188 CUCUMBER. 
Training. — The plants must now be trained. We 
make a simple trellis of No. 18 annealed wire. When 
there is sufficient room above the benches the plants 
are trained upon a perpendicular trellis, but on low 
benches they are trained along the roof. The wires 
are stretched lengthwise the house in parallel strands 
from a foot to a foot and a half apart, and cross-wires 
are run down from the rafters every 4 or 5 feet to pre- 
65. A large crop of English cucumbers. 
vent the strands from sagging. The vines are tied upon 
the wires with raffia or other soft cord. Two or three 
strong main branches are trained out, and only enough 
side shoots are allowed to grow to cover the trellis, the 
remaining ones being pinched out as soon as_ they 
appear. It is essential that the plants do not become 
‘“choked’’ or overcrowded with young growth, and 
some of the large leaves may be taken off in the dark 
days of midwinter if the foliage becomes very dense. 
