The semi-weekly messenger., 1906-08-21
/ Human Cucumber.

II IS we'll known tlat Wnen CucIlA-
bers are first cut from the y'ne there
is a piece whicn .xudes or bleeding
from the stem. One of our prominent
northern truck growers, Jared Ben
son. cut his hand a year or two q .
and this juice got into the cit IN
his hand commenced 10 infame, an
an eruption similar 10 e~ys pes
made lis appearance on his hand and
extended up his arm, and finally spreS
over his whole body. Strange 10 say.
there was no pain attending thes
eruptions of erysipelas, and he Iontin
ued TO gather and pack his cucum
bers and prepare them for saipm ent.
To the great surprise of everybody
these little erysipelas pimpleS Is
sumed the appearance and form OF
small cucumbereS and continued =
grow. Although Benson kept we'll an |
hearty he was compelled to strip him
self and take to his bed. OF course
the news of this strange phenomenon
spread far and wide and the doctors
and scientific men visited him from
various sections Of the country. One
prescribed one thing and one another.
One wished 20 bleed him; one wished
to cut the cucumberS off; another SAID
not to let him have any w3t4r and
they would dry up; another said stick
a hole in each cucumber and they woll
die and a new skin form: another wish
ed to wrap him up in mammoth p0ul-
tice of barnyard manure and draw
them all TO one head: another said
they ought to be scattered.
Each had a different remedy, put
they all disagreed. So there was some
hope that the patient would get we'll.
I But the small cucumbers grew into
big ones, and his whole body was com
pletely covered with them from head TO
foot and they commenced to ripen and
turn yellow and hang down, rnd the
man assumed the appearance Of Il huge
bunch of bananas. When they got ripe
they began to shrivel and dry up so
did the man. His sap was all gone
and he died. The doctors procured the
consent of the family to permit an
autopsy to be made, for the benefit
of science, and they cut into him with
their knives. and to their amazement
found no flesh. no blood, no bones
no muscles, no sinews, no veins, o
arteries: but found only one solid mass
of cucumber seeds. 1t was SO remark
able that it would be useless to have
the remains inferred and foolish to
have them cremated and the widow
concluded that she would keep them
in the house. She had the corpse hung
up by the hair n the barn The next
spring some of the children picked up
some Of the seed which had dropped on
the floor and planted them.
They grew rapidly and matu-ed, and
instead of being like the parent stock
of cucumbers. they we're pure pickles
and needed no vinegar, no pepper, no
salt, nothing but simply packing into
barrels and shipping to market and
selling. Of course. news OF the discoV-
cry spread rapidly and multituccs of
applications for seed flowed in like he
incoming tide, and thus enabled the
discOnsolate widow and children To
turn the cause of their bereavement
into a means OF maintenance and sup
pOrt. The wind of affection was thus
tempered to these shOrn lambs. They
sold small packets Of seed for big
prices and could not supply the demand
The vine grown from the new seed Is
Il perennial evergreen and can be
propagated from cuttings, blooms In
the spring and bears in the summer i
bountiful crop of perfect pickles. The
widow sells the seed at ore d1.lar
paper-Grifin Ga News.