November 1, 1883. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
881 
they marbled and spotted :—Adrian Robine, Berthe Prouti^re, Charles 
Hovey, Duchess, Distinction, Fire King, Julia Serot, La Perle de Paris, 
Louise Chr6tien, Mdlle. Emma, Narga, and Van der Meulin. These 
plants are of the easiest culture, and most of those named are a great 
advance on the old varieties that are generally seen in cultivation. 
Miscellaneous. — Having noted what I particularly went to see, 
houses full of Verbenas, Petunias, Fuchsias, Gloxinias, and other flowers 
were passed with an admiring glance, as also were some acres of Roses 
and Violas, with great squares of Delphiniums, Phloxes, Pyrethrums— 
in fact, apparent all kinds of flowers; but an edging of Lobelia Swanley 
Blue compelled a pause, so dwarf and dense was the growth and bright 
blue the flowers. It is a variety that will spread widely, and a good 
companion for it is Queen of the Whites, Scarlet Gem, Cloth of Gold, 
and King of the Roses Abutilons form a grand trio. The dwarf golden 
button-like Chrysanthemum coronarium Aurora was flowering freely, 
and is becoming popular ; whilst amongst the stock of the florist’s 
Chrysanthemums the great gun is Lord Wolseley, that every fancier will, 
sooner or later, have to add to his collection. 
After seeing all that was to be seen, and much more than I can re¬ 
member, I left Swanley with a feeling of astonishment at the widespread 
love for plants that now exists, and which must be growing yearly, or 
how else could such establishments as this have sprung up so quickly 
and be maintained so well ? It is truly wonderful, and the more so 
since most, if not all, appear to be flourishing and extending. This is a 
healthy hopeful sign, as it is directly indicative of the public taste—a 
taste, no doubt, that has been, in a great measure, created by the enter¬ 
prise of florists of the present generation, who have secured the best 
varieties that have been raised at home and abroad, and let the world 
know they possess them. This is the secret of success.— An Annual 
V lSITOE. 
CHRYSANTHEMUMS AT FINSBURY PARK. 
The popularity of the Chrysanthemum Show at this Park seems to be 
increasing annually, for in no previous season has it been visited by so 
many persons as this year, the structure devoted to them being almost 
constantly crowded, and particularly so on Sundays. The Superinten¬ 
dent, Mr. Cochrane, has earned a well-deserved success in instituting the 
Exhibition, .and he has been ably assisted by his foreman, Mr. Mardlin, 
who has paid careful attention to the culture of the plants with good 
results. A substantial structure 100 feet long, with wooden sides about 
6 feet high, and glass roof with abundant means of ventilation, was 
erected about a year ago, and is admirably adapted for the purpose. It 
has a flow and return pipe on each side, heated by two small independent 
coil boilers placed outside the house, and these are very useful in assisting 
to prevent damping, as all superfluous moisture can be quickly dissipated ; 
by that means keeping the flowers fresh much longer, and the colours 
cleaner and brighter. 
About 1300 plants are grown, comprising over 300 varieties, and 
they are arranged on each side of a central path, forming two sloping 
banks, which have a beautiful effect on entering the house, as the 
blooms can be readily seen, the numerous colours being carefully 
grouped to form a harmonious combination of tints. Several new 
varieties are represented, amongst them being George Gordon, a 
Japanese with very large deep rich red blooms, the florets broad. This 
is particularly deep in colour when young, and becomes lighter as it 
advances, some of the blooms exceeding Elaine in size. Some of Messrs. 
Veitch’s novelfies raised by Mr. Salter are notable, though few possess 
sufficient distinctness or merit to supplant other and older favourites. 
Tisiphone, the Goddess of Snakes, is a Japanese, with long ragged dark 
red florets, rather loose. Lucifer is another of the ragged Japanese 
type, yellow and t-ed ; Duchess of Albany, with broad white or creamy 
florets, is also a Japanese variety of Salter’s raising, the blooms large 
and early. A new so-called Pompon is Ringleader, also one of Veitch’s 
varieties. It is somewhat in the way of Lady Talfourd, nearly as large, 
but lighter in colour, and with the florets quilled nearly to the points. 
Of the older varieties the following are especially remarkable for 
the size of their blooms :—Comte de Germany, extremely large ; Elaine, 
"White Globe, Abbe Passaglia, Cry Kang, Baronne de Prailly, Golden 
Beverley, Peter the Great, Refulgence, Tarantella, Triomphe du Nord, 
and many others. The banks are bordered with Pompons planted out, 
a number of varieties being represented ; but Golden Circle, an early 
bright yellow variety, and Soeur Melanie, white and similarly early, 
are two excellent varieties, free, compact, and handsome. 
Although the Show was opened early there are great numbers of 
buds to open yet, which will prolong the display for some weeks yet, 
and judging by the size and substance of the buds the later flowers will 
be fully equal, if not superior, to the earlier ones. 
HISTORICAL JOTTINGS ON VEGETABLES.—No. 9. 
THE CUCUMBER. 
