plants, are used in
the manner of the species before described.

CHAPTER IV.

CUCURBITACEOUS PLANTS.

The Cucumber. Egyptian Cucumber. Globe Cucumber. Gourd, or Calabash. The
Melon. Musk-melon. Persian Melons. Water-melon. Papanjay, or Sponge
Cucumber. Prickly-fruited Gherkin. Pumpkin. Snake Cucumber. Squash.

* * * * *

THE CUCUMBER.

Cucumis sativus.

The Cucumber is a tender, annual plant; and is a native of the East
Indies, or of tropical origin. It has an angular, creeping stem; large,
somewhat heart-shaped, leaves; and axillary staminate or pistillate
flowers. The fruit is cylindrical, generally elongated, often somewhat
angular, smooth, or with scattering black or white spines; the flesh is
white or greenish-white, and is divided at the centre of the fruit into
three parts, in each of which the seeds are produced in great abundance.
These seeds are of an elliptical or oval form, much flattened, and of a
pale yellowish-white color. About twelve hundred are contained in an
ounce; and they retain their vitality ten years.

_Soil and Culture._--Very dry and very wet soils should be avoided.
Cucumbers succeed decidedly best in warm, moist, rich, loamy ground. The
essentials to their growth are heat, and a fair proportion of moisture.
They should not be planted or set in the open air until there is a
prospect of continued warm and pleasant weather; as, when planted early,
not only are the seeds liable to decay in the ground, but the young
plants are frequently cut off by frost.

The hills should be five or six feet apart in each direction. Make them
fifteen or eighteen inches in diameter, and a foot in depth; fill them
three-fourths full of thoroughly digested compost, and then draw four or
five inches of earth over the whole, raising the hill a little above the
level of the ground; plant fifteen or twenty seeds in each, cover half
an inch deep, and press the earth smoothly over with the back of the
hoe. When all danger from bugs and worms is past, thin out the plants;
leaving but three or four of the strongest or healthiest to a hill.

_Taking the Crop._--As fast as the cucumbers attain a suitable size,
they should be plucked, whether required for use or not. The imperfectly
formed, as well as the symmetrical, should all be removed. Fruit,
however inferior, left to ripen on the vines, soon destroys their
productiveness.

_Seed._--"Cucumbers, from their natural prone