2 5 



GARDEN FARMING 



blossoms are removed, the petals turned back so as to allow the 

 anthers to project, and the pencil thus produced is thrust into the 

 cup of the pistillate flower in such a way as to distribute pollen 



P . upon its stigma. 



k^ In large estab- 



MJr A lishments where 



^^^k hand pollination 



riflf is out of the 



L, question a col- 



ony of honey 

 bees is placed in 

 each house to 

 accomplish the 

 work. 



Preparing cu- 

 cumbers for mar- 

 ket. Cucumbers 

 which are forced 



FIG. 92. Branch of a cucumber plant carrying a pistillate . , 



flow er m greenhouses 



are prepared for 



market in one of the following ways. The American types of 

 cucumbers are usually gathered from the plants when from 7 to 

 8 inches in length, being selected according to size and ripeness, 

 and are packed in boxes about 

 8 inches deep and 24 inches 

 square, like that in figure 93, 

 which shows a box of cucum- 

 bers grown in a greenhouse, 

 prepared for shipment to the 

 Northern markets. Cucumbers 

 grown in frames, as well as 

 those grown for slicing pur- 

 poses in the open ground, are 



FIG. 93. A box of forced cucumbers ready 

 for market 



usually picked when about this 

 size and are commonly mar- 

 keted in the Delaware type of basket, which holds from half a 

 bushel to a bushel, the size of basket depending upon the season 

 and the condition of the market. The outdoor crop, as has been 



