and the plants will require more water to keep them 

 aUve, than is proper to give them ; therefore it will 

 be found mucli the better way to allow a proper depth 

 ot earth to the beds : but the rcafon of not lavin 



gthe 



e plants, than that which his been long upon 

 :)ed, and has been too much moillcned bv the 



U 



a^ain. Tlie glaHl-s of the liot-bed iliould be well co- 



vm-d with mats every night, to keep the bed in a 



proper temperature of heat, and great care muft be 



uken to achnit freHi air every day to the plants ; but 



this fliould be done with caution, fo as to guard 



afrainft the cold v;inds which ufually blow at that 



fc'afon ; fo that a mat or canvafs fhouki be hung over 



the o})cning made by raifing of the glalTcs, to pre- 

 vent the cold air from rufhing in too violently, and 



the <^lafres fliould always be railed on tlut fide which 



is contrary to the wind. The plants will alfo require 



to be frequently watered, but it mud be cautioully 



given them at this feafon, and the water fhould not 



be cold, but either placed in a ftove, or put into a 



warm heap of dung, to take off the cliill from it be- 

 fore it is ufed. 



If the wx-ather fhould prove bad, and the heat cf 



the bed decline, there fliould be fome hot dung laid 



round the fides of the bed to renev/ the heat, which 



mufl; not be fuffered to fail ; for as the planjts have 



been tenderly brought up, they mull not fuffer from 



cold, for that will loon defl:roy them. 



In this bed the plants may remain about three weeks 



or a month, in v^'hich time, if they have been pro- 

 perly managed, they will have obtained fufiicient 

 rtrenf^th to put out for good; therefore a proper 

 quantity of dung fliould have been mixed and turned 

 ready for making of the beds. The ufual quantity 

 allowed formakino; of the beds at this feafon, is one 

 good cart load to each light: this fliould be well 

 mixed and turned over in the manner before directed ; 

 then a trench fhould be dug in the ground the length 



and width of the intended bed, into which the dung I ing the plants, and admitting frefti air to them, mufl 

 fhould be wheeled, and properly worked according be diligently attended to, otherwife the plants will 

 to the above direftions, and fome old dung or neats be foon deftroyed ; for a little neglect either of ad- 

 dung fpread over the top. The frames and glaflTes mitting air, or letting in too much, or by over water- 

 fhould then be put on the bed, which fhould be ' 

 raifed every day to let the flieam of the dung pafs off, 

 and in about three days the bed will be in a proper 

 temperature of heat to receive the plants -, at which 

 time the dung fliould be covered over with dry earth 

 about four inches thick, and in the middle of the bed 

 itfliould be three or four inches thicker 5 this fliould be 

 laid upon the dung at leafl: twenty-four hours before 

 theplants are removed into the bed, that the earth may 

 be properly warmed -, then theplants fhould be care- 

 fully fhaken out of the pots, preferving all the earth to 

 their roots, and placed on the top of the earth in the 

 middle of the bed. Two, or at mofl:, three of thefe 

 plants will be fufficient for each light, and thefe 

 ihould be placed at about feven or eight inches afun- 

 der, not all the roots together, as is too often prac- 

 tifed. When the plants are thus fituated in the bed, 

 the earth which was laid fo much thicker in the mid- 

 dle of the bed, fhould be drawn up round the ball 

 which remained to the roots of theplants, into which 

 their 'foots will foon Urike-, there mould always be a 

 magazine of good earth laid under cover to keep it 



quantity of earth on the bed when it is firft made, is, 

 that the dung fliould not be too much chilled by it, 

 or that the earth may not be burned, which might be 

 endangered thereby, v/ere the whole thicknefs to belaid 

 on at once; befides, by thus gradually applying the 

 eartli, it will be frefli, and much better for the Toots 

 of th 



the be 



fleam arifing from the dung. 



