86 Southern Oardener^s Practical Mamial 



cold salad. On fertile, loamy soil, it produces quite an 

 ornamental spreading plant and is green all winter. 

 Seed sown in the early fall furnishes fresh, crisp salad 

 throughout the fall, winter and early spring, when it 

 seeds abundantly and vegetates in the first cool weather 

 in early fall. It is sometimes called Virginia cress. The 

 garden cress is well worthy of a place in every garden. 

 There are few plants with more ornamental foliage than 

 the curled -leaf varieties, resembling in appearance curled 

 parsley and curled kale. This is excellent as a boiled 

 salad or mixed with lettuce to impart pungency to a 

 salad. As a garnish for cold meats it is unsurpassed. 

 The broad-leaved varieties are fit only for boiling. Water 

 cress is the most popular as a market varietJ^ This, 

 once started under favorable conditions, will perpetuate 

 itself. It thrives best on the border of fresh streams or 

 in running water. 



CUCUMBER 



This is a tender trailing annual. The flowers are 

 yellow, and appear in the axils of the leaves. The essen- 

 tial organs of reproduction are found in different flowers 

 on the same plant. The pistillate flowers are indicated 

 by the small cucumber below the flower, while the 

 staminate flowers have only the flower -stem. The pistils 

 are almost entirely dependent upon insects for pollena- 

 tion. When grown under glass, it is necessary to hand- 

 poUenize or to confine a colony of bees with the plants 

 to insure production. This was one of the earliest vege- 

 tables grown. It was a favorite with the Romans, and 

 was introduced into England during the latter part of 



