CUCUMBER 291 



Cultivation. The soil for cucumbers should be a deep, 

 rich, somewhat retentive loam ; and yet this vegetable will do 

 very well with only moderately favorable conditions. For 

 ordinary use and for the home garden, cucumber seed 

 should be planted after the ground is warm, say from the 

 middle to the last of May, but it may be planted with good 

 results as late as the middle of June. 



It is quite customary to furrow out the land six feet 

 apart one way, mark crossways of the furrows with a six 

 foot marker, and put a shovelful of well-rotted manure or 



Fig. 129. Chicago pickling cucumber. 



compost in each intersection. Cover this manure with 

 soil and plant the cucumber seed. Of course, when the 

 land is in the best condition, it is not necessary to put 

 manure in the hills; in such cases, all that is necessary is to 

 mark out both ways and plant at the intersections. About 

 ten or a dozen seeds should be put in each hill and covered 

 about one inch deep, and the soil packed over the seeds. 



As soon as the plants are up, and after each rain, they 

 should have the soil loosened around them. They should 

 also be kept dusted, until well established, with Paris green, 



