SB IRLF ^5 *B Eh? 1Dfl 1847 • MOORE CUCUMBER. r^ o vO v a THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA FROM THE LIBRARY OF COUNT EGON CAESAR CORTI MAIS LIB. -AGRI. THEORY AND PRACTICE, APPLIED TO THE CULTIVATION OF THE CUCUMBER, IN THE WINTER SEASON: TO WHICH IS ADDED, A CHAPTER ON MELONS: BY THOMAS IMOORE, L* ' MEMBER OF THE BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. SECOND EDITION, 7JTH AN APPENDIX, CONTAINING REMARKS ON HEATING AERATING, AND COVERING FORCING HOUSES; ON TRANSPLANTING, AND THE USE OF TURF POTS; ON WATERING: ON ATMOS- PHERIC HUMIDITY, &c., &c. LONDON : RICHARD OROOMBRIDGE AND SONS, 5, PATERNOSTER ROW, MDCCCXLVII. MAIN LIB. -AGRI n LONDON: PRINTED BY DAVID M. A IKE- JAMES ST., COVENT GARDEN. PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. THIS little treatise is intended as an inducement to young Gardeners especially, to seek for the reasons on which the operations of their daily practice are founded, a*nd by which they are regulated. This announcement is here made, in order to prevent any reader from sup- posing that the author has unduly estimated the opin- ions of those who have benefited by a long course of application and experience. As, however, there can be no doubt that there is much to be learned, so is there but little question that there is also much to be unlearned, in the present state of the Science of Hor- ticulture ; and these pages are offered without hesita- tion, as a mite among the accumulating mass of avail- able information on gardening subjects; and in the hope that some amongst those who are seeking to ex- tend their knowledge, may at least be stimulated by their perusal, if they are not otherwise directly bene- fited. The great truths which it is the object of this trea- tise to impress, are these : that the ultimate success of gardening operations does not depend on the perform- ance of any part of them, at a particular time, or in a particular or even superior manner, but rather upon M74SKJ17 PREFACE. the supplying, in a natural manner, as far as possible, all the conditions which are necessary to the nutrition and perpetuation of plants ; and, that it is within the open pathway of Science, and not the bye-ways of em- piricism, that the finger-post of direction should be sought, Royal Botanic Garden, Regent's Park, March 2nd, 1844. TO THE SECOND EDITION. IN the present edition, it has been thought best to preserve the original text exactly as it appeared in the first edition. The new matter will be found in the Appendix. The author may take this opportunity of returning his thanks to those who have noticed and commended the former edition, and of expressing a hope that the present will receive an equal share of favour. Camden Town, Aug. 1, 1847. CONTENTS. CHAP. I. PAG* Botanical name, and affinities of the Cucumber -proper- ties— foreign names— improvements in cultivation 9 CHAP. II. Structures — dung beds — brick pits — forcing houses — gutter system of heating — the tank system — bottom heat — descrip- tion of Cucumber house — aspect — position — angle — covering, 11 CHAP. III. Propagation by cuttings — early fruitfulness — preservation of varieties — layers — objections to cuttings and layers — seeds — disadvantages— progressive growth — seed sowing 23 CHAP. IV. General principles of culture — importance of light — pruning and training 31 CHAP. V. Composition of the soil — heath soil — leaf mould — prepara- tion of soil — charcoal — manures — liquid manures 36 CHAP. VI. Application of water to the soil — special conditions — atmos- pheric moisture— insects— mildew— canker — mode of watering 42 CHAP. VII. Regulation of temperature — principles to be kept in view — day and night temperature— deductions 46 CHAP. VIII. Admission of air — effect of cold air on tender plants — deterio- ration— evils resulting from unguarded atmospheric changes — mode of admitting air — atmospheric influence on vegetation — nitrogen — carbon 50 CHAP. IX. Growth of Persian Melons in summer — peculiarities of treat- ment— soil — watering — solar heat — light 56 CHAP. X. Conclusion .59 TREATISE. CHAP. I. