288 VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES. 



which is cultivated in the alluvial soil left by the 

 inundation of the Nile, serves them for meat, drink, 

 and physic. The cucumber of Syria was cultivated 

 in large open fields, in which a hut was erected for 

 the abode of the watchman, who guarded the fruit 

 against foxes and jackals. These fields, doubtless, 

 were far away from the habitations of men; for 

 Isaiah, speaking of the desolation of Judah, says, 

 " The daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vine- 

 yard as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers." In 

 India beyond the Ganges, Bishop Heber saw a man 

 in a small shed of bamboos and thatch, watching a 

 field of cucumbers; and he was naturally interested 

 in the circumstance, as being the same custom to 

 which Isaiah alludes. He again observed a watcher 

 of cucumbers, who lighted a fire during the night, to 

 keep off the wild dogs and wolves from his fruit. On 

 the west side of the Jordan, Burckhardt saw fields of 

 cucumbers. 



The cucumber has been known in England from 

 the very earliest records of horticulture. Gough says, 

 that it was common, like the melon, in the time of 

 Edward III.; but being neglected and disused, be- 

 came entirely forgotten, till the reign of Henry VIII. 

 It was not generally cultivated till about the middle 

 of the seventeenth century. There are many varieties 

 of cucumbers. 



Some cucumbers are cultivated for their fantastic 

 shapes, of which the Snake is remarkable for its 

 great length and small diameter; but it is of no value, 

 except for shew. 



GOURD s Cucurbita. 



Of the gourd there are many varieties, some of 

 them of beautiful form and colour, and others of an 

 immense size. In England, however, they are cul- 

 tivated more as matters of curiosity than for food. 



