CUCUMBERS 247 



merit. Four of the more common practices are as follows : (i) to 

 plant the seeds in the soil of the bench where the plants are to 

 grow and mature ; (2) to plant the seeds in 3- or 4-inch pots filled 

 about half full of soil, and after the seeds have germinated and 

 the hypocotyl or stem of the seedling has elongated, to fill the pots 

 well up to the seed leaves with soil ; (3) to plant the seeds in cups 

 similar to those used for harvesting strawberries, but made of 

 Georgia pine ; and (4) to sow the seed broadcast in a pure sand cov- 

 ering about \ inch deep, and as soon as the seedlings are up and 

 before the true leaves appear, to lift and transplant them to veneer 

 cups about 5 inches square, four plants to each cup. Transplanting 

 must be done in a shaded place and the plants watered thoroughly 

 as soon as transplanted. 



In the first case, where the seed is planted directly in the soil 

 on the benches, cucumbers are usually employed as a crop to follow 

 lettuce. The seeds are planted before the lettuce crop is entirely 

 removed, heads of lettuce being taken out at proper intervals to 

 allow for the correct spacing of the cucumber plants. In the other 

 two cases the plants for forcing purposes can be grown in a small 

 house specially designed for this purpose or in a general propagat- 

 ing house, thus obviating the necessity of heating and maintaining 

 normal conditions in the growing house during the period previous 

 to which the plants begin to run. 



Planting on the benches. As soon as the plants show well- 

 developed runners and are 10 or 12 inches long they should be 

 placed in their permanent position in the greenhouse benches. 

 Plants grown in pots must be carefully removed from these recep- 

 tacles, but those grown in the wooden cups referred to above can 

 be planted, cups and all, in the soil of the bench. The utmost care 

 should be taken to keep the plants growing rapidly at all times. 

 If they receive a severe check or are developed under conditions 

 which are not entirely congenial to them, they are apt to become 

 dwarfed and stunted, and as soon as vigorous growth ceases they 

 are the prey of melon aphis, mildew, and other pests and diseases 

 which are so annoying to growers of cucumbers under artificial 

 conditions. 



After the plants have attained a height of 10 or 12 inches 

 and are in a vigorous growing condition, they should be placed 