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. THE Cucumber, Cucumis sativa, is supposed to be a native of the East Indies; but like many other of our culinary plants, the real stations which it naturally has occupied, are involved in obscurity : in habit it is a trail- ing herb, with thick fleshy stems, broadly palmate leaves, and yellow axillary monsecious flowers. In the natural arrangement of the vegetable kingdom, the genus of which it forms part, ranks in the first grand class, Vasculares, or those plants which are furnished with vessels, and woody fibre ; in the sub-class Calyciflorce, or those in which the stamens are perigynous; and in the order Cucurbit acece, or that group, of which the genus Cucur- bita, or Gourd family is the type. The affinities of this order, are chiefly with Loasacea, and Onayracece; with the former it agrees in its inferior unilocular fruit, having a parietal placentae, and with the latter, in its definite perigynous stamens, single style, and exalbuminous seeds. It has also some affinity with Passi- floracea, and Papayacece, in the nature of the fruit, and with Aristolochiacece, in its twining habit, and inferior ovarium. M. Auguste St. Hiliare, also regards it as being related to Campanulacece, in the perigynous inser- tion of the stamens, the single style with several stigmas, the inferior ovarium, and in the quinary division of the floral envelope, in connection with the ternary division of the fruit. 10 The properties of the plants comprised in this natural family, are not numerous ; a bitter laxative quality per- vades many of them, a familiar example of which is the resinous substance called Colycinthine, the production of the Colocynth gourd, in which the active purgative prin- ciple is concentrated, rendering it drastic, and irritating. Among our native plants the roots of Bryonia dioica, in common with the perennial roots of all the plants in the order, possess these purgative properties. On the other hand, the seeds are sweet, yielding an abundant supply of oil ; and it may be worthy of remark, that they never partake of the properties of the pulp with which they are surrounded in the fruit. The Cucumber does not possess the properties common to the order, in very powerful degree ; its fruit is how- ever too cold for many persons, causing flatulency, diarr- hoea, and even cholera ; by others, it may be eaten with avidity, without producing any injurious effects. The names by which the Cucumber is recognised by the Hindoos, are Ketimon, and Timou. In the French, it is called Concombre; in the German, Gurke; and in the Italian, Citriuolo. As a cultivated plant, it is of nearly equal antiquity with the Vine ; being mentioned by the writer of the Pentateuch, as being cultivated exten- sively in Egypt, above 3000 years since. The cultivation of this plant, and the production of fine fruit at an early season, is an object of emulation among gardeners of the present day; and from this cause, many important improvements in the mode of its cultivation have been effected. The vast increase of means, arising from an acquaintance with powerful agents, formerly unknown, which are available by the present and rising races of gardeners, enable them to secure the same important results which cost their predecessors much both of labour and anxiety, with a comparatively small amount of the former, and a degree of certainty at 11 which they could never arrive. The agents which an enlightened age has hrought under controul, are indeed powerful engines, which require much skill in their adap- tation and management ; hut the knowledge necessary to effect this, is so firmly and inseparably connected with the first principles of cultivation, that an acquaintance with these, will at all times supply a safe and unerring guide to their application. It is to assist the young gardener in this application of principles, to the growth of the Cucumber in the win- ter season, that these pages are designed ; and of those who may differ from the opinions which are here expressed, it is only required that they should receive a calm and deliberate consideration — a consideration unbiassed by prejudice, and unmixed with any of that feverish excite- ment after novelties, which with gardeners, as well as with all other classes of society, is becoming far too preva- lent, and intense. CHAP. II. ON THE STRUCTURES ADAPTED FOR THE GROWTH OF CUCUMBERS. I will preface the following remarks on the structures adapted for the growth of Cucumbers, by stating, that a forcing house, a pit, and a common frame, present the means of bringing this fruit to its perfection, equally, one with the other, provided that a course of cultivation suit- able to the structure, is followed out; the comparative merits of each, depend not so much on the nature of the results which may be obtained by adopting them, as on the facilities they afford for the attainment of those results. 