This species, which is the only one of the genus Benincasa, is so like the pumpkins that early botanists took it for one,[1321] in spite of the waxy efflorescence on the surface of the fruit. It is very generally cultivated in tropical countries. It was, perhaps, a mistake to abandon its cultivation in Europe after having tried it, for Naudin and the _Bon Jardinier_ both recommend it. It is the _cumbalam_ of Rheede, the _camolenga_ of Rumphius, who had seen it cultivated in Malabar and the Sunda Islands, and give illustrations of it. From several works, even recent ones,[1322] it might be supposed that it had never been found in a wild state, but if we notice the different names under which it has been described we shall find that this is not the case. Thus _Cucurbita hispida_, Thunberg, and _Lagenaria dasystemon_, Miquel, from authentic specimens seen by Cogniaux,[1323] are synonyms of the species, and these plants are wild in Japan.[1324] _Cucurbita littoralis_, Hasskarl,[1325] found among shrubs on the sea-shore in Java, and _Gymnopetalum septemlobum_, Miquel, also in Java, are the _Benincasa_ according to Cogniaux. As are also _Cucurbita vacua_, Mueller,[1326] and _Cucurbita pruriens_, Forster, of which he has seen authentic specimens found at Rockingham, in Australia, and in the Society Islands. Nadeaud[1327] does not mention the latter. Temporary naturalization may be suspected in the Pacific Isles and in Queensland, but the localities of Java and Japan seem quite certain. I am the more inclined to believe in the latter, that the cultivation of the Benincasa in China dates from the remotest antiquity.[1328] +Towel Gourd+—_Momordica cylindrica_, Linnæus; _Luffa cylindrica_, Rœmer. Naudin[1329] says, “_Luffa cylindrica_, which in some of our colonies has retained the Indian name _pétole_, is probably a native of Southern Asia, and perhaps also of Africa, Australia, and Polynesia. It is cultivated by the peoples of most hot countries, and it appears to be naturalized in many places where it doubtless did not exist originally.” Cogniaux[1330] is more positive. “An indigenous species,” he says, “in all the tropical regions of the old world; often cultivated and half wild in America between the tropics.” In consulting the works quoted in these two monographs, and herbaria, its character as a wild plant will be found sometimes conclusively certified. With regard to Asia,[1331] Rheede saw it in sandy places, in woods and other localities in Malabar; Roxburgh says it is wild in Hindustan; Kurz, in the forests of Burmah; Thwaites, in Ceylon. I have specimens from Ceylon and Khasia. There is no Sanskrit name known, and Dr. Bretschneider, in his work _On the Study and Value of Chinese Botanical Works_, and in his letters mentions no luffa either wild or cultivated in China. I suppose, therefore, that its cultivation is not ancient even in India.