DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 



Spine, and named by our- 

 selves. It is very constant 

 in color, uniformly straight 

 'and well formed, tender 

 and crisp, and of excellent 



flavor, and is certainly a CUCUMBER.— Improved Long &reen. 



great acquisition for home or market use. 



ImprOTed Long Green. — Selected, for a series of years, from the most 

 perfect specimens, till it has become perfectly pure and true. Undoubtedly the 

 best variety in cultivation for table or pickling. About one foot in length, firm 

 and crisp ; this variety produces seed sparingly. 



London Long Green. — The best variety in cultivation for general pur- 

 poses ; a good bearer, about a foot in length, rather pointed at both ends, dark 

 green, firm and crisp. It is a good kind for the table, and makes a beautiful 

 pickle for those who like them hard and brittle ; highly recommended to market 

 gardeners. 



Long Green. — Is shorter than the London Long Green, equally as pro- 

 ductive, and makes a good pickle, but is not quite so good a table variety, being 

 less crisp 



Gherkin, for Pickles. — A very small, 

 oval-shaped, prickly variety, having somewhat 

 the appearance of a burr. It is grown exclus- 

 ively for pickling ; is the smallest of all the vari- 

 eties, and should always be pickled when young 

 and tender. The seed is slow to germinate. 



Culture. — Culture in the open air is of 

 the simplest character. Merely dig a hole about 

 a foot wide and six inches deep, fill it with rich, 



sandy soil ; raise it above the surface about six inches. The hills should be six 

 feet apart each way. Any time in May sow a few seeds therein, and the result 

 is certain. If the weather be warm, they will grow in a few days ; if the nights 

 are cold, protect them. There is frequently a little bug which destroys the ten- 

 der leaves. Soot and ashes sprinkled over them, while wet with dew, will 

 retard the progress of the depredator. As soon as the vines have made three 

 leaves, nip the points off to make them branch out ; they will fruit sooner by so 

 doing. Three vines in one hill, are quite enough. 



To obtain early Cucumbers with the aid of a hot-bed, take blocks of turf 

 six inches square, and place them grass side down, in the bed, early in the 

 Spring ; plant the seeds on them, and when of suitable size, and the weather 

 mild, they may be removed to the open ground, where they must be protected 

 with a glass or muslin covered box over each hill, whenever the air is cold and 

 raw. 



Cucumber, Melon, Squash, and all vine seeds, are considered best when two 

 or three years old ; they run less to vines, and bear earlier and more abundantly 

 than fresh seeds. 



CUCUMBEH.— Small 

 Gherkin. 