12 The use of the common frame, and the ordinary hotbed of fermenting manure, nevertheless involves these diffi- culties : — the fermentation is liable to become excessive, and that in a very rapid manner, and also to decline as rapidly ; the heat, when declining, cannot be speedily restored in unpropitious weather ; it is materially checked in its action, by that particular state of the weather, which renders its efficient action most essential ; it in- volves almost an infinitude of labour ; and after all, it is uncertain in its action : when such difficulties as these, are overcome, Cucumbers can be grown to perfection, on dung beds, assisted by the common garden frame and sash. The brick pit, when heated by fermenting manure, presents difficulties of the same nature with the preceed- ing, though in a less powerful degree : but when these structures are heated by means of hot water, in any of its various modes of application, there need be no irregu- larity, nor uncertainty in its action ; because the supply of the elements of vegetable developement, and of the agents by whose aid they are applied, may, to a very great extent, go on uninterruptedly. A forcing house, whilst it secures all the advantages which are presented by a pit, combines with these, some important points which are peculiarly its own : by adopt- ing a pit, we provide a structure of which Cucumbers manifest their approval, by thriving equally as well as in their more ancient location on a dung bed ; but further than this, a pit enables us to dispense with much of the labour, and all the filth, and the uncertainty which are consequent on the use of fermenting manure as a means of keeping up the temperature in which they are grown. In a small forcing house, besides these advantages being secured, all the operations of care and culture, can be performed just when they become necessary, without exposing the tender foliage of plants which have been sub- 13 mitted to an artificially elevated temperature, to the chil- ling influence of cold air, which is admitted whenever the sashes of an ordinary frame or of a pit, are opened, in order to bestow these necessary attentions. It may be urged that a dung bed has still the advantage, on the ground of economy ; but when a fair calculation is made of labour and loss or anxiety on the one hand, and of duration on the other, such an assumption, will be quite untenable. Neatness, convenience, certainty, and economy, are the principal points of advantage which are gained by the adoption of pits heated by means of hot water, over those of a structure, depending for its supply of heat, on the aid of fermenting masses; whilst the attainment of a still greater degree both of convenience, and of certainty, which may be secured by cultivation in forcing houses, point out at once the advantages which render such houses, preferable to pits. The application of the gutter system of heating, was not long since thought to be an improvement of great importance, and there can be no question but that it affords a means of regulating the moisture of the atmos- phere of hothouses, in conjunction with the temperature, which prior to its introduction had not been attained; and as such, it is worthy of extensive adoption : it re- quires however some judgement in its adaptation to parti- cular structures, and to render, it suitable, to effect any particular object for which it may be employed. The tank system as a means of applying bottom heat, employed either in conjunction with the gutters, or with ordinary piping, to supply heat to the atmosphere, is the most important advance which has hitherto been made towards supplying the wants of those plants, which re- quire such peculiar aid; and with reference to the Cucum- ber, it may be regarded as furnishing a new era in its cul- tivation. B 5 14 The importance of bottom heat in the culture of tender plants, has always been well known by its practical effects. The mean temperature of the soil, at a slight distance below the surface, is universally above that of the superincumbent air ; and consequently some degree of bottom heat is always supplied to plants, in a state of nature. Naturally, by means of subterraneous heat, and also by the absorption of the sun's rays during the time they are forcibly directed towards the earth, it possesses the means whereby any material degree of cold at the roots of plants is prevented ; and when the soil is acted on by the unveiled sun of an eastern sky, we cannot but feel certain, that even a considerable amount of heat must be experienced : hence arises the importance of taking ad- vantage of every ray of sun which our climate affords, when the culture of the Cucumber, or of any native of warmer latitudes, is attempted out of doors in this country ; and also of using every possibly available means of increas- ing rather than diminishing the temperature of the soil : and hence too, in forcing not only the Cucumber, but also every other plant which requires to be submitted to a con- fined atmosphere, and an elevated temperature, arises the necessity of providing such a degree of warmth at the root, as may tend to keep its vital powers in a vigorous state of action; it will effect this, by acting in conjunction with moisture, as a solvent of the food which is primarily con- tained in the soil in a solid form, but