34 



etiolated, sickly colored leaves commence to wilt even with the house 

 closed and a considerable degree of moisture. 



We have observed as many as a dozen houses in a single locality 

 affected in this way, and in not a single one could there be discov- 

 ered more than half a dozen of what might be termed fairly good- 

 colored and healthy plants. Whenever a plant was observed which 

 possessed any color or texture in its leaves, and such plants were 

 always situated where they could obtain either light or air, the vines 

 showed no indication of the wilt; and entire crops of the same variety 

 and age grown at the same season of the year, having been 

 furnished with light and ventilation, were in a vigorous condition 

 and free from wilt. These facts show that it is necessary to bear 

 in mind that the first essential is to secure those conditions which 

 are normal to plants. 



While the cucumber wilt is due, as we have already pointed out, 

 to irrational methods of greenhouse management, the specific cause 

 can be traced directly to the lack of texture in the plants, brought 

 about by too high a temperature and defective light in the beginning, 

 rendering them unable to endure the more intense rays of the spring 

 sun, as the amount of water thrown off from their tender leaves is more 

 than can be supplied by their roots. This irrational method seems 

 to have its origin in a desire to save coal, by utilizing double layers of 

 glass, thus starving the plant, and an inclination to indulge in too much 

 forcing ; or, in other words, to get more out of the plant in a certain 

 length of time than its inherent capacity warrants. In these methods 

 of culture, prevailing, as they do, in certain localities, we see nothing 

 but practice based upon a disregard of the normal functions of the 

 plant, and mistakes due to local conception of greenhouse manage- 

 ment. The remedy in such a case is obvious, and consists in giving 

 the plants during their early stages of growth enough air and light 

 to produce a definite texture of foliage, and not allowing them to 

 grow too spindling. Cucumber plants grown in this manner will 

 possess color and texture, and they will be capable of standing the 

 spring rays of the sun without excessive wilting. 



Diseases Caused by Fungi and Other Organisms. 



Of the various diseases caused by pathogenic organisms to which 

 cucumbers are subjeet, the following, viz. Bacteriosis (Bacillus 



