BURPEE’S GIANT PERA CUCUMBER.--This wonderful new variety
differs in almost every respect from the cucumber as generally grown,
and in size and quality far surpasses the ordinary kinds. The vines
are very vigorous in growth, with dark green, luxuriant foliage, which
enables it to bear large crops of cucumbers of extraordinary size, as
they are nearly three inches in diameter and are from 15 to 22 inches
in length. The fruit is uniformly round, smooth and straight, the skin
being of a pale green and entirely free from spines; when ripe the
skin is a russet brown. The green cucumbers are fit to eat at any
stage of their growth. The flesh is entirely white, not tinged with
green, as in the ordinary kinds, and is crisp, tender and brittle.
It has none of the cucumber taste of the older kinds, and is not
always relished at first by those who are fond of the strong-flavored
varieties, but after becoming accustomed to it for a short time, it is
preferred to all others. In its native home it forms one of the staple
foods of the inhabitants, being eaten in the natural state without any
dressing whatever, in the same manner that we would eat an apple or a
pear. It is certainly one of the most remarkable vegetables of recent
introduction.