The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1880-06-01
AGRICULTURAL.
Cucumber Cultivation.

The cucumber is a vegetable of great an
tiquity and is staple both for the market
and family garden, which | have raised ma
ny years, and propose now to present your
readers briefly my experience in cucumber
gardening.
will first say the market in which the
writer sold his vegetables was growing city
whose population is rapidly increasing, and
that he was the first who commenced rails
ing vegetables as a crop for that market.
To prepare the land l plough the field six
inches deep, and use only the swivel plough,
not intending any grass shall be seen after
the field is ploughed. Six-inch ploughing 1
think is sufficient for any farm crop, a fact
| have tested by my experience. After
ploughing, l spread on the furrow six cords
OF fermented stable manure, and harrow in
with sharp-toothed Geddes harrow. l
then mark the land into rows seven or eight
feet distant from each other, and plough
furrow on the marking, five inches deep,
and plough but one way Then lay liberal
shovelful of fermented stable manure in the
burrows the same distance from each other
as the distance between the rows, making
the distance equal between the hills both
ways.
now level the manure with hoe, beat
ing it down moderately, and plant on the
manure fifteen to twenty seeds in a diameter
of ten to twelve inches, and cover with fine
mould one to one and one-quarter inches
deep. When the plants are grown five to
six inches high, the field should he cultivat-
ed and hoed, thinning out to six plants IN
hill. The manure should be laid and seed
planted Immediately after the burrows are
made, not giving time for the land or the
manure to dry up.
have planted many varieties of seed, but
have become satisfied that the Boston pickle
cucumber is very much the best variety to
raise for picking or to slice green for the
table. 1t is the earliest cucumber known to
me, and will produce cucumbers for the ia
BILE in about eight weeks after planting Gu
cumbers for picking, which are planted
from the 10th to the 10Th of June, will be
grown early as the market will require them
The habit of the cucumberis peculiar. From
my experience, with careful observation, l
have learned that field of cucumbers will
produce certain amount in pounds weight,
which can, with proper management be
grown into cucumbers large or small, the
weight either large or small being the same
To illustrate: given quantity of vines will
grow one hundred cucumbers, which will
weigh fifty pounds, or the same vines will
grow eight hundred or one thousand cucum-
bers, which number will only weigh fifty
pounds. have learned that if, from any
cause, cucumbers, i'll the bearing season, are
allowed to grow to large size on the vines,
after taking off the overgrown and worthless
cucumbers, the vines require one or two
weeks to recuperate and make setting for
another growth of fruit, and the overgrown
fifty pounds are a dead loss, which might
have been grown into one thousand or eight
hundred market cucumbers of the same fif-
ty pound weight.
The market requires cucumbers for pick
ling purposes from the size of a mans finger
up to the size of a broomhandle, or little
larger. This assortment will count eight or
nine hundred to the bushel, which the deal
er sorts to suit the wants of his customers.
have taken orders for cucumbers of size
that would count three thousand to bush
ell. To obtain the assortment in size which
have mentioned, cucumbers must be cut
once in two days, or, if the smaller are re-
| quired, must be cut every day. One acre of
| land properly titled will produce yietd of
1000 picking cucumherS.
When l commenced raising cucumbers
sold them at BIS to $3.50 per one thousand.
In few years the price fell to So, 50, and
still lower, when l discontinued raising
them.-J. H., in Examiner.