Sea cucumber

“ The mouth of the sea cucumber is surrounded by plumed tentacles which can be retracted at will, and which are used in capturing the smaller living things that form its food. Like the earthworm, it will often swallow large quantities of sand, from which it digests the organic matter contained. ”

“ Occasionally not only cucumber stomach would come out, but also an active and astonished little live fish. This fish, called Fierasfer, seems to have adopted for more or less permanent home the inside of sea-cucumbers. It is a slender, active, bright-eyed little creature which has certainly displayed an extraordinary cleverness in the life-and-death game of hide and seek with its enemies.
Octopuses and squids came to be familiar acquaintances in the reef pools. ”

“ If a Sea-cucumber be left in a limited quantity of water, it will sometimes direct the posterior end upwards until it reaches the surface of the liquid, and will pump air into the trees. Besides the trees, other much shorter tubes open into the cloaca, termed the Cuvierian organs. These tubes are really the modified basal branches of the trees. They are unbranched, and their peritoneum consists of cells which secrete a slime which swells up enormously on the addition of sea water. ”

“ It represents a species of the genus Cucumaria, C. communis, or common Sea-Cucumber. Its length is from four to eight inches; but, like all its kindred, it possesses the power of considerably extending or contracting its body at will. The Tentacula are ten in number, pinnate and plumose, stalked and rather large. The body is five-sided, with numerous suckers on the angles, but more on the sides, which are papilose. The colour is yellow, or brownish-white, although specimens found on the Irish coast exhibit a purplish hue. ”

“ In some species, however, tube feet are wholly wanting; in others they are scattered over the surface.
Although there are known about five hundred species of sea-cucumbers many of which live along the shores, they are much less familiar to us than the starfishes and sea-urchins. They usually rest buried in the sand by day, feeding at night. Some of them attain a large size. A great orange-red species of the genus Cucumaria, which is found in the Bay of Monterey, California, is three feet long. ”

“ Of this they gave me two dried specimens; and it proved to be the beche-de-mer, or sea cucumber which we had first seen on the reefs of the East Coast, and had afterwards hauled on shore so plentifully with the seine, especially in Caledon Bay. They get the trepang by diving, in from 3 to 8 fathoms water; and where it is abundant, a man will bring up eight or ten at a time, The mode of preserving it is this: the animal is split down one side, boiled, and pressed with a weight of stones ”

“ But in the water the form is full, and the fringed tentacles are extremely beautiful, and can properly be compared to the delicately-branched and beautifully-colored sea-weeds which we all so much admire.
The "sea-cucumber" has a wonderful power of changing its form. It elongates, contracts, enlarges at each end while it is small in the middle, and thus changes its appearance from time to time. In its power of going to pieces it almost excels the "brittle-star" and the ”

“ Hence it is that the vulgar notion may very possibly be true, that whatever is produced in any other department of Nature, is to be found in the sea as well; while, at the same time, many other productions are there to be found which nowhere else exist. That there are to be found in the sea the forms, not only of terrestrial animals, but of inanimate objects, is easy to be understood by all who will take the trouble to examine the grape-fish, the sword-fish, the saw-fish, and the cucumber-fish, which last so strongly resembles the real cucumber both in color and in 122 smell. ”

“ The people of some nations use sea-cucumbers as food. They are called "trepang" in the orient. The trade of [Pg 125] preparing the trepang is almost entirely in the hands of the Malays, and every year large fleets set sail from Macassar and the Philippines to the south seas to catch sea-cucumbers. ”

“ The Sea-Cucumbers possess the singular power of disembowelling themselves upon the slightest provocation, and also of throwing off their Tentacula entire. There is one species, indeed, that exhibits a still more wonderful phenomenon. At certain times members of this species will divide their body into a number of parts, each of which will in due course [306] become a new and completely-formed animal. After this the reader will be prepared to learn, that to build up a new inside, or create a new set of branchiæ, is to a Holothuria a very trifling and insignificant task. ”

