Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 05.djvu/757

* CUCKOO-BEE. 651 CUCURBITACE^. cuckoo. Each genus makes its Iiomc with some partieular form or forms of wild bee; thus, our fomuion Xouiada imbricata is found in nests of Andrena and llalictus: Stelis lives on Osmia, etc. These iniquilines luive no means of collect- ing or carrying pollen, and so have been forced to seek the hospitality of forms able to do so. The investigations of J. H. Enierton show that this forced association arouses no quarreling, but that there is frequently enough food for the larva of both the jjroper owner of the cell and of the guest, whose egg is laid in the same ])ollen- mass. The cuckoo-bee Hies about with its host, and enters and leaves the home without hin- drance. See Bee; Cuckoo-Fly. CUCKOO -FLY. One of a family (Chrysi- didse) of diminutive, beautiful, metallic - green wasps, in which the abdomen has onl}' three, four, or five visible segments, and can bo turned under the thorax and closely applied to it. This 'fly' seeks out the nest of a solitary wasj) or bee, and, when the rightful o-ner is absent collecting food, the cuckoo-ily deposits an egg in each cell. These eggs are walled in by the bee, together with her own eggs. The cuckoo-fly larva- hatch, eat the food stored up in the cell by the bee, and perchance even the riglitful lar;e. The adult lly, when seen by the -iN-asp, is fought des- perately, and during such encounters it rolls itself up in a defensive ball. In Europe, where the Germans call them Goldwespen, one of the cuckoo-Hies is parasitic on the currant-worm. CUCKOO-SPIT. See Fbog-Spittle. CUCU'JICffi (Neo-Lat. nom. pi., from Cucu- jus, of South American origin). A large family, chietly tropical, of oblong, flattened beetles, most of which live under bark. See Cobn-Insects. CUCUMBER (OF. cocombre, Fr. concomhre, from IIL. ciicumer, from Lat. cucumus, cucum- ber), Cuciimis sativiis. A common garden vegetable, native of Asia, and cultivated from the earliest times. The plant is vine-like, and somewhat similar in appearance to the musk- melon. The oblong fruit (4 to 30 inches long) is eaten in the green state as a salad, and is ex- tensively used for pickling. The smaller sorts of pickling cucumbers are sometimes called gherkins. The many varieties of cucumber in cultivation differ greatly in size and shape of the fruit. Cucumbers are veiy sensitive to frost. They are grown during the warm months in nearly all parts of the United States. The seeds are ]ilanted in hills 4 by 6 feet apart. The soil should be a fertile, warm loam, and the hills made rich with a few shovelfuls of well-rotted manure. The long Engli.sh varieties extensively used for forcing in Europe are less used in America, the white-spine varieties being used more extensively for this purpose. To this genus belong other species valued for their edible fruit. Cucumis anguria is knowii as the West Indian gherkin. The snake cucumber {Cncumis melo, variety flexuosus) grows to a great length, and is similiar in quality to the common cucumber. Cucumis serotinus is cul- tivated in Turkey; Cucumis macrocarpos in Brazil; the conomon (Cucumis conomum) is much cultivated in Japan. The dudaim {Cu- cumis dudaitn) is very generally cultivated in gardens in the East, for the fragrance of its fruit. The musk cucumber is Cucumis luoschata. CUCUMBER - BEETLE. Of several beetles whose grul)s attack cucumliers. the most impor- tant ones are described under Mi:i.oN In- sects (q.v.). An especial flea-beetle found about cucumber - vines is Haltica cucuineris, which is about the size of a small grain of wheat, black, with clay-colored antenna' and legs. The larva; mine tlie seed-leaves of the youug i)laiits, and both old and young feed upon the mature vine-leaves and also upon other gar- den vegetables. CUCUMBER DISEASES. The cucumber is subject to the attack of a nund)er of fungi, only the more important of which can be mentioned. In the seed-bed it is liable to the attack of Pythium dcbar}anum, the disease l)eing called 'damping ofl'' (q.v,). In the held one of the worst pests is Plasmopara, or Peronospora cu- bcnsis, producing mildew. It attacks the foli- age, causing the leaves to turn yellowy to wilt, and die, the whole vine being involved. Spray- ing with some fungicide (q.v.), as Bordeaux mixture or potassium suli)hide, will prevent this disease if applied early and often. Care nuist be taken to spray the mixture upon the under sides of the leaves. In addition to cucumbers, this mildew occurs on muskmelons, squashes, and pumpkins. Another fungus, Cladosporium cu- cumerinum, attacks the fruit of the cucumber and melons, producing upon the young fruits small, sunken areas that later become black, rot- ten places. Ofteti a sort of gummj- exudation is associated with this disease. The treatment given above is recommended for this disease. In the greenhouse the most serious trouble to cucumber-forcing is the powdery mildew {Eri/- sipJw cichoracearuDi). It may be known by the white, flour-like splashes on the leaves. The leaves become yellow, then brown, and dry up, killing the plant. The disease spreads with great rapidity, but may be kept under control as in the above cases. A disease known as the wilt disease is often of great destruction to cucumbers, melons, etc. It is caused by a kind of bacteria to which the name Bacillus trachei- philus has been given. The organisms fill the water-ducts of the plant, causing it suddenly to collapse. The leaf-blades shrivel and dry up, and Later the petioles and stem become tlaccid and the whole plant perishes. If a stem be cut across, a sticky, milk-white substance exudes. The disease is readily prodiiced by inoculation, and is largely spread through the agency of in- sects, A somewhat similar disease is caused by a species of Fusarium, a fungus. CUCUMBER-INSECTS. See Melon-Insects. CUCUMBER - TREE. An American forest- tree, growing in nearly all the Eastern States. The fruit, which looks like a ('ucumber, when macerated in spirit, makes a bitter tonic drink. The timber is light and useful for boat-building. See JI.GXOLi.. CU'CURBITA'CE.ffi (Neo-Lat. nom. pi., from Lat, cncurhita, gourd). An order of dicotyle- donous plants (the gourd family), consisting chiefly of herbaceous plants, natives of the wann- er parts of the world, having succulent stems which climb by means of lateral tendrils, the morphology of which has been a subject of much contention. The flowers are monn?cious or dioe- cious, and often s^niipetalous. The cal^^ and corolla are five-parted and more or less co-