Vegetable Growing on Long Island 



1227 



In the case of cucumbers, especially, the soil is given careful 

 attention in its preparation. Manure is the chief fertilizer used 

 as the water retaining capacity of the soil is very important for 

 this crop. Large* quantities of commercial fertilizer are not de- 

 sirable from the canners' standpoint as the cucumbers grown under 

 these conditions do not hold up as well after they are salted. 



Dill pickles are the chief product of the pickling factories. The 

 crop conies on about the first or second week in August and con- 

 tinues as long as the growers can fight the blight by thorough and 

 frequent sprayings with bordeaux mixture. The pickles are sold to 

 the canneries by the thousand, and from fifty to eighty thousand is 

 a good yield per acre. The average price paid is about $2.50 to 

 $2.75 per thousand. 



Fig. 348. Barrels of Tomatoes in a Brine Solution. Also Shows Car- 

 load of Manure and Part of Canning Factory 



When the pickles are brought to the factory they are put into 

 wine barrels into which has been placed some dill and about a 

 quart of mixed spices; dill is also placed at the top of the barrels, 

 after which they are securely headed and filled through the bung 

 with a brine solution. The pickles are then allowed to ferment 

 for several months. 



The tomatoes, which follow cucumbers very closely, are also 

 placed in a brine solution. 



Cabbage for kraut is trimmed, cored and shredded into large, 