In a household, so it is said, which happened to have amongst its 
inmates a number of word-critics, Cucumbers were not unfrequently 
placed upon the table. Some chance observation provoked a dis¬ 
cussion, which led to the division of the assembled eaters into three 
parties respectively advocating Cowcumber, Cucumber, and Cucum¬ 
ber. So warm became the disputes concerning the pronunciation of 
the oft-vexed word that the head of the family for the sake of peace 
enacted that those who asked to be helped should henceforth simply 
call it “ cumber.” The English “ Cucumber,” the French “ Con- 
combre,” and the Latin “ Cucumis,” indicate their nearness to each 
other. The root of the original appellation is thought to have been 
“ curvus,” from the tendency of the fruit to take a curve or twist- 
We, however, although the fruit is the part eaten, commonly place- 
this on our list of vegetables, as it is not a fruit to be relished at 
dessert, as are some of its relatives. 
Cucumis sativus, from which our many garden varieties of the 
Cucumber have been developed, is considered to be a native of 
northern Asia, but no wild examples belonging to this species have 
been discovered by travellers of modern times. In the order Cucur- 
bitacem, where this is placed, the majority of the species are either 
bitter or purgative, and partial to warm climates ; this bitterness 
resides in the rind of the cultivated Cucumber, for which reason it ia 
attractive to some insects, perhaps, such as the detested cockroach or 
'■ black beetle,” which eats, and is said to be poisoned by Cucumber. 
If so, it would be a fact worth knowing, since this insect occasionally 
proves troublesome in our houses, but I am assured by a gardener 
who has laid slices of Cucumber along the haunts of the cockroach- 
that no diminution of numbers ensued. There have been, no doubt, 
from sundry accounts in old authors, instances of persons being- 
poisoned by eating the fruit of other species of Cucumis, mistaking 
them for the edible kind, and possibly by that of the true Cucumber if 
grown under unfavourable circumstances. 
Africa was evidently the early home of the cultivated Cucumber,, 
and from those northern districts where large specimens were pro¬ 
duced for the table thousands of years ago the cultivation of the- 
plant spread to parts of Europe and Asia. It is one of the species- 
over which the Israelites mournfully soliloquised during their desert 
wanderings, as they contrasted past luxuries with present limitations 
in food (Numb. xi. 5). And the Cucumber has long flourished, is 
still flourishing, in the rich soil lying near the Nile, we may safely 
date it at least 2000 years before the Christian era as a plant well 
known to the Egyptian races. Retaining their liking for Cucumbers,, 
the Jews afterwards grew the plant freely in Palestine, hence that 
comparison would be forcible to them which is used by Isaiah, who- 
likens Jerusalem to “ a lodge in a garden of Cucumbers.” It was 
exposed to as much risk as one of the temporary structures that were-, 
commonly thrown up in the Cucumber grounds to shelter a man 
employed to watch the ripe fruit. After such a shed had served its 
purpose, it would be neglected and allowed to fall into ruin until a 
farther need for it arose. The Greeks had the Cucumber from 
Egypt or Asia Miner, for it seems they had a high opinion of the? 
plants that were produced about Antioch, and took the trouble to 
import them. One of the older Greek authors describes a peculiar 
plan followed by some of the Egyptian gardeners ; they set Bramble, 
bushes of tolerable size in a sheltered spot, and during the spring 
having*cut these down almost to the earth, they inserted a seed of the 
Cucumber in the pith. A good quantity of mauure was then placed 
round the Bramble stocks. This was done with the object of 
hastening the development of the plant, but he suggests as an im¬ 
provement sowing the seeds indoors, rich earth being placed in 
baskets, which, at a proper time, could be moved to the garden and 
sunk. Pliny, writing in the reign of the Emperor Tiberius, describes 
forcing as he had seen it practised in Italy. Cucumbers were grown 
in boxes furnished with wheels, and these were shifted about, 
according to the weather, the growth of the plants being encouraged' 
even in the winter by exposing them to the light within buildings 
covered with a transparent material, now unknown, which would 
admit the sun’s rays, but exclude cold. 
It is most probable that the Romans, during their occupation of 
Britain, grew Cucumbers amongst the many vegetables which died 
out in the period of degeneracy that followed, with frequent conflicts 
between Briton, Saxon, and Dane. Nor does there exist any evidence 
that the plant was speedily reintroduced after the Norman Conquest, 
and not until the days of the Tudors do we get references to it as a 
plant grown in the gardens of the nobles. Gerard knew it well, and 
he doubtless had Cucumbers on the slopes of the garden near High 
Holborn, where he reared so many rarities, having a favourable- 
situation and land well watered by the little brooks that flowed from 
the higher ground into the river Fleet. Parkinson may have gathered 
them from his garden in Long Acre, which appears to have been veiy 
flourishing in the reign of James I. Forcing was a novelty then, but 
Gerard mentions that as he had seen Cucumbers grown under frames, 
thin matting being stretched over hoops ; also, he says, some gardeners 
in order to obtain Cucumbers of considerable length enclosed the 
young fruit in hollow canes or wooden cases, while they supplied the 
plant with abundance of manure. Then, he adds, the seed taken from 
these long and straight Cucumbers will generally on sowing yield 
fruits which are of superior quality, and resembling their parents in 
form. And, according to his wont, he discusses the medicinal value 
of the Cucumber, recommending it as an unfailing cure for skin 
