No. 4.] CUCUMBER GROWING. 419 



allowed to develop a single leader, and as many laterals as 

 would appear. The latter, however, in this experiment were 

 pruned at the second leaf, or, in case fruit did not set in the 

 axil of the first lateral, they w^erc pruned just beyond the 

 axil where it did set, but it was usualW at the second axil. 

 It Avas found in this experiment that there were 30 per cent 

 more flowers of both sexes on the laterals than on the main 

 shoot, and that there were 53 per cent more staminate than 

 pistillate flowers on the whole plant. It was further found 

 that there were 93 per cent more pistillate flowers on the lat- 

 erals than on the stem or main shoot ; and, of the total luim- 

 ber of pistillate flowers which made their appearance on the 

 laterals, 87 per cent were found in the axils of the first leaf, 

 whereas only 13 per cent were found in other axils. There 

 were practically^ no differences in the maturity of the fruit 

 found on the anain shoot and laterals in this experiment. In 

 these two experiments we have a chance to compare the differ- 

 ences existing between plants Avhere the laterals were pruned 

 and those that were not pruned, the latter or unpruned ones 

 forming all the laterals they desired. In the first experi- 

 ment, where the laterals were not pruned, the yield of the 

 fruit was 18 per cent higher on the leader or main shoot than 

 on the laterals ; whereas in the latter experiment, where the 

 laterals were pruned, this was reversed, and in this case 

 there was 93 per cent more fruit formed on the laterals than 

 on the leader. In the first experiment, the fruit on the 

 leader matured earlier than on the laterals ; in the latter ex- 

 periment, Avhere pruning was practised, there was practically 

 no difference. Cutting the leader of the main shoot or 

 pruning the laterals caused an increase in the number of lat- 

 erals. Where laterals are not cut, they are not formed as a 

 rule i« the axil of every leaf. Pruning appears to cause a 

 larger amount of fruit to set in the first axils of the laterals, 

 as it was found that in the experiment where pruning oc- 

 curred 87 per cent of the axils contained fruit, against 55 

 per cent where no pruning took place. In some instances, 

 where the leader was nipped on unjn'uncd plants, this suc- 

 ceeded in causino; a slio-ht increase in the amount of fruit in 

 the first axils of the laterals. 