“ While the mouth in the sea urchins and starfishes is on one of the broad sides of the somewhat flattened body—which for this reason is designated as the buccal, or, not very accurately, ventral region—in the sea cucumbers the body extends from the mouth to the other pole, and the animals are not flat, like their relatives, but lengthened out like worms. ”

“ Collecting sea-cucumbers is easy, but preserving them is not. Rough handling of any sort and above all the plunge into the preserving fluid inevitably caused the cucumbers to eject from the mouth opening a considerable portion of their insides, comprising most of the esophagus, stomach and intestines. ”

“ Gather the smallest Cucumbers you can find, for it is the smallest Size, which is most commonly brought to table among People of the first Rank; tho' a Cucumber of two Inches long will do very well, or even one of three Inches. These must be put in Salt and Water, to be shifted every day till they change to a yellow colour: wipe them dry, and prepare Pickle of Vinegar, a piece of Allum as big as a Wallnut to a gallon, or in proportion, Ginger diced, Mace, whole Pepper, a few Bay-leaves, and some Dill-Seed, which will do better than the Herb it self. ”

“ The petals are leaf-like and the flowers have no fragrance to make up for their lack of beauty. Imperfect pollination results in distorted, fleshy cones that resemble cucumbers that have twisted and shrunken in spots as they grew. These fruits turn from pink to red as they mature, redeeming their ugly shape by their vivid color as the leaves turn yellow. In September, the scarlet seeds hang out and the wind whips them until they dangle several inches below the fruit. One by one they drop and new cucumber trees come up from this planting. ”

“ It happens, too, for our encouragement, that about nine-tenths of all that has been written about cucumbers in horticultural papers has related to the winter management, an implication, perhaps, that to grow cucumbers in summer needs so little skill that there need be very little said about it. To be sure, it is easy enough to grow them, even in common frames, with or without fermenting material, yet the cutting of a cucumber fit for the table is an extraordinary event in some few gardens where only one man is kept. ”

“ The cucumbers form one of the staple foods of the people; they are eaten with salt, and are looked on as a fruit; the peasants eat at a sitting five or six pounds’ weight, and find no inconvenience; the Persian cucumber may be eaten with impunity.
Lettuces grow in vast profusion, also the kalam kūmri, a strongly-flavoured kind of nohl-kohl. The Aubergine, or “badinjan,” the fruit of which I have seen weighing three pounds, and carrots and turnips are also grown: the carrots are generally a green-rooted variety. ”

“ For very early cucumbers plant the seed in the hotbed in March or April, but do not put the plants into the garden until all danger of frost is over. This plant requires a rich and mellow soil. It should be set in hills at least four feet apart. It is a good plan to start the seed in pieces of sod placed grass-side down. This enables one to move them from the hotbed without any disturbance of their roots. The cucumber- or squash-beetle often destroys the plants when they are put in the open ground if close watch is not taken and prompt effort made to rout the enemy. ”

“ It is usual to eat cucumbers with salmon, and no other vegetables; the cucumbers to be pared, sliced, laid in cold water, and dressed, and served up by themselves, with a little plate for each person, that the vinegar, &c., of the cucumbers may not impart too much acid to the salmon.
In places remote from the sea, a whole salmon is seldom seen at table but at dinner parties, or at good hotels. In a very hot climate it should not be seen at all. ”

“ Cucumbers are always eaten before they are ripe, and usually with vinegar, oil, pepper, and salt. They are sometimes stewed; and when young (under the name of gerkins) , are pickled with vinegar and spices, or preserved in syrup as a sweetmeat.
As the cucumber plants are too tender to sustain the coldness of our climate exposed to the open air, it is necessary to sow the seed in hot-beds, or under hand-glasses ”

“ The English type of cucumber is a long, cylindrical, uniformly green fruit, with few seeds and a very fleshy seed cavity; in fact, the normal seed cavity of the forced cucumber is almost entirely wanting. The triangular shape characteristic of the normal outdoor cucumber has been lost, and the cylindrical outline almost perfected. There is considerable difference in the size and length of the various English varieties of cucumbers. The American type of cucumber is primarily grown in the field, the product to be used either for pickling or for slicing. ”

