406 



CUCUMBER 



CUCUMBER 



answer. Or for the earliest crop, a situation with a more 

 pronouncedly sandy soil may serve best. In most parts 

 of America the field crop of Cucumbers may be grown 

 from seed planted in the open ground after danger of 

 frost is past. Put 6 to 12 seeds in the hill (having enough 

 to provide against the ravages of insects) , the hills being 

 4 by 6 feet apart. The early crop may often be planted 



585. Three prominent varieties of English or 



Forcing Cucumber. 

 S, Sion House ; E, Duke of Edinburgh; T, Telegraph. 



in the same way, and protected for a time by a sash- 

 covered frame placed over each hill. Plants are some- 

 times started in greenhouses or hotbeds, to be set later in 

 the open ground ; but this method is unsatisfactory unless 

 great pains be taken. The method outlined by Hender- 

 son (Gardening for Profit) , of starting plants on inverted 

 sods in hotbeds and greenhouses, has proved successful 

 with some gardeners, but is not capable of wide use. 

 Early cultivation should be sufficient and timely, and ac- 

 companied by very careful combative operations against 

 insects, for the first month is the most critical in the 

 life of the Cucumber plant. When the vines begin to 

 cover the ground, cultivation may be discontinued. 



Cucumbers are often forced in warmhouses (Fig. 584) 

 in winter and spring. The large English forcing varie- 

 ties, as Telegraph and Sion House (Fig. 585), are preferred 

 by some growers, but the White Spine varieties are more 

 popular in America, especially for spring forcing after 

 lettuce or flowering plants. The plants are started in 

 3-inch pots, and transferred directly to the benches at 

 intervals of 2% to 3 feet. They are then trained on wire 

 trellises near the roof. The English Cucumbers like a 

 night temperature of 60 to 65, and a day temperature 

 of 70 to 75. The White Spine varieties are less fastid 

 ioiis, and will take a somewhat lower temperature. In 

 forcing Cucumbers, it is very important that the young 

 plants should suffer no check from germination to fruit- 

 age. (Consult Bailey, Forcing-Book, and Cornell Bull. 

 31, and Munson, Me. Exp. Sta. Rept. 1896.) 



Cucumbers for pickling should be gathered when 

 quite small. In fact, their value as pickles seem to 



stand pretty much in inverse ratio to their size. Vines 

 on which fruits are allowed to ripen cease bearing 

 almost immediately. The young fruits may be success- 

 fully preserved in brine, from which they are soaked out 

 with fresh water as wanted, and put into vinegar, which 

 they readily absorb. 



There are a great many varieties of Cucumbers in cul- 

 tivation. This means that the group is variable, the va- 

 rieties comparatively unstable, and varietal distinctions 

 somewhat uncertain. Nevertheless, there are certain 

 dominant types which may be separated, and around 

 which most of the varieties may be conveniently classi- 

 fied. The principal types are the following : 

 Common Cucumber, Cucumis sativus. 



I. English forcing ty~e (var. Anglica): Fig. 585. Large- 

 leaved, strong-growing, slow-maturing plants, not suited 

 to outdoor culture ; fr. large, long, smooth, usually 

 green, with few or early-deciduous black spines. Tele- 

 graph, Sion "House, Noa's Forcing, Tailby's Hybrid, 

 Kenyon, Lome, Edinburgh, Blue Gown, etc. 



II. Field varieties (Hill or Ridge Cucumbers). 

 a. Black Spine varieties. 



1. Netted Russian type : Small, short-jointed vines, 



bearing more or less in clusters, small, ellipsoi- 

 dal fr. covered with many small, black, decidu- 

 ous spines; fr. green, ripening to dark reddish 

 yellow, on a cracking, chartaceous skin. Early- 

 maturing and prolific. Netted Russian, Ever- 

 bearing, New Siberian, Parisian Prolific Pickle. 



2. Early Cluster type : Small or medium vines : fr. 



small, usually less than twice as lon as thick, 

 indistinctly ribbed, green, ripening yeL^w, with 

 scattered, large, black spines. Eariy Cluster, 

 Early Frame, Green Prolific. 



3. Medium Green type : Intermediate in size of vine 



and f r. .between the last and next : fr. about twice 

 as long as thick, green, ripening yellow, with 

 scattering, large black spines. Nichol's Medium 

 Green, Chicago Pickle. 



4. Long Green type: One of the best fixed types, rep- 



resenting, perhaps, one of the more primitive 

 stages in the evolution of the group. Vines large, 

 long and free-growing: fr. large and long, green, 

 ripening yellow, with scattered, large, black 

 spines. Long Green, Japanese Climbing. 



6. White Spine varieties. 



5. White Spine type: A strong and important type: 



plants medium large, vigorous : fr. medium large, 

 about thrice as long as thick, green, ripening 

 white, with scattering, large, white spines. 

 There are many selected strains of White Spine. 

 Cool and Crisp seems to belong here. 



6. Giant Pera type : Mostly poorly fixed varieties, 



having large, rather unthrifty vines, bearing 

 large t'rs. tardily and sparsely, which are white or 

 whitish, smooth or with scattering, deciduous, 

 usually white spines. Chicago Giant, Goliath, 

 Giant Pera, White Wonder, Long Green China. 



Sikkim Cucumber, Cucumis sativus, var. Sikkimensis. Plant 

 small and stocky, much like the common Cucumber: fr. 

 large, reddish brown marked with yellow. (The Egyp- 

 tian Hair Cucumber, of Haage & Schmidt, as we have 

 grown it, is apparently an odd form of Cucumis sativus, 

 and may belong here. It has a medium-sized white fr., 

 densely covered with soft, white hair. The plant resembles 

 the Sikkim Cucumber. ) Not in general cult. 



Snake or Serpent Cucumber, Cucumis Melo, var. flexuosus. 

 Vines resembling those of muskmelon : f r. very long , 

 twisted, ribbed -cylindrical, green, tardily yellowing, covered 

 with dense, woolly hairs. 



586. Staminate flower of Cucumis Melo. 



