86 F.ICTS .-IXD FIGURES OR THE 



PICKING AND PACKING. 



One of the most important points in growing cucum- 

 bers is to keep the fruit picked as fast as it matures, for a 

 matured cucumber left on the vine takes as much strength 

 from it as four or five growing cukes would. Do not pull 

 the fruit, l)ut cut it from the vine with clippers. It is a 

 good idea to go over your patch daily, and do not under 

 an\- condition let it go longer than three da}'s without 

 picking. 



Pack the fruit in bushel hampers, being sure to have 

 them \\ell filled, but do not bruise the cukes. Make two 

 grades of them, fancy and choice. If you have a good 

 home market )ou should be able to dispose of the culls at 

 a fair price, Ijut I would not advise shipping them undei 

 any conihtion. as they seldom bring freight charges. 



INSECTS. 



This \-cgclable lias more than its share of trouble fmni 

 insects and fungous rliseases. The aphis is the hardest nf 

 the insects ti > fight, as it gets on the under side "f the leaves, 

 wliere it i-. harrl to reach with an insecticide, l)Ut if \'iiu 

 V. ill keep the plants well dusted with tobacco dust frum the 

 time they jjut on their third leaf until thev finish liearing, 

 \"(iU should not f!a\'e any trou1)le. Do not use tobacco du^t 

 marie for fertilizer, as it is too strong; get the kind ])re- 

 pai-ed especially for this purpose. If you have an exception- 

 al case which the tobacco dust will not remedv, sprav with 

 whale oil soap solution (see chapter on Insecticides). 



Should caterpillars ijr an_\' kind of worms attack the 

 vines, spi'a)' with arsenate of lead and water, using abr)ut 

 one and a half pounds of lead to fift\' gallons of water. 



Vi>v fungous diseases keep the plants spra)'ed with I'.or- 

 fieaiix mixture, applying e\-erA- ten days from the time the 