can only be taken up by the capillary action of the spongioles of the roots, when converted into a fluid state. The science of Chemistry has taught us that the ingredients composing the soil, act on, and dissolve, and combine with each other,, in various ways, sometimes being simply dissolved and held in solu- tion, and at other times, entering into new combinations, and forming new compounds ; but in all cases, the natural agents, heat and moisture, are necessary to produce these results, and to present to the tender roots of plants, food 15 so duly prepared, as to be fit for their assimilation. Warmth in the soil, acts beneficially also, by preventing the sudden or undue interruption of the excitability of plants growing in it, which would be likely to result from the lowering of the temperature of the plants by evapora- tion, were it not for the action of the antagonist force, existing in and exercised by the heated soil, which heat, is communicated to, and absorbed by the plants. It may be regarded as an established and universal rule, that all plants require the soil, and the atmosphere in which they are cultivated, to correspond with the natu- ral circumstances under which they nourish ; and as it has been repeatedly ascertained that the soil is naturally a degree or two above the temperature of the atmosphere, we have certain and unerring data for the application of bottom heat, and no more powerful evidence than this can be desired, to condemn at once the application of a very powerful degree of heat, at the roots of plants. The importance of bottom heat in the culture of tender plants, being a practical fact established beyond question, another consideration arises as to the best means of pro- ducing it, and of regulating its application. Various substances and materials have been submitted to a pro- cess of fermentation, and so employed to effect it: stable manure, tanner's bark, and the leaves of trees, are among the principal of these materials, and either of them will supply just what the plants require, as truly as these wants can be supplied by any other means ; but from their very nature, they are violent, and fluctuating, and ephemeral in their action, and setting aside the labour which the employment of them necessarily involves, we have in these particulars, the special points in which the tank system of applying bottom heat far excels them: it is unrform, and constant, in its action ; there need be no apprehension of the soil becoming overheated, for the source whence it derives its warmth ought never to 16 boil; neither need there be any fear of its decline, or oi a want of power, for when once thoroughly heated, a body of water will part with it in such a manner, that a very little attention to the fire, and a very little expen- diture of fuel, will maintain its temperature for an almost incredible length of time ; and as to power, it never should for a moment form a question, because a powerful degree of bottom heat ought never to be applied : a close atten- tion for one or two hours during the twenty four which form a day, will maintain any apparatus in an effective state of action, if it is properly erected. How different is this, to what has been in days now past! when in rigorous weather, with the heat of his dung bed declining, the cultivator knew that at the peril of his crop, he scarcely dared to attempt to revive it, without involv- ing a more serious because an accelerated evil ; at any rate, if at an immense sacrifice of labour, his dung casings were replenished piece by piece, he knew too well, that often many days would elapse, before their action would be efficient and satisfactory, unless indeed an unlimited supply of materials, were in a constant state of prepara- tion. By means of the tank, a fire could be lighted up, and the required effect produced in as many hours, as days would have been formerly required. What has been already advanced, tends to the conclusion, that small forcing houses are preferable, and in the end more economical than pits and dung beds ; and that the tank as a means of supplying bottom heat, is preferable to the use of fermenting materials ; because the results in each case, are more perfectly under controul. Whilst on this part of the subject, I may be allowed to mention an error which is somewhat prevalent : We frequently hear of the humid nature of the heat given off by hot water pipes, in comparison with that derived from such appli- ances, as a flue; it is not unfrequently asserted, that the heat thus derived is so moist, so genial, so peculiarly 17 adapted to plants: there can be no doubt but that the heat thus obtained is infinitely preferable to that obtained through the medium of flues, generally speaking ; but its superiority consists rather in its purity, its