64 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



While most farmers are familiar with raising cucumbers in a small 

 way, comparatively few have any knowledge of the industry when con- 

 ducted upon an extensive scale. 



One of the first and a vital requirement for the successful raising of 

 cucumbers lies in the selection of a suitable soil and location. The best 

 land for this crop is what is commonly known as a sandy loam with a 

 clay subsoil. Clay loam if not too heavy also answers well. The main 

 thing to have in mind is that the soil must be of such a nature that it 

 will readily respond to cultivation, and that it will work up nicely and be 

 free from clods. The ground may be high or low but if bottom land is 

 chosen, it should not be of a mucky nature, as that will cool off too 

 quickly at night, while cucumbers need to grow twenty-four hours every 

 day. It is also of the utmost importance that the land should be well 

 fertilized, and while commercial fertilizers are good, there is nothing that 

 will answer as well as decomposed barnyard manure, which contains a 

 large amount of humus as well as nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash, 

 which are the principal elements needed by cucumbers. 



The most successful cucumber raisers of the United States long since 

 recognized that by api51ying from forty to sixty tons of manure each year, 

 they could greatly increase the yield of cucumbers. In some instances 

 they have been able to secure from three to five hundred bushels of 

 pickles per acre. Its use is found very profitable even at one dollar a ton. 

 Anyone contemplating the raising of cucumbers should not overlook the 

 importance of having the land well enriched and if but a limited supply 

 of manure is available, it will be well to place a shovelful in each hill and 

 after mixing it thoroughly Avith the soil, place a couple of inches of loose 

 dirt on the top. 



The question has often been asked, ''How do you kill the weeds?" The 

 answer is very simple. Plow the cucumber land at the same time 3'ou 

 plow for earlier crops and drag it often up to the time of planting. In 

 this waj' all weeds which start will be destroyed and the land will be 

 clean for the cucumber crop. Plant the seed from the first to the fifteenth 

 of June, covering it in a wet season about one inch and somewhat deeper 

 in a dry season especially if the soil is sandy. This late planting is advis- 

 able for two reasons, first that the crop may escape late frosts and to 

 lessen the injury from the cucumber beetles. It will also be well to use a 

 considerable excess of seed in order to provide food for the bugs as well 

 as for the crop. When the vines reach the fourth leaf, the surplus plants 

 may be removed, leaving about four to each hill, or about twelve inches 

 between the plants when in drills. P>oth of these methods of planting give 

 good results. The rows are generally six to eight feet apart. In either 

 method of planting, a horse and cultivator should be used to keep the land 

 in good condition and one or two hoeings will be needed to keep the clean 

 after the vines begin to run, up to the time of harvesting the crop. 



After the vines have begun to spread considerably, the usual method 

 adopted by cucumber growers is to allow them to take their natural 

 course with the result that ultimately the vines fill up the intervening 

 spaces and cover the ground. Hence many of the best cucumber raisers' 

 have adopted the system of training their vines, that is turning the ends 

 of the vines back into the rows, thus keeping a clear space for the pickers 

 to walk. This lessens the injury of the tramping of the vines and, as it is 

 easier for the picker to find the cucumbers, few large ones will be left upon 

 the vines. The cucumbers are pinched from the vines with the fingers and 



