CUOUMBEE. 137 



For garden-culture, the seed is usually sown in 

 the hills early in May, putting eight or ten seeds in 

 each hill. The " striped bug " {Ooreus tristis) often 

 destroys the young plants just as they appear above 

 the ground. To get rid of these very troublesome 

 little pests, we sprinkle the surface of the hills and 

 the leaves of the plants with fine flour of bone once 

 every two days. If this does not drive the bugs off 

 we water the vines with the solution of tobacco, &c. 

 (recommended for Cabbage plants), early in the 

 morning, and then, immediately after, dust the plants 

 with the bone or superphosphate. 



As fast as the young vines grow, the earth should 

 be drawn around the stems, for the bugs will destroy 

 these by perforating them. 



When the Cucumbers are started in a hot-bed, 

 the vines are strong enough, when transplanted to 

 the open field, to resist the attack of the bugs. 

 When the vines begin to run, by pinching off the 

 ends at the third joint, they will branch nearer the 

 hill, forming blossoms and Cucumbers earlier than 

 they otherwise would. If there are no drawbacks, 

 an acre of Cucumbers — ^the plants started under 

 glass — will yield from three himdred to three hun- 

 dred and fifty dollars an acre. Before Cucumbers 

 were grown so extensively at Charleston and Nor- 

 folk, the profits were much larger than they are now. 

 On Long Island, and in some parts of New Jersey 

 and of Westchester County, N. Y., Cucumbers are 

 grown in large quantities for pickling. For this pur- 

 pose the culture is somewhat different ; the ground 

 is ploughed once or twice in the Sprmg, and any 



