56 



THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



But it will certainly be a safer and 

 more orderly way to cart in the soil 

 in autumn, and stack it up in narrow 

 banks for the grass to rot, and the 

 winter frost to penetrate the mass. 

 Cucumbers will grow well in leaf- 

 mould, common garden soil, and tho- 

 roughly rotten dung, equal parts, or 

 in leaf-mould alone, but unless there 

 is a bulk of firm loam in the mixture, 

 they sooner go out of bearing. But 

 the best mixture is equal parts maiden 

 loam, leaf-mould, road-sand, dry 

 horse droppings that have never been 

 fermented, and of soil from beds 

 which have already been used for 

 cucumbers. This should be prepared 

 and laid up in conical heaps at least 

 a month before it will be wanted. 

 Whether the heat be from hot water 

 or dung, the ridges should be made 

 up a day at least before planting to 

 have the soil quite warm. Hillocks 

 for the plants are now out of fashion, 

 ridges supersede them because the 

 plants grow better on them, and occa- 

 sion less trouble. Make the ridge 

 across the frame six inches away from 

 the centre, towards the back of the 

 frame, and let it be a foot wide and 

 a foot deep, and eighteen inches from 

 the glass. 



CuLTUEE FOE Feuiting. — At this 

 point we must take cognizance of a 

 great distinction to be observed in 

 the management of plants intended 

 to be grown on trellises, and those 

 which are to sprawl about the bed. 

 Those to be trellised must not be 

 stopped, but have a stick to support 

 them till they get above the trellis ; 

 those to ramble over the bed must 

 be stopped from the first. Plant up 

 to the seed-leaf, water to settle the 

 earth about the roots, and shut up at 

 a temperature of 70' bottom-heat, 

 60" top-heat. In the after manage- 

 ment attention must be specially 

 paid to a few points that may be very 

 briefly stated. The plants should 

 never suff'er by drought at the root, 

 and the atmosphere of the house or 

 pit should be always in a moist state. 

 In the dung-bed frequent sprinkling 

 with tepid water will suffice ; in 

 the pit water troughs must be placed 

 over the pipes or flues, to cause a 

 constant diffusion of vapour. For a 



few days after planting it is best to 

 shade ; but as soon as the plants have 

 made a start, discontinue shading, 

 except when there have been several 

 days of dull weather, and these are 

 followed by a burst of powerful sun- 

 shine ; then during mid-day an hour 

 or two of shade will be useful, but is 

 to be discontinued when fine weather 

 has fairly set in. Let the tempera- 

 ture rise as the plants advance in the 

 tank heated pits. This will be easily 

 accomplished ; in the dung-frame it 

 must be done by means of linings, 

 and when the plants are in full 

 vigour, and have abundance of water, 

 the temperature may go up to 90'' or 

 100^. When the plants have attained 

 their full growth, and are bearing 

 freely, give them manure water twice 

 a week, as strong as can be used, 

 without discolouring the leaves. In 

 the meantime continue to extend the 

 ridge as the roots require it ; but 

 having once supplied a sufficient 

 amount of material for the roots to 

 work in, if the roots rise to the sur- 

 face, do not cover