“ If you have room near your back door for one large hill of cucumbers, you may obtain a remarkable growth. Dig down deep enough to set in an old barrel, with head and bottom out, leaving the top even with the surface. Fill with manure from the stable, well trod down. In fine rich mould, around on the outside of the barrel, plant twenty or thirty cucumber-seeds. Put a pail of water in the barrel every day. The water comes up through the soil to the roots of the plants, bringing with it the stimulus of the manure, and the effect is wonderful. ”

“ The numerous hybrid varieties which are in cultivation, render it a matter of some importance to make choice of those most suitable to the purpose; these are however so continually changing, that it is useless to attempt a record of them. The Sion house Cucumber is perhaps the best of all suited for cultivation in the winter season. The principal features which are required in Cucumbers for winter forcing, are, precocity; compactness of growth, rather than luxuriance ”

“ The common cucumber is distinguished by heart-shaped leaves, which are rough with hairs approaching to bristles, and oblong fruit. It is a native of the middle and south of Asia, and has been cultivated from the earliest times. Its fruit forms an important article of food in its native regions, the south of Europe, etc., and an esteemed delicacy in colder countries, where it is produced by the aid of artificial heat. Many varieties are in cultivation, with fruit from four inches to two feet long, rough, smooth, etc. ”

“ Fish Salad with Cucumbers Season one and one-half cups cold cooked flaked halibut, haddock, or cod, with salt, cayenne, and lemon juice. Cover, and let stand one hour. To Cream Dressing II add one-third tablespoon granulated gelatine soaked in one and one-half tablespoons cold water. As soon as dressing begins to thicken, add one-half cup heavy cream beaten until stiff, then fold in the fish. Turn into individual moulds, chill, remove from moulds, arrange on lettuce leaves, garnish each with a thin slice of cucumber, and serve with. ”

“ It is not quite certain what species of Gourd is here meant, but all the old commentators considered it to be the Colocynth, [59:2] the word "vine" meaning any climbing plant, a meaning that is still in common use in America.
All the tribe of Cucumbers are handsome foliaged plants, but they require room. On the Continent they are much more frequently grown in gardens than in England, but the hardy perennial Cucumber (Cucumis perennis) makes a very handsome carpet where the space can be spared, and the Squirting Cucumber (also hardy and perennial) is worth growing for its curious fruit. ”

“ But if peradventure you chance to brush up against the plant accidentally, or you irritate it of set purpose with your foot or your cane, then, as Mr. Rider Haggard would say, "a strange thing happens": off jumps the little green fruit with a startling bounce, and scatters its juice and pulp and seeds explosively through a hole in the end where the stem joined on to it. The entire central part of the cucumber, in short (answering to the seeds and pulp of a ripe melon) , squirt out elastically through the breach in the outer wall, leaving the hollow shell behind as a mere empty windbag. ”

“ The Greek gardeners appear to have delighted exceedingly in the production of monstrous vegetables. Thus, in the case of the cucumber, their principal object appears to have been to produce it without seed, or of some extraordinary shape. [1424] In the first case they diligently watched the appearance of the plant above ground, and then covering it over with fresh earth, and repeating the same operation three times, the cucumbers it bore were found to be seedless. The same effect was produced by steeping the seeds in sesamum-oil for three days before they were sown. ”

“ Then pare them, and grate them down into a deep dish. Grate also six small onions, and mix them with the grated cucumber. Season the mixture to your taste, with pepper, salt, and vinegar; making it of the consistence of rich marmalade or jam. When [57] thoroughly incorporated, transfer it to a glass jar, cover it closely, tying down over the top a piece of bladder, so as to make it perfectly air-tight.
It will be found very nice (when fresh cucumbers are not in season) to eat with beef or mutton, and if properly made and tightly covered will keep well. ”