GREENHOUSE CUCUMBERS 



89 



Types. 



There are two types of the cucumber, the White Spine and 

 the English forcing. Most of our present forcing varieties 

 are a cross between these two types, some varieties approach- 

 ing the characteristics of one parent and other varieties of 

 the other parent. The Abundance is more like the English 

 parent, in that the fruit is long and dark green, and the vine 

 is a very strong grower. The Rawson Hothouse, I believe, 

 has English blood in it, but it is more like the White Spine 

 type, in that the fruit is shorter and much thicker, and the 

 vine is not so strong a grower. This variety requires less 

 time to come to maturity than the other and is considered by 

 some to yield heavier. 



Plant Growing. 



No rules can be laid down for the time to sow seed. Our 

 experience has been in northern parts, and we grow our cu- 

 cumbers very late. We run our lettuce later than some 

 others. Some have cucumbers up in the beds at the present 

 time, while we have not. Seed sown the middle of February^ 

 in a warm place will make plants for bedding by the latter 

 part of March. Later in the season two weeks will give a good 

 plant. Unless one has a good, warm place, nothing is gained 

 by sowing early, as it will result in a stunted plant. A method 

 of sowing seed is to lay off rows in a flat full of sifted soil 

 about one and one-half inches apart and to place the seed an 

 inch or more apart in the row. It is well to use plenty of 

 seed in sowing cucumbers, but if one always saves his own 

 seed and has something extra choice, he does not wish to put 

 three or four seeds in the hill and throw half away. So I 

 like to put one seed in a place, and then if there are any weak 

 plants, one can easily throw them away. 



After covering the seed and watering it, glass may be laid 

 on top. This keeps mice from digging out the seed, keeps 

 the soil moist, and holds the heat of the sun. A special place 

 should be provided to give the plants more heat than they 

 will get in an ordinary vegetable house. However, the flats 

 can often be set near a heating pipe or in some other warm 

 corner that will do nicely. The plants should not be left in 



