THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 107 



plentiful supply of cucumbers may be secured throughout the 

 summer, with the means and appliances already at hand. As a rule, 

 the frames and other structures employed in wintering bedding 

 plants are idle during the summer, instead of being turned to ac- 

 count in cucumber and melon growing. In frames and pits the soil 

 can be placed upon the floor, but in greenhouses and similar struc- 

 tures, it will be necessary to make up the beds upon the side-tables. 

 JS"ow, instead of laying a few boards upon the stages, and making the 

 bed of soil upon them, the staging should be removed altogether, 

 and the plants grown in boxes or in tubs, capable of holding a con- 

 siderable quantity of soil. It will not be necessary to remove the 

 supports of the stage, but if all the woodwork is allowed to remain, 

 and the soil placed thereon, whether in boxes or not, it will be in a 

 constant state of saturation, and will, consequently, soon decay. 

 The boxes can be made of the commonest material, so that their cost 

 need only be most trifling, and those who have not the time, or are 

 not handy in carpentering, can purchase old egg-boxes, which are 

 admirably adapted for this work; the medium-sized deep boxes will 

 hold just sufficient soil for one plant, and the long shallow boxes, if 

 deepened by knocking the lids to pieces and adding them to the sides 

 and ends, will hold two plants comfortably, although having the 

 plants in separate boxes is decidedly preferable. Iu houses where 

 the side-tables consist of rough boards, covered with sand, gravel, or 

 ashes, or slate, stone, or other imperishable material, the soil can be 

 put upon them, and kept in its place by means of a few pieces of 

 board fixed on both sides. Bottom-heat is neither necessary nor 

 desirable, and the only matter the cultivator has to study in laying 

 the foundation of the bed is to provide means for the escape of the 

 superfluous moisture. This will not be a difficult matter, for if the 

 bottom is perfectly solid, the water will drain away quite fast enough 

 at the sides, if the boards are not fixed too close at the bottom. 



"With respect to preparing the beds, it is necessary to state that 

 two parts of turfy loam, one part decayed manure, and one part of 

 leaf-mould, if procurable, will form a most excellent compost. Pre- 

 pare by chopping the loam up rather roughly, and then add the 

 manure and leaf-mould, and well mix together. The soil must be 

 used in a lumpy state, and a layer of the largest lumps should be 

 thrown in the bottom of the box or bed previous to putting in the 

 bulk. Boxes should be filled to within about six cr eight inches of 

 the top, to afford space for earthing the plants up after they are 

 established, and iu the case of beds, both in houses and frames, the 

 soil should be put in a ridge down the centre, and more added as it 

 becomes necessary, until the bed has been made large enough for 

 the requirements of the plants. Towards the middle or end of the 

 summer, the beds may be covered with a layer of manure if the 

 plants shew signs of exhaustion ; but so long as they grow vigorously 

 no top-dressing will be required. 



The planting must be regulated by the time the houses and 

 frames are emptied of the bedding plants, but they should be planted 

 as early in May as possible, because no matter how early they are 

 planted they will continue to bear until the autumn, so that every 



