332 VEGETABLE FORCING 



flower bud altogether from the ovary or young cucumber, but this 

 latter method is uncertain." 



Whatever may be the practice of English growers with 

 their favorite varieties, American greenhouse men have 

 found it necessary to give close attention to the matter of 

 pollination, whenever American varieties or crosses are 

 employed. Unless the female flowers are fertilized they 

 wither and fall off. 



The pistillate or pollen-producing flowers are open only 

 one day; they close in the evening and fall off a day or 

 two later. The female flowers may remain open two or 

 three days. They close as soon as fertilized and then the 

 petals soon wither and drop. 



The pollen grains may be transferred to the female 

 flowers by the use of a camel's hair brush, or by taking 

 the male flower and bringing the anthers into contact 

 with the pistils, as previously explained. Both methods, 

 however, are tedious and impracticable and require too 

 much time for employment in commercial establishments. 



American greenhouse growers of cucumbers rely al- 

 most wholly upon bees to carry the pollen from flower to 

 flower. Formerly, apiaries were kept near the green- 

 houses, and growers depended on enough bees entering 

 the houses through the ventilators to pollenize the 

 flowers. But the plan was not thorough, and now hives 

 of bees are placed in the houses or just outside, with 

 panes of glass removed from the house at the hives. A 

 great many bees fly from flower to flower, thus convey- 

 ing the pollen, a plan which insures a heavy setting of 

 fruit. A record was kept in one of the Boston sections of 

 the sales of cucumbers fertilized by 61 hives of bees, and 

 the average return for a colony was $815. Our American 

 growers attach great importance to the part which the 

 bee takes in producing large crops, and the matter 

 demands the most careful consideration. 



The number of bees or hives required for a given area 



