722 
Crops for Pickling and Preserving. 
fine ones may be purchased in September at Is. 2d. per dozen. 
English field-grown cucumbers generally fetch about 3d. to o±d. 
per dozen, whereas, before the days of glass and importation, 
say ten years since, they used to command 2s. per dozen. As 
the market for the primer quality is lost, the crop is not so 
popular as it was. 
Cucumbers are a particularly risky crop to grow, as they suffer 
much from cold and from insect and fungoid attacks. On 
account of their susceptibility to cold, it is necessary to provide 
shelter in open fields. For this purpose thick rows of rve or 
onion seed are sown in parallel lines, and the cucumbers are 
planted between them. Occasionally kidney-beans are grown 
as shelter. The land has therefore to be worked in the autumn, 
and the lye is sown in rows ranging from 4 feet to 10 feet apart, 
according to the variety of cucumber to be cultivated. When 
onion seed is grown to provide shelter, the rows are usually planted 
4 feet to 5 feet apart. About 18 cwt. of onion- sets are re- 
quired per acre ; these are planted out in January or February, 
so as to be well grown by the time they are needed as shelter. 
Onion seed grown in this way generally yields more in propor- 
tion than when it is cultivated as a whole crop with the rows 
closer together, and from G. to 12 cwt. of seed per acre is 
considered an average crop, 
The land must be in rich condition for cucumbers, and 
worked to a fine tilth, and towards the latter end of April or 
the beginning of May the first seed should be planted. The 
favourite varieties in the field are the Stockwood Ridge and the 
Pershore Long Ridge. About J lb. of seed is required to plant 
an acre, and this is dibbled in. but it rarely happens that a full 
plant is obtained -without filling up. In fact, it is no uncommon 
occurrence to have to plant the whole ground three or four 
times in one season. As the cost of seed varies from 1 4s. to 21s. 
per lb., this is a very heavy item. 
Young plants are extremely liable to injury by frost, and 
are subject to attacks of wire-worm. A small brown ten-legged 
grub frequently destroys the crop by attacking the roots. The 
green fly is also very injurious and attacks the head of the vine 
in any stage of its growth, preventing further progress. No 
means are taken to combat the attack beyond occasionally pick- 
ing off the heads. Mildew is a very serious disease, and appears, 
after flowering, from the end of July to the middle of August. 
The plants turn yellow, and if the attack is severe they do" little 
good. 
Towards the middle of September the plant goes down, and 
picking comes to an end about the beginning of October. The 
