132 GARDEN STEPS 



The amateur will understand that the screen of 

 netting must always be removed before the plant 

 begins to blossom. The cucumber bears a little 

 cluster of blossoms here and there along the vine. 

 Some of these are male, and some are female, blos- 

 soms. The cucumbers grow only from the female 

 flowers. These must be fertilized with pollen from 

 the male flowers before fruit can develop ; and the 

 bees, which fly from one blossom to another, are 

 depended on to do the work. They pick up, on their 

 hairy legs, the pollen from the male blossom, and 

 when they call next door on the female blossom, 

 they leave some pollen behind them. Of course, 

 if the screen is left on, the insects cannot approach 

 the blossoms. 



~ Gathering Cucumbers 



Cucumbers must be carefully watched as they 

 mature and picked at just the right time. If they 

 are left a day or so too long, the change is very 

 rapid. The skin and seeds become hard, and the 

 flesh quickly gives place to the ripening seed. Usu- 

 ally the fruits show a cream white at the blossom 

 end as they approach the best stage for picking. 

 In a day or two, this white turns to yellow, a sign 

 that the seed is ripening. Take a short knife or a 

 pair of scissors, each 'morning while the vines are 

 cool, and cut the cucumbers that are ready. Do 

 not pull them away or twist them off. 



