No. 7. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 235 



we use the Iceberg, Big Hanson, or Boston lettuce, the long red 

 radish, the Egyptian blood beet, the silver skin onion, the hollow 

 crown parsnip, the half-long carrot, the Hubberd squash, the win- 

 ter luxury pumpkin and the Giant Paseil celery. 



The squash, cucumber and melons are planted in hills, keeping 

 the hills in rows, however, so as not to interfere with cultivation. 

 In planting these latter we first dig a hole about twenty inches in 

 diameter and 8 to 10 inches deep, filling these holes with manure 

 and covering with about two inches of soil, then place a box around 

 the hill and plant the seed on the inside, putting in a number and 

 thinning to four or five good, strong plants. The boxes protect the 

 young plants and are left until the vines start to run. 



The tomato, cabbage and celery plants are started in boxes in 

 the house. The tomatoes being transplanted to the cold frame as 

 soon as the weather will permit. By the use of the cold frame, we 

 get good stocky plants with fruit already set, by the time we can 

 set them out in the garden. In setting these large plants out, we 

 dig a large, deep hole, putting in some manure, then by taking up 

 all the dirt that we can make cling to the roots of the plants and 

 using plenty of water, and taking care to have the surface of the 

 ground around the plants of dry, fine soil, we are able to trans- 

 plant the plants without having them wilt enough to injure them, 

 B}- this method we get ripe tomatoes in July, which is several weeks 

 ahead of our neighbors. 



The cold frame is made b^' digging down into the ground about 

 two feet, preferably on the south side of a building or on a south 

 slope, and placing a frame the size of two window sash or a reg- 

 ular cold frame sash in the hole, letting the frame come up six or 

 eight inches above the top of the ground and having the top of this 

 frame slant to the south sufficiently for the rain to run off readily. 



About March 1, we put in eight or ten inches of horse manure, 

 tramping it thoroughly, on top of which we spread two or three inches 

 of dirt and cover up with the sash. After the contents of the bed 

 are thoroughly warmed up, we put in the plants. If the small black 

 fleas or swales attack the plants, sprinkle the ground with air- 

 slacked lime. As the plants grow and the weather becomes warmer, 

 they will require an abundant supply of w^ater. The sash should be 

 opened or ti^keu otY entirc^ly during the day, so as to harden up the 

 I)lants. The celery j)lants are transplanted into large boxes, where, 

 if tli'\v arc given an abundance of water, they will make good, 

 strong plants by July 1. when they can be put out. While visiling a 

 large nuuket garden this past fall, we noticed that the celery was 

 planted near to the surface of the ground and hilled up. instead of 

 being set in trenches; the gardner claimed that he got better re- 

 sults by so doing. 



