HISTORY OF THESE CUCUMBERS. 193 



a named long forcing cucumber was written in 1822.* It 

 recites that in 1820 Patrick Flanagan, gardener to Sir 

 Thomas Hare, sent two specimens of cucumbers, one 

 green and the other ripe, to the London Horticultural 

 Society. The green one measured 17 inches in length, 

 was nearly 7 inches in circumference, and weighed 26 

 ounces. The ripe one was 25^ inches long, n^ inches 

 in circumference, and weighed 6 Ibs. The record con- 

 tinues : " Mr. Flanagan states that he has frequently 

 grown these cucumbers in high perfection for the table, 

 near 2 feet long; in 1811 he produced one in a stove 

 which measured 31 inches in length, was 12 inches in 

 circumference, and weighed n pounds. This is a re- 

 markable variety of the cucumber, combining with such 

 extraordinary vigor of growth so much excellence of 

 flavor as to make it particularly deserving of notice. 

 Some seeds were communicated to the society, and 

 have been distributed under the name of Flanagan's cu- 

 cumber. The sort was obtained by Mr. Flanagan in 

 1804, from a friend in Buckinghamshire. It keeps true 

 to itself, without variation ; but it is difficult to make 

 it yield seed. It requires to be grown in high tempera- 

 ture." The surprise which these fruits occasioned among 

 a body of gardeners indicates that they were novelties. 

 I cannot understand the great weight of the large cucum- 

 ber. Our specimens of larger size weigh only about a 

 third as much. The oldest of the varieties which we 

 now cultivate appears to be the Sion House, a product 

 of the gardens of the Duke of Northumberland, at Brent- 

 ford, in Middlesex, to which the gardening world is in- 

 debted for many achievements. I presume that the first 

 record which was made of this variety is that written by 

 the conductor of the Gardeners' Magazine early in 1831, 

 as follows : f "An excellent variety of cucumber is grow- 



* Trans. London Hort. Soc. iv. 560. 

 fGard. Mag. vii. 101. 



