CUCUMBEKS. 93 







in the sieve, and the seeds will settle to the bottom. 

 Not more than one barrel of pulp can be conveniently 

 washed at one time, and each lot of seed will require 

 several waters, which will carry away the pulp in pour- 

 ing off, and eventually leave the seed clean in the bottom 

 of the tub. 



The seed must be taken out in sieves Nos. 8 and 10, and 

 left to drain while another lot is being washed, when it 

 must be placed on shutters, such as are used on cold- 

 frames, in the sun, to dry ; the second lot taken out, and 

 so on, until the whole is complete. The next day the seed 

 can be placed thin on cloths, again exposed to the sun ; 

 afterwards removed to a loft, and kept spread thin on 

 cloths until perfectly dry, when it may be passed through 

 the fan-mill, and finally cleaned by No. 10 sieve, which 

 will remove the sand, and it can then be stored. 



The seed retains its vitality more than ten years. 



Varieties. The difference in the leading varieties is 

 quite marked. 



They readily mix with each other and with melons, and 

 other vegetables of their class, and consequently all such 

 must in cultivation be kept widely separated to preserve 

 them pure. 



Early Russian. The earliest and smallest of all. 

 Fruit pale green, when ripe brownish yellow ; seldom 

 three inches in length, thick, and blunt at the ends ; 

 usually produced in pairs; plants small, and very pro- 

 ductive. Like all short varieties a free seeder, and I may 

 here remark that the larger and longer the cucumber, the 

 less seed is produced in proportion. 



Early Cluster. An old and favorite variety. Fruit 

 dark green above, pale below and at the ends; when ripe 

 dark yellow or orange ; about six inches in length, thick, 

 tapering at the stem, rather blunt at the blossom-end; 

 grows in clusters ; plants not of the largest, but free 



