose joys are 30 fraught with memories.
still 40 deep and abiding. and still 20 easily
aroused, ! don't think tho crookneck
IL to-day what IL used To he. The crook
necks of my youth were all rather small
squashes and all tender, and all of bright
end beautiful yellow; the crooknecks 81
the present time seem bigger and clumsici
and coarser and crustier, and ~ u darker,
m'!ddier. more oran gelike color: but still
they do preserve something Of their old
time flavor; and certainly life will he well
worth living AZ long a., even In tn later
form, We can have with US the yellow.
~croukneck squash