182 THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. [March. 
morning, if a sunny day, so soon as it shines on the beds, or, if 
otherwise, as early as may be consistent with the safety of the 
plants; for their being too much debarred from the light, causes 
them to become discolured and weakly. 
As the early plants, raised last month, will have now advanced 
considerably into fruitful runners, and show fruit abundantly, espe- 
cially cucumbers; let the runners or vines be trained out regularly 
along the surface of the bed at equal distances, and peg them down 
neatly with small hooked sticks. At this early season, it will be of 
much utility to impregnate the young fruit of cucumbers with the 
farina of male blossoms. The flowers of cucumbers and melons 
are male and female, separate, on the same plant, and the females 
produce the fruit; the males are often erroneously called false 
blossoms, and many persons, in consequence of that notion, pull 
them off; but they are so far trom being false blossoms, that they arc 
by nature designed to impregnate the female flowers, to render them 
fruitful; for the antherae in the centre of the male blossom, being 
furnished with a fine powder, which being dispersed on the stigma 
in the centre of the female, the fecundation Is effected, and the fruit 
in a day or two after will begin to swell, and vyhich, in cucumbers, 
will generally, in about a fortnight, or within a few days under or 
over, according to the state of growth of the plants, be arrived to 
a proper size for cutting or gathering for the table, in young green 
fruit, three or four, to five or six inches long or more; so that with- 
out the assistance of the male blossom, the females having the em- 
bryo fruit at their base, wither and decay, and the infant fruit turns 
yellow and drops off. 
Therefore it is of importance to preserve a sufficiency of the 
male flowers, for the purpose of impregnating the females, and in 
the early culture of cucumbers, 8cc. it is eligible to carry some of 
the males to the female flowers, observing for this purpose, to 
detach some new expanded male blossoms with the stalk to each, 
and holding the stalk between the finger and thumb, and pulling off 
the petal or flower leaf surrounding the male organ: then with the 
remaining antherse, or central part, touch the stigma in the centre 
of the female, twirling it about, so as some of the farina or male 
powder of the antherse may adhere thereto; a little of which being 
sufficient to effect the impregnation. 
This operation is essentially necessary to be performed by hand, 
to early plants that are shut up in frames, before the lights or 
glasses can be admitted sufficiently open to give free access to a 
large current of air; or flying insects, such as bees, &c. all of which 
assist in conveying the farina of the male blossoms to the females, as 
is evident in plants exposed to the open air. 
The above operation of fecundating, or, as the gardeners term it, 
setting the fruit, should be performed the same day the flowers 
open, and are fully expanded; which is the most essential period of 
of their generative effect. 
The female or fruit-bearing flowers are readily distinguished at 
sight from the males; the former having always the embryo fruit 
placed immediately under the base of the flower; or, in other words. 
