194 CUCUMBER. 
ing in the forcing houses at Syon.* The fruit is long, 
perfectly smooth, and the leaves extremely large (18 
inches across); they are grown in boxes placed over the 
back flue of the pine-pits, and the shoots trained under 
the glass over the pits. Mr. Forrest [gardener] has 
gathered fruit daily since October last, and will continue 
to do so, if he chooses, all the year round.’’ In his 
first edition of Plantes Potagéres, Vilmorin says that 
the Sion House was raised from the White cucumber, 
but he omits the statement in the second edition; and 
I am unable to find any confirmation of it. 
From this comparatively recent beginning the Eng- 
ligh cucumbers have diverged widely from their parents. 
In all the following characters they differ, as a rule, 
from common cucumbers. The fruits (and ovaries) are 
very long and slender, cylindrical (not ridged or fur- 
rowed), spineless or nearly so at maturity, remain bright 
green until full maturity, and seeds are produced spar- 
ingly; the flowers are very large; the vines are very 
vigorous and long, with long and thick tendrils; and 
the leaves are very broad in proportion to their length, 
and the full grown ones appear to have a tendency to 
make shallower sinuses or angles than do the field kinds. 
But the most remarkable peculiarity is the habit of pro- 
ducing seedless fruits, which is discussed farther on. 
In 1859, Naudint grouped all cultivated cucumbers 
under four divisions: Small Russian, Common Long, 
White, and Sikkim (later described by Sir J. D. Hooker 
as Cucumis sativus var. Sikkimensis). Recently Sturte- 
vant,{ omitting the Sikkim cucumber, has grouped them 
under six heads: Common cucumbers; ‘‘a second form, — 
very near to the above, but longer, less rounding, and 
more prickly ;’’ ‘‘smooth and medium-long cucumbers ;”’ 
English or forcing kinds; white; Russian. I am not 
* Sion appears to be the later and preferable spelling. 
7 Ann. Sci. Nat. Bot. 4th Ser. xi. 28. 
t Amer. Nat. 1887, 908. 
