542 



CULTURE OF THE ENGLISH CUCUMBER. 



The Lewiston Company wrote us last year as follows : 

 " We removed a plant to our grounds four years ago, 

 which is now probably eight or ten years old. The 

 plant was then perhaps four feet across and three feet 

 high. It is now seven feet in diameter by four feet 

 high, with loo stems, all of this season's growth. The 

 leaf and stem also show a proportional increase in size. 

 We are pleased to learn you have decided upon its 

 identity. It has been sent to a great many for identifi- 

 cation, but you are the first to locate it." 



This "Sunset Plant" will grow readily from seed. 



We find it offered in some catalogues under the name 

 Alalva mijiiata. 



It is not without some merit. In the earlier part of 

 the summer it bloomed with great freedom, and was 

 fairly covered with foliage. At present, however, the 

 lower leaves have withered and dropped, so that its 

 beauty for the season is past. It is growing, however, 

 in a very dry, hot situation. The illustration shows a 

 terminal shoot reduced to one-third its natural size. 



E. S. Carman. 



Rural New- Yorker. 



CULTURE OF THE ENGLISH CUCUMBER. 



F RIGHTLY managed, the Eng- 

 lish cucumber is one of the 

 most satisfactory of forcing veg- 

 etables, but, while not difficult 

 to grow, any tendency to neglect 

 on the part of the gardener is 

 soon manifested. On the other 

 hand, a little extra care is well repaid, both in ap- 

 pearance and in cash returns. 



The ideal house for cucumbers is one which is 

 large enough to allow the vines to attain a good 

 size without interfering with each other, which has 

 rather a flat roof, and which will allow ventilation 

 without permitting a draft to strike the plants. A 

 large house is also preferable to a small one, 

 because the larger volume of air is not so quickly 

 affected by outside conditions. In building a cu- 

 cumber house, I should advise i8x6o feet as a good 

 size. This will allow three-foot tables on each 

 side, and a six-foot table in the center, with two 

 three-foot walks, as shown in the diagram. (Fig. i.) 



The center table may, if desired, be used for 

 snap-beans, which require about the same condi- 

 tions as cucumbers. With proper care, however, 

 any forcing house of modern construction may be 

 made to answer very well. 



Any time after the first of September the tables 

 may be prepared for the winter crop. In arranging 

 the tables, it is well to leave a space of three or 

 four inches on the back side for the escape of 

 warm air next to the wall and the glass. Good 

 drainage is of the first importance. To secure 

 this, place about an inch and a half of charcoal, 

 broken crockery, or "clinkers" from the furnace, 

 on the bottom of the table. Next, put on a good 

 layer of partially decayed sods ; then fill to the 

 depth of eight or ten inches with thoroughly pre- 

 pared soil, consisting of two parts fibrous loam and 

 one-part well-rotted stable manure, with sufficient 



sand to make it porous. No time spent in doing 

 thoroHgJily the work of preparation is wasted. 



The seed may be sown in the soil as prepared, 

 or may be started in pots and afterward trans- 

 planted. I prefer the latter method. In either 

 case, a crop of string beans may be taken from the 

 tables before the cucumbers are large enough to 

 interfere. The wise gardener will improve every 

 opportunity to take a catch crop from the house. 



The plants should be about four feet apart on 

 the tables, thus giving abundant room for the 

 lateral shoots, which should be trained " fan- 

 shaped." For supports to which to train the vines, 

 horizontal parallel wires, one foot apart, may be 

 run the whole length of the house. The wires 

 should be about a foot from the glass ; otherwise, 

 the foliage will be subject to injury from cold 

 draughts, which come in where the glass overlaps, 

 and from scorching on very bright days. Instead 

 of permanent wires for supports, some prefer 

 frames, which may be more easily removed at the 

 close of the season. 



When the vines are about two feet long, the ter- 

 minal bud of each should be pinched off, to induce 



Cucumber House. 



the production of lateral shoots. The laterals, in 

 turn, should be pinched back, and the vine made to 

 grow symmetrically. As the fruits develop, the 



