CHAPTEE XXX. 

 CUCUMBERS. 



Cucumbers are grown by the Southern market gardeners in great quan- 

 tities for early shipment to the Northern markets. They are ako very large- 

 ly grown in the North by those who are not regular market gardeners, for the 

 supply of the pickle factories late in the summer. Then there are large num- 

 bers grown near all the large cities in hot houses in winter; of this culture 

 we will have more to say in the proper place. It was formerly thought essen- 

 tial for all the cucurbitaceous plants, such as cucumbers, melons and squashes, 

 that the hills should be prepared with a liberal deposit of stable manure or 

 compost in the hills, and there is no doubt that where facilities exist for this 

 compost it is still an excellent plan. But, in growing the early cucumber 

 crop on a large scale and at a distance from a supply of stable manure, it has 

 been found necessary to use artificial fertilizers. As the value of the crop de- 

 pends on its earliness the artificial manures are better for forcing this early 

 growth. 



A mellow, sandy loam, neither wet nor too dry, is the best for the early 

 crop. The soil should be plowed very early in the season, shallowly, to de- 

 stroy the hardy weeds that may be appearing, or the crop may be made to 

 follow the crop of early cabbages which have been heavily fertilized, by plant- 

 ing hills in alternate rows. But a better crop can be grown by preparing the 

 land especially for the cucumbers. In preparing the land for planting it is 

 plowed in beds six feet wide, and a subsoil plow is run deeply in each dead 

 furrow. The fertilizer is then applied in the dead furrows heavily, and a 

 furrow is turned from each side so as to make a ridge (or list) over the ma- 

 nure. We then flatten this list with a hand roller, and sow the seeds while 

 the land is fresh. The first cultivation is to plow the land to the rows so 

 that the rows of plants will stand on top the lands and the new dead furrows 

 are in the middles. This is done after a good stand has been secured, and the 

 earth is drawn to the plants, so as to have the roots deep in the moist soil. 

 The plants should be thinned to about one foot apart in the row. Subsequent 

 cultivation is with the small tooth cultivator till the vines are running so as 



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