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THE CUCUMBER 



The cucumber {Cucumis sativa) is said by some horti- 

 cultural writers to be a native of the East Indies. It 

 has, however, been cultivated and esteemed in Africa 

 from a very early period ; and in the complaint of the 

 Israelites to Moses in the wilderness, they singularly 

 enough associated their appreciation of the cucumber 

 with the fish, which they " freely " ate in Egypt. Pish 

 and cucumbers are now much appreciated together. 

 The very earliest records of English horticulture embrace 

 the cucumber, and in Edward III.'s time it was common, 

 but was afterwards comparatively neglected till the time 

 of Henry VIII. ; and it was the middle of the seven- 

 teenth century before its cultivation became general. 

 In England it is very much more esteemed by the mass 

 of the population than in Scotland. In some parts 

 of Bedfordshire — Sandy, for instance — it is cultivated 

 in the open air by thousands of bushels, and supplied to 

 pickle-manufacturers for pickling. 



At certain seasons of the year the cucumber is of the 

 easiest possible cultivation, requiring next to no atten- 

 tion or skill. This applies to the summer months. But 

 to supply cucumbers every day from November till June 



