i6 



in a small house especially devoted to seedlings, which can be oper- 

 ated at small expense ; whereas, if the seeds are sown directly in 

 beds, and not transplanted, it is necessary to go to the expense of 

 heating a large house. It is also claimed that transplanted cucum- 

 bers will grow faster and make better plants. Our experiments have 

 not verified this statement, as no difference has been noticed in the 

 size of our plants, whether transplanted or sown direct in the beds. 

 Other than the saving in. space, heat, etc., which are important, we 

 have never seen any advantage in transplanting cucumbers. 



Importance of Light. 



If one were to make a tour among the various growers of green- 

 house cucumbers of Massachusetts, one of the principal things that 

 would strike him would be the variation in the methods which are 

 pursued. What might be considered a successful method in one 

 locality would not be thought so in some other, hence arises a provin- 

 cialism in methods of growing cucumbers which is sometimes quite 

 marked. Going hand in hand with this provincialism is to be found 

 a strong conservatism in regard to certain cherished notions which 

 are not always easy to eradicate. The price paid for these conserv- 

 ative notions is not always evident to the grower, although it would 

 not be difficult for one who is familiar with them to estimate in dol- 

 lars and cents just what they represent when applied to the produc- 

 tion of a crop. It is some of these conceptions to which we wish to 

 call attention in treating of the effects of light upon cucumbers 

 under glass. 



It is maintained by some that cucumbers cannot be successfully 

 grown in a house for more than two years. The reasons assigned 

 for this failure are not always clear, but some of the factors which 

 appear to be more or less the cause of it are the predominance of 

 fungi and insect pests and the difference in the amount of light 

 transmitted through old and new glass. However erroneous a con- 

 ception may be, there is almost always to be found a substratum of 

 truth in it. It is true that the older a house and the longer it has 

 been used for growing plants, the more infected it is likel^ to become, 

 with fungi and insects. As to the matter of glass, there can be no 

 doubt that its efficiency deteriorates with age, but this deterioration is 

 largely due to conditions which can be in a great measure controlled by 



