THE CUCUMBER. 



325 



courage laterals from these to fill the frame suf- 

 ficiently and to bear fruit. Stop at one, two, or 

 three joints above the fruit, according as there 

 is room. All weak shoots ought to be removed 

 at an early stage of their growth, and those 

 which are left should be kept moderately thin 

 and regular. 



Crooked Fruit — In dry weather the fruit is 



apt to become crooked. To prevent this various 

 means are resorted to. Class tubes made for 

 the purpose are very convenient ; or three pieces 

 of thin board may be nailed together like the 

 bottom and sides of a box, 3 inches wide and 

 2 inches deep, and lined with three slips of glass. 

 A number of these can be prepared, and they 

 answer the purpose very well. 



Fig. 1104.— Cucumber— Lord TCcVhertn 



Training. — Instead of training along the sur- 

 face, some prefer training the shoots on trellises. 

 To allow space for the leaves, these should be 

 placed from 9 inches to 1 foot from the glass, 

 and from 12 to 18 inches from the surface of the 

 bed, to admit of the fruit growing downwards 

 in a perpendicular direction. The plants must 

 be trained with a single stem to an upright rod 

 till they reach above the trellis, when the leader 

 should be stopped in order to obtain ramifica- 

 tions for covering the trellis. The principal 

 among these must be stopped when other 

 branches are required. Unfruitful laterals ought 

 to be removed, and those which are bearing fruit 

 should be stopped, so as to leave one joint be- 

 yond the fruit till such time as it can be seen 



whether or not a shoot will push from the same 

 joint as the fruit. If one do so, pinch oft' that 

 which is above it. 



House Culture. — By far the greater portion of 

 Cucumbers produced in this country are grown 

 in houses, this in a measure being due to the 

 cheapness with which suitable structures can 

 nowadays be built and heated. In forcing pits 

 or houses every attention can be bestowed upon 

 the plants in all weathers, and with the aid of 

 fire-heat a uniform temperature can be main- 

 tained without risk of overheating. Houses are 

 necessary if Cucumbers are wanted in winter 

 and early spring; in fact it is only during the 

 hottest part of the year that either brick-pit or 

 frame culture is resorted to in many gardens, 



