'''Squash'' comes from the Narragansett Native American word askutasquash, which means ''eaten raw or uncooked.''

Squashes are one of the oldest known crops--10,000 years by some estimates of sites in Mexico. Since squashes are gourds, they most likely served as containers or utensils because of their hard shells. The seeds and flesh later became an important part of the pre-Columbian Indian diet in both South and North America. De Soto, Coronado, and Cartier all saw “melons” (probably squash) in the Americas. '

Squash was invented in Harrow school around 1830, when the pupils discovered that a punctured Rackets ball, which 'squashed' on impact with the wall, produced a game with a greater variety of shots and required much more effort on the part of the players, who could not simply wait for the ball to bounce back to them as with Rackets. The variant proved popular and in 1864 the first four Squash courts were constructed at the school and Squash was officially founded as a sport in its own right

0ur word 'squash' comes from the Massachuset Indian word askutasquash, meaning 'eaten raw or uncooked.' Although the Indians may have eaten some forms of squash without cooking, today we like our squashes cooked.

The late-growing, less symmetrical, odd-shaped, rough or warty kinds, small to medium in size, but with long-keeping qualities and hard rinds, are usually called winter squash. They belong, almost without exception, to the species Cucurbita maxima or C. moschata.

The small, quick-growing forms that are eaten before the rinds and seeds begin to harden are called summer squash and belong to the species C. pepo.

Pumpkins also belong to that species, but large, late, smooth, symmetrical forms of C. maxima and C. moschata are sometimes called 'pumpkins' regardless of species.

The word 'pumpkin' -improperly pronounced 'punkin' by most Americans, including myself- is derived from the old French term pompion, meaning eaten when 'cooked by the sun,' or ripe. In modern French, pumpkin is called potiron.

Squashes are one of the oldest known crops--10,000 years by some estimates of sites in Mexico. Since squashes are gourds, they most likely served as containers or utensils because of their hard shells. The seeds and flesh later became an important part of the pre-Columbian Indian diet in both South and North America. De Soto, Coronado, and Cartier all saw “melons” (probably squash) in the Americas.

Northeastern Native American tribes grew pumpkins, yellow crooknecks, patty pans, Boston marrows (perhaps the oldest squash in America still sold), and turbans. Southern tribes raised winter crooknecks, cushaws, and green and white striped sweet potato squashes. Native Americans roasted or boiled the squashes and pumpkins and preserved the flesh as conserves in syrup. They also ate the young shoots, leaves, flowers, and seeds.