138 CUCUMBER. 



time from the middle of June to the 10th of July 

 the field is furrowed out five feet apart. The ma- 

 nure is strewn along these furrows, and then tAvo fur- 

 rows from either side are thrown together. The top 

 of the ridge is levelled at intervals, four or five feet 

 apart, and then the seed is put in. A cultivator is 

 run frequently between the rows, but the work 

 around the hills requires the hand-hoe. By pinching 

 the vines at the third joint, as mentioned 

 above, the crop will be increased. The 

 Cucumbers are gathered every day and sent 

 to market. A large grower on Long Island 

 informed me that his profits average from 

 one hundred and twenty-five to one hun- 

 dred and fifty dollars per acre ; when 

 grown by contract, at one dollar and seven- 

 ty-five cents per thousand. 



Since the close of the war, the Cucum- 

 ber is extensively grown for Northern mar- 

 kets around Norfolk, Va., and Charleston, 

 S. C. The difference in climate affords 

 special advantages for the cultivation of 

 this crop, for profit, at the South. But at 

 Charleston, what is gained by the climate is 

 thrown away by the careless manner in 

 which most of the Cucumbers coming from that point 

 are gathered and packed. On reaching New York, 

 they are too large, over-ripe, and yellow, and they 

 have to be sold at very low prices. 



If the Southern gardeners would adopt the same 

 method — starting the young plants under glass, or 

 have small wooden boxes, with covers of glass, to 