If the heat of the bed fliould decline, there fliould 

 be fome hot dung laid round the fide of the bed to 

 renew the heat ; for if that fliould fail at the dme 

 w hen the fruit appears, they v/ill fall off and perifli, 

 therefore this mull be carefully regarded •, and when 

 the plants have put out fide branches (which the gar- 

 deners call runners) they fliould be properly placed, 

 and pegged down with fmall forked fdcks to prevent 

 their riling up to the glaffes, and alfo from croffmg 

 and entangling with each other ; fo that when they are 

 properly directed atfirfl:, there will be no necefficy of 

 twilling and tumbling the plants afterward, which is 

 always hurtful to them. 



When the earth of the bed is laid the full thicknefs, 

 it will be neceflary to raife the frames, otherv/ife the 

 glafies v/ill be too clofe to the plants ; but when this 

 -, is done, there mufl: be care taken to flop the earth 

 ' very clofe round the fide of the frame, to prevent ■ 

 the cold air from entering under them. The water- 





ing, or fl:arving the plants, will very foon deflroy 

 them pafl: recovery. 



When the fruit appears upon the plants, there will 

 alfo appear many male flowers on different parts of 

 the plant; thefe may at firft: fight be difl:inguiflied, 

 for the female flowers have the young fruit fituated 

 under the flowers, but the male have none -, but thefe 

 have three flamina in their center with their fummits, 

 which are loaded with a golden powder. This is de- 

 figned to impregnate the female flowers, and when 

 the plants are fully expofed to the open air, the foft 

 breezes of wind convey this farina or m.ale powder 

 from the male to the female flowers ; but in the 

 frames where the air is frequently too much excluded 

 at this feafon, the fruit often drops off for want of 

 it ; and I have often obferved, that bees that have 

 crept into the frames when the glafles have been 

 raifed to admit the air, havefupplied the wantof thofe 

 gentle breezes of wind, by carrying the farina of the 

 male flowers on their hind legs into the female flow- 

 ers, where a fufficient quantity of it has been left to 

 _ _ ^ impregnate them. For as the bees make their wax 



dry, for the earthing of thefe beds ; for if it is taken j of the farina or male powder of flowers, they fearch 

 up wet, it willchill the beds, and alfo occafion great j all the flowers indifferently to find it j and I have ob- 

 damps therein, therefore it is quite neceffary to have 

 a fufficient quantity of earth prepared long before it 

 is ufed. When the plants are thus fettled^ they muft 

 have proper air and water, according as they may re- 

 quire, being careful not to admit too much cold air. 



•i 





or give too much water-, the glaffes fhould alfo be 

 well covered with mats every night, to keep up the 

 warmth of the bed, and fome frefh earth Ihould be 

 put into the bed at different times, which fhould be 

 laid at fome diflance from the roots of the plants till 

 it is warmed, and then fhould be draw^n up round the 

 heap of the earth in which the plants grow, to increafe 

 the dept;h -, this fhould be raifed to the full height of 

 the former ball, that the roots of the plants may more 

 eafily fl:rike into it : by this method of fupplying the 

 earth, the whole furface of the beds will be covered 

 nine or ten inches with earth, which will be of great 

 fervice to the roots of the plants ^ for where the earth 

 is very fliallow, the leaves of the plants will always 

 hang in the heat of the day, unlefs they are Ihaded, 



ferved them come out of fome flowers with their hind 

 legs loaded with it, and going immediately into other 

 flowers which have none, they have fcattered a fuffi- 

 cient quantity of this farina about the flyle of the fe- 

 male flowers, to impregnate and render them prolific. 

 Thefe infedts have taught the gardeners a method to 

 fupply the want of free air, which is fo neceffary for 

 the performance of this in the natural way. This is 

 done by carefully gathering the male flowers, at the 

 time when this farina is fully formed, and carrying 

 them to the female flowers, turning them dow^n over 

 them, and with the nail of one finger, gently fl:rik-^ 

 ing the outfide of the male, fo as to caufe the powder 

 on the fummits to fcatter into the female flowxTs, and 

 this is found to be fufficient to impregnate them ; fo 

 that by pra£lifing this method, the gardeners have 

 now arrived at a much greater certainty than former- 

 ly, to procure an early crop of Cucumbers and Me- 

 lons ; and by this method the florills have arrived to 

 greater certainty of procuring ndw varieties of flowers 



from 



* 



