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VEGETABLE FORCING 
and _ stamens, 
are borne in 
separate flow- 
ers on the same 
plant. Figs. 116 
and 117 show 
that the Howers 
are axillary and 
that several 
flowers or 
pickles may be 
produced in the 
axil of the same 
leaf, whether it 
is on the main 
stem or an anil- 
lary branch, as 
illustrated in 
Fig. 116. This 
fact should be 
kept in mind 
when pruning, 
Fig. 117.—Branch of cucumber showing male and in order that no 
female flowers. The latter may be recognized by the more cucum- 
miniature pickles. 
bers will be left 
on the vines than will attain large size. The female 
or pistillate flower is easily recognized by the ovary or 
tiny “pickle,” as seen in both of these illustrations. The 
yellow corolla is somewhat larger than in the sterile 
flowers. The pistil is compound and the stigmas are two- 
lobed. The male or sterile flowers are much more 
numerous than the fertile flowers, and their stamens are 
more or less coherent. 
When cucumbers are grown out of doors, bees and 
other insects carry the pollen from the male to the female 
flowers and thus fertilize them. In the greenhouse, bees 
