CHAPTER XIX. 

 CULTURE OF CUCUMBERS. 



| WELL drained, deep alluvial soil, containing a 

 little sand, is best adapted for the growth of 

 cucumbers. It should be deeply plowed not 

 less than thirty days before planting, if pos- 

 sible, so as to give it a chance to settle thor- 

 oughly. Rows should then be struck off six or 

 eight feet apart, fertilizer dropped and well 

 worked in hills three feet apart in the row. 

 Should the weather be cold or rainy, it is best to add a rich com- 

 post with which considerable cottonseed meal has first been mixed 

 and allowed to decompose only partly, so as to have some heat 

 left in it. This should be dropped in the hill, at least a double 

 handful to each check. It should be worked in with about its 

 bulk of soil and pressed down firmly slightly below the level of 

 the surrounding soil; about one inch of damp earth should then 

 be spread on top and also pressed down and the seeds planted 

 therein. 



Should the germination of the seed be in question, it is best 

 to plant quite a number say ten or fifteen to the hill. On the 

 other hand, if the seed is known to be good, four or five to the hill 

 will be sufficient. A little sulphur sprinkled on the hill directly 

 after planting the seed will prevent them from "damping off" in 

 wet weather. Immediately after the seed leaves have developed, 

 they should be thinned to two or three in the hill. Tobacco dust 

 of the kind used for insects should be liberally strewn around and 

 under the plants, dusting a little on the under side of the leaves, 

 to keep the fly that produces the green aphis from depositing its 

 eggs. This is very essential, as once the green aphis gets a 

 foothold in your cucumber field, you will never be able to entirely 

 eradicate it. A good handful of rich vegetable fertilizer should 



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