freeness from noxious gasses, than in its possessing a greater degree of moisture. Heat — that is — caloric, is the same, whatever may be the medium by which it may be conducted ; and in the case of hot water pipes, they give off that which has been conducted to them by the water, directly from the fire, the water acting as a mere conductor ; it is diffi- cult to conceive any thing more thoroughly devoid of moisture than the heat thus communicated : let any one who doubts this, place a damp cloth on a series of hot water pipes when in action, and the result will soon work conviction. With these general remarks, I will proceed to describe the kind of structure which I regard as being peculiarly adapted to the growth of Cucumbers; and no- tice some of the conditions which it is necessary to keep in view : the engraving on the next page, represents such a structure. The aspect of the Cucumber house, should be nearly S. S. E ; or in other words — it should be so regulated between the points south and east, that whilst the rays of the sun will be admitted as fully and as early as possi- ble in the morning, there may be no obstruction offered to their more powerful action as that body approaches the meridian. In the growth of all tender plants, light and sun heat are required during the winter months as well as in summer, and there can be no greater error as regards the erection of structures devoted to such pur- poses, than to provide for their admitting the direct rays of the sun in the earlier part of the day, at the expense of refracting and thereby weakening, to a greater degree than is really unavoidable, the power of the noon-tide rays of that invigorating and life-sustaining agent: during the summer months, though plants then require both light 18 and sun heat, yet the case is different; the sun's rays have then much greater power, and it is found that their influence is sufficient, without at all times admitting them directly on the plants growing in these artificial atmos- pheres. The position of the Cucumber house, with reference to the ground line, must be determined by local circum- stances ; if the situation and sub-soil be dry, it may be carried below the surface in the manner represented in the annexed engraving, of which (a) is the ground line, 19 (I) the pathway, and (c) the lowest point excavated : the same course may be adopted if the soil, though not naturally so dry as this, can be rendered so by thorough drainage ; but when the ground does not admit of perfect drainage, the structure must be sufficiently elevated to avoid the risk of injury from the dampness of the locality. The angle of elevation is not, as it is sometimes asserted to be, a point of indifference, though mathematical accu- racy is certainly by no means required : in the annexed engraving, the angle of the roof is about 55°, this pro- vides for the admission of the sun's rays in the winter months, when his position is comparatively low in the horizon, to a much greater extent than could take place if a more ordinary slope were adopted. A still more elevated pitch would doubtless effect this object in a still more perfect manner ; but would not be equally applica- ble to the requirements from a permanent structure, which would be wanted for summer as well as winter use. A reference to the sketch, will at once shew the general nature of the internal arrangements. There should be a tank (d) supported by brick piers (p) in which a circula- tion of heated water would supply a genial warmth to the soil above, and to the roots of the plants growing in the soil ; this tank should be heated by a small boiler, conve- niently placed with reference to adjacent arrangements ; a series of iron pipes (e) attached to the same boiler, would supply the requisite heat to the atmosphere. It may perhaps be thought that the application of the gutter system of heating would in this case be preferable ; but as there would be a perfect command of moisture, as will be explained further on, it is desirable to have dry heat also, under controul, and this can be better effected by means of the pipes than by adopting the gutter plan of heating. I cannot in this place forbear protesting against the limited surface of piping generally employed in heating plant structures ; what is thought to be just 20 enough to maintain a given temperature, is usually after minute calculation, the quantity which is made use of, and the consequence is, that under adverse circumstances, the apparatus is necessarily worked at its highest pitch ; and I believe that the application of heat in this form, whether it be by means of an hot water apparatus, or by a common flue, is most inimical to the plants submitted thereto. The admission of air, is a point which as far as I am aware, has never been effected