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bearer. There- is a white sub-variety. 

 The Early green cluster is a very early 

 bearer. It is chiefly characterized by its 

 fruit growing in clusters. The whole 

 plant grows compact, and is well suited 

 for hand-glass crops. The White Dutch 

 prickly has an agreeable flavour, though 

 differing from most of the others. It 

 comes quickly into bearing. The other 

 varieties are slow in coming into produc- 

 tion, and are chiefly remarkable for their 

 great size. The Nepaul often weighs 

 twelve pounds, being occasionally eight 

 inches in diameter. It is a native of 

 Calcutta. The Snake cucumber is very 

 small in diameter. Victory of England 

 is a favourite variety at Ipswich for early 

 forcing. It is prolific, and the best black- 

 spined kind of that town. Nos. 14, 16, 

 17, and 18 have been awarded many 

 prizes. They are not abundant bearers ; 

 but their fruit is very handsome, averag- 

 ing a length of sixteen inches, and a 

 diameter of one inch and three quarters. 



Standard of Merit. Length, not less 

 than twelve inches. Diameter, one-ninth 

 of the. length. Colour, dark green. Spines, 

 black and numerous. Blcom, unremoved. 

 Circumference, circular and equal through- 

 out. Neck and Nose, each not more than 

 a diameter long. Flesh, crisp and juicy. 

 Flower, remaining on the fruit. 



Soil. A fresh loam, as the top spit 

 of a pasture, is perhaps as fine a soil as 

 can be employed for the cucumber. 



Culture : in Dung Beds. The time of 

 sowing the cucumber depends upon the 

 time when the plants are required for 

 final ridging out. Three or four weeks 

 will always be required for raising the 

 plants to a fitness for that purpose. The 

 seed-bed should be made up three and a 

 half feet high at the back, and from two 

 feet six inches to three feet high in the 

 front, and on a dry bottom. The frame 

 should be put on as soon as the bed is 

 made, and the seed should not be sown 

 until the heat of the bed is sweet and 

 healthy, to which state it may be hastened 

 by its surface being stirred once or twice 

 daily and watered, plenty of air also 

 being given. The best material to put 

 on the seed-bed to plunge the pots or 

 pans of seeds in is old tan, or well-rotted 

 dung, or leaf-mould, which may be run 

 through a very coarse sieve. With this 

 material the bed may be covered all over 

 or any part of it, to any thickness, to 

 suit the purpose intended ; and its being 



sifted makes it the more pleasant to 

 handle, either for raising the plants 

 nearer to the glass or lowering them. 

 The seeds may be sown either in small 

 pots or in pans, and the seedlings to be 

 noved from one to three plants in a pot. 

 tf sowu in the pots so as not to need 

 shifting, the pots may be crocked, and a 

 ittle better than half filled with earth, 

 and three seeds in each covered half an 

 nch deep. When the plants are up, 

 they may be thinned either to one or 

 two in each pot ; and as the plants ad- 

 vance in height, so the pots may be filled 

 up with rich, light earth, which should 

 be kept in the frame for the purpose ; 

 also, a small pot of water should be kept 

 in the frame, for moistening the earth or 

 sprinkling the plants when required. 

 The plants should be kept within three 

 or four inches of the glass. Three or 

 four sowings maybe made during January. 

 It is important to have the seed-bed in 

 the winter months defended from pierc- 

 ing winds, by thatched hurdles both on 

 the west, north, and east sides. As soon 

 as the young plants have formed two 

 rough leaves they should be stopped. 



Fruiting - bed. The materials for 

 making up either this or the seed-beds 

 should be thoroughly well worked by 

 being turned over four or five times, 

 shaken together well and mixed, and, if 

 dry and husky, thoroughly well watered 

 at the first two turnings, as the work 

 goes on. The lumps should be broken 

 up, and the short mixed with the long, 

 until the whole mass has one uniform 

 appearance, and is nearly half rotten. 

 The size of the beds depends on the 

 season. In February, six feet high at 

 the back and three feet in front; and if 

 in January, a foot higher will be required ; 

 and if March, a foot less will be sufficient. 

 A dry bottom in all cases, and the mate- 

 rials well put together, shaken up, and 

 beat down well as the work goes on; 

 and the bed should be always six or 

 eight inches wider than the frame all 

 round. As soon as completed, put on 

 the frame and lights. When settled, 

 and all become sweet and healthy, the 

 hillocks of earth may be put on for the 

 young plants to be placed in ; but, before 

 the hillocks are made, particularly in 

 the early season, when the very strong 

 beds cause some danger of burning, 

 some preventive measures must be 

 adopted. Almost every dung-bed cu- 



