FARMERS' INSTITUTES. G3 



$35 per acre and the possible profits may be |50 and even more per acre. 



The seed is usually furnished by the pickle company and a liberal 

 amount should always be used. Man}' new groAvers make the mistake 

 of contracting for too large an acreage. Better results will be obtained 

 with from two to five acres until the grower has had some experience in 

 handling the crop. 



The soil should be well drained, warm loam in as good a state of fertil- 

 ity as possible. If manure is abundant, a liberal quantity of it should be 

 spread over the field and plowed under early, after which the land should 

 be worked, frequently up to the time of planting. If the supply of manure 

 is limited, it can be used in the hill by placing it in a hole and covering it 

 with two inches of soil. Commercial fertilizers can also be used in this 

 way very successfully and will also give good results when sown broad- 

 cast just before the last dragging previous to planting. A good fertilizer 

 for the purpose would contain .5 per cent, of nitrogen, 8 per cent, of 

 phosphoric acid and 7 per cent, of potash, using from two to five hundred 

 pounds per acre, according to the condition of the soil. 



The planting should be done between June 1 and June 15, according 

 to the condition of the soil and the w'eather. As soon as the plants are 

 up, cultivation should be commenced and should be followed thoroughly 

 as long as possible without injuring tlie vines. Shallow working of the 

 soil is advisable in order to provide a dust mulch to conserve the moisture. 

 If weeds or grass start, they should be removed with a hoe if necessary. 

 Cucumbers may be planted either in hills, six or eight feet apart each way, 

 or in drills six or eight feet between the rows and the plants thinned to 

 twelve or eighteen inches. In hills, only four of the strongest plants 

 should be left. 



The picking should be very carefully done because if the vines are 

 injured, or any of the cucumbers are left until the ripening stage is 

 reached, the development of blossoms will be stopped. The vines should 

 be handled very carefully and the pickles should be pinched off' with the 

 thumb and finger. The profit depends upon the quantity of No. 1 pickles 

 secured and in warm weather if any of these are left upon the vines 24 

 hours too long, they become No. 2's. Ordinarily it will answer to pick 

 them every other day. but if they are developing rapidly daily picking 

 will give the best results. In some sections the growers gather the crop 

 for pickles during the early portion of the season and allow the later ones 

 to ripen for seed. 



By planting rather late and using an abundance of seed, little harm is 

 generally done to the crop by the striped beetle. In sections where the 

 industry has been followed for a number of years, there is some trouble 

 from the mildew or ''wilt," but by spraying the vines with Bbrdeaux 

 mixture just before they blossom and keeping it up once a week until the 

 crbp is nearly harvested, the injury can be almost entirely prevented. If 

 this is not done, serious harm may result. 



If the crop is properly grown and handled, it will, under favorable 

 conditions, yield a good revenue. No crop leaves the land in better condi- 

 tion than cucumbers for wheat or rye. It is equal to, if not better than 

 a summer fallow and the profit from this crop will lessen the cost of 

 growing the wheat, thus increasing the producing value of the land. 

 Clover is valuable as a crop to precede a crop of cucumbers in the rotation. 



The discussion which followed was led by Lees Ballinger, manager of 

 the Keokuk Canning Company, of Lansing, who spoke as follows : 



