CUCUMBER. 



145 



earl y, in the center of each sash of the hotbed, the rest of each 

 sash may be used for an early crop. The cucumbers will not 

 need much room for several weeks, which will give time to 

 grow the early crop and get it out of the way of the 



IT 



Fig. 7:2. Chicago Pickling Cucumber. 



cucumbers. The sashes should be removed when warm weather 

 comes, and the vines allowed to grow in the frames all summer. 



Insects. The cucumber has a serious enemy in the striped 

 beetle and is also liable to injury from the cut worm. ( For 

 remedies see chapter on insects. ) 



Varieties. For general home use and marketing, the White 

 Spine is a favorite. For pickles the most profitable kinds are 

 those producing many small cucumbers, such as the variety 

 known as the Boston Pickling. There are many good varie- 

 ties of cucumbers, and they are offered under various names. 

 For earliest use, the Early Russian is perhaps the best, but 

 it is small. 



Seed. Cucumber seed is easily raised, and in some loca- 

 tions it is a product of some importance. In raising seed, it 

 is important to save it from the early fruit, which in a small 

 way are easily saved ; on a large scale, the fruits are allowed 

 to ripen but not to rot on the ground. When the vines are 

 dead, the ripe cucumbers are split open, the pulp scooped out 

 with the seeds and allowed to ferment for a few days, when it 

 readily separates from the seed. The whole mass is then 



