Editing Cucumber (section)

===Age of Enlightenment and later===

[[File:Lobster, Crab, and a Cucumber - 1891P32.jpg|thumb|''Lobster, Crab, and a Cucumber'' by [[William Henry Hunt (painter)|William Henry Hunt]] (watercolour, 1826 or 1827)]]

In the later 17th century, a prejudice developed against uncooked vegetables and fruits. A number of articles in contemporary health publications stated that uncooked plants brought on summer diseases and should be forbidden to children. The cucumber kept this reputation for an inordinate period of time, "fit only for consumption by cows," which some believe is why it gained the name, ''cowcumber''.{{Citation needed|date=February 2021}}

[[Samuel Pepys]] wrote in his diary on 22 August 1663:<ref>[http://www.pepysdiary.com/archive/1663/08/22/ Saturday 22 August 1663 (Pepys' Diary)]. Pepysdiary.com. Retrieved on 25 November 2012.</ref><blockquote>[T]his day Sir W. Batten tells me that Mr. Newburne is dead of eating cowcumbers, of which the other day I heard of another, I think.</blockquote>

John Evelyn in 1699 wrote that the cucumber, 'however dress'd, was thought fit to be thrown away, being accounted little better than poyson (poison)'.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Evelyn |first=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CiXbAAAAMAAJ |title=Acetaria: A Discourse of Sallets |date=1699 |publisher=Prospect Books |isbn=978-0-907325-12-3 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Davidson |first=Jan |title=Pickles: A Global History (Edible) |date=2018-07-15 |publisher=Reaktion Books |isbn=9781780239194}}</ref>

According to 18th-century British writer [[Samuel Johnson]], it was commonly said among English physicians that a cucumber "should be well sliced, and dressed with pepper and vinegar, and then thrown out, as good for nothing."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Boswell |first1=James |title=The Life of Samuel Johnson: Including A Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, Volumen 1 |date=1832 |publisher=Carter, Hendee and Company |page=423 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fKAEAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA423 |access-date=29 March 2024}}</ref>

A copper [[etching]] made by Maddalena Bouchard between 1772 and 1793 shows this plant to have smaller, almost bean-shaped fruits, and small yellow flowers. The small form of the cucumber is figured in [[Herbal]]s of the 16th century, however stating that "[i]f hung in a tube while in blossom, the Cucumber will grow to a most surprising length."{{Citation needed|date=February 2021}}