412 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



White Spine. The darker-green color malves it more de- 

 sirable for some marketmen than the lighter-colored AVhite 

 Spine. The vine of the English Telegraph is a more rapid 

 grower than the White Spine, and perhaps more inclined to 

 wilt than the latter. The Telegraph, so far as our experience 

 goes, sets all its fruit on the laterals ; whereas the White 

 Spine and other varieties bear some fruit on the main shoot. 



Types of Houses devoted to Cucumbers. 

 In the economic production of cucumbers under glass, the 

 style of house utilized plays an important role. As a rule, 

 cucumber houses have double glass, i.e., they are constructed 

 out of two layers of glass set about 1^ or 2 inches apart, 

 leaving an air space in between. The object of this is to 

 prevent the radiation of heat, or, in other words, to save 

 coal. Most cucumber houses are from 15 to 23 feet wide, 

 and scarcely ever exceeding 200 feet in length. They have 

 benches along the sides and in the middle, the side rows of 

 cucumbers being trained up the sides and roof, while the 

 middle ones are trained vertically. These houses are usually 

 heated with hot water. The beds are generally slightly 

 raised above ground, and contain in depth about 1 foot of 

 soil. They are frequently provided with porous tile, which 

 is used for the purpose of sub-irrigation, and, if necessary, 

 can be used for sterilizing the soil. When cucumbers are 

 grown in lettuce houses, they are planted directly in the 

 ground beds, the rows, some 8 or 10 feet apart, being 

 trained in the form of the letter "A." The type of house 

 utilized by lettuce growers is preferable for the production 

 of cucumbers grown at any season of the year, but there 

 are only a few instances where this type of house is used 

 exclusively for this purpose. The light conditions and 

 exposure of the plants are nuich more favorable Avhcn grown 

 in a lettuce house than when grown in a typical cucumber 

 house. Lettuce houses are wider than cucumber houses, 

 and generally longer ; but, notwithstanding this, they can 

 be built at a less cost per linear foot than houses which are 

 narrower. From a large number of statistics which we 

 have obtained relating to the cost of various types of houses 



