Hoiv to Groiv Cucumbers in the South 87 



the sixteenth century. Half a dozen plants will supply 

 the table of an average family, but an extra quantity is 

 usually grown and the surplus of the daily gatherings 

 is stored in jars or tubs and covered with salt, to 

 preserve for pickling. 



Formerly holes were dug six feet apart each way and 

 partly filled with well-decomposed manure. Hills were 

 slightly raised above the general level, using rich garden 

 loam to form the surface in which the seed were deposited. 

 I long since abandoned this method. Prepare and plant as 

 follows : Open a deep trench with a good turn - plow, turn - 

 ing two full furrows on each side, and leaving six inches 

 in the center of the surface soil to be mixed with a heavy 

 application of compost and commercial fertilizer. After 

 these are thoroughly incorporated with soil and subsoil 

 by running a long, narrow bull -tongue several times 

 back and forth in the trench, return the surface soil, 

 forming a slight bed. Rake this down and pulverize 

 thoroughly with the garden -rake. Now, w^ith a seed- 

 planter, sow the seed thinly in the center of the bed 

 when danger of frost is over. If more than one row is 

 to be planted, let there be five feet of space between 

 them. One row fifty feet long will furnish an abundant 

 supply. Just before the plants show above ground, 

 saturate some sawdust with crude carbolic acid and 

 sprinkle it along the row to keep oif the fleas, cutworms 

 and striped cucumber beetles. When the plants have gen- 

 erally formed the first true leaf or, as commonly expressed, 

 the third leaf, thin the plants to two every fifteen to 

 eighteen inches, leaving the most vigorous plants. Cul- 

 tivate frequently with garden- rake. When the vines begin 



