j:) 



8 Notes and Glcanins^s. 



Cucumbers. — We believe we shall be doing our readers a favor to continue 

 our extracts from Burr's admirable work on vegetables. 



The cucumber is a tender, annual plant ; and is a native of the East Indies, 

 or of tropical origin. It has an angular, creeping stem ; large, somewhat heart- 

 shaped, leaves ; and axillary staminate or pistillate flowers. The fruit is cylin- 

 drical, generally elongated, often somewhat angular, smooth, or with scattering 

 black or white spines ; the flesh is white or greenish-white, and is divided at 

 the centre of the fruit into three parts, in each of which the seeds are produced 

 in great abundance. These seeds are of an elliptical or oval form, much flat- 

 tened, and of a pale yellowish-white color. About twelve hundred are contained 

 in an ounce, and they retain their vitality ten years. 



Soil and Culture. — Cucumbers succeed decidedly best in warm, moist, rich, 

 loamy ground. The essentials to their growth are heat and a fair proportion of 

 moisture. They should not be planted or set in the. open air until there is a 

 prospect of continued warm and pleasant weather ; as, when planted early, not 

 only are the seeds liable to decay in the ground, but the young plants are fre- 

 quently cut off by frost. The hills should be five ox six feet apart in each 

 direction. Make them fifteen or eighteen inches in diameter, and a foot in 

 depth ; fill them three-fourths full of thoroughly-digested compost, and then 

 draw four or five inches of earth over the whole, raising the hill a little above 

 the level of the ground ; plant fifteen or twenty seeds in each, cover half an inch 

 deep, and press the earth smoothly over with the back of the hoe. When all 

 danger from bugs and worms is past, thin out the plants, leaving but three or 

 four of the strongest or healthiest to a hill. 



Taking the Crop. — As fast as the cucumbers attain a suitable size, they 

 should be plucked, whether required for use or not. The imperfectly formed, as 

 well as the symmetrical, should all be removed. Fruit, however inferior, left to 

 ripen on the vines, soon destroys their productiveness. 



Seed. — As cucumbers readily intermix or hybridize when grown together, it 

 is necessary, in order to retain any variety in its ixirity, to grow it apart from all 

 other sorts. When a few seeds are desired for the vegetable-garden, two or 

 three of the finest-formed cucumbers should be selected early in the season, and 

 allowed to ripen on the plants. In September, or when fully ripe, cut them 

 open, take out the seeds, and allow them to stand a day or two, or until the pulp 

 attached to them begins to separate ; when they should be washed clean, thor- 

 oughly dried, and packed away for future use. 



For Pickling. — The land for raising cucumbers for pickling may be either 

 swarded or stubble ; but it must be in good condition, and such as is not 

 easily affected by drought. It should be deeply ploughed, and the surface after- 

 wards made fine and friable by being thoroughly harrowed. The hills should 

 be six feet apart, and are generally formed by furrowing the land at this distance 

 in each direction. Manure the hills with well-digested compost, level off, draw 

 over a little fine earth, and the land is ready for planting. This may be done at 

 any time from the middle of June to the first week in July. The quantity of 

 seed allowed to an acre varies from three-fourths of a pound upwards. In most 

 cases, growers seed very liberally, to provide against the depredation of worms 