in the manner represented in the sketch: it would be thus effected; — a series of apertures (f) should be provided at intervals along the front wall, which would externally be closed by small sliding shutters, and would communicate internally with a chamber ( Ordinary fine dry weather. Air contains one half of the moisture it is capable of holding in (solution ; in England very dry weather. Example:— Suppose hygrometer read 45°, the mean humidity corresponding is 93. Again, if hygrometer read 90°, the mean humidity corresponding is 59°. Mushrooms. (See p. 22.) Convenience for growing mushrooms may always be planned in a cucumber house ; and as these excel- lent fungi are universally approved, it may be useful to append an epitome of the mode in which they should be cultivated. The best, or, at least, most convenient situation for the bed, would be beneath that provided for the cu- cumber plants (see p. 18). The front may be formed of two course of brick-on-edge, and if divisions are re- quired, they should be formed in the same way. The bottom should be made even, and rendered dry. The material for forming the bed itself consists of short 75 stable litter, with horse -droppings, but chiefly the lat- ter, brought to a certain state of fer mentation. The droppings and litter should be obtained daily from the stable, until enough for a bed is collected ; it should, from day to day, be thrown up into a flattish heap, in a dry place, where it will ferment very slightly. As soon as enough is got together to begin to ferment, the heap must be turned over ; and in these turnings, the outer and inner parts of the heap, as well as the fresh and the fermenting, must be well mixed up together ; the heaps should be turned every second day, and should never be made large, or else the dung would become both too hot and too dry, either of which would spoil it. To avoid this, the heaps should be flat and shallow, with as much outside as possible ; in this way the air, acting on a considerable portion of it, renders it rather dry, and checks too rapid fermentation. This preparation must be continued until the whole mass is brought to an uniform mild, dryish state of fermenta- tion. Then the bed may be made in the following manner : — About three inches of the prepared dung is laid evenly over the bottom, and is beaten down firmly with a flat heavy wooden mallet. Another layer is then put on in the same way, and this is repeated until the bed is formed to a thickness of about six inches. The next two inches of the dung should have about a sixth part of light turfy loam reduced to mould, and sifted, mixed with it to give it body. The bed is now prepared, and is to be spawned as soon as it is seen that it does not heat violently. The heat ought not to exceed 90 degrees : if it reaches higher than this, holes must be made, a few inches apart, to let the heat pass off, and in a day or two these may be filled up again. The spawn is to be put in when the heat ranges about 75 degrees ; lumps of spawn about as large as a small 76 egg may be used ; a hole should be made with the fingers about two inches deep, the spawn inserted, and the material of the bed closed about it. Probably by this time there will be no danger of overheating, and if so, the soil may be put on ; if, however, there is any inclination to overheat, wait till it has passed off before putting on the soil. The soil used should be decomposed turfy loam, moderately dry, so as to bear compression without running together like paste, but damp enough to become firm, close, and even, when beaten closely. About two inches in^thickness should be put on, and this is to be beaten down quite firm and close. The beds are then finished. It is as well to cover the surface with a thin layer of short hay, to prevent it becoming quite dry. Mushroom beds sel- dom require water ; after they have been some time in bearing, the beds sometimes get dry, and in such cases, if they have a moderate soaking of tepid water, and the surface is covered as before, a new crop will spring up. The covering is best removed when the beds are in bearing. It is seldom advisable to apply water when the beds are coming into bearing. Water should never be used in any other than a tepid state. Mushrooms are most prized in the summer, though the atmosphere of a cucumber-house would not then be suitable for them, unless the space about them could be closed in, so as to retain a close, somewhat humid atmosphere. They would succeed very well without being enclosed, during the season for forcing cucumbers. Under the treatment which has been detailed, the beds would usually come into bearing in about six weeks from the time of spawning ; and, under favour- able circumstances, would continue in bearing for two or three months. YA G4607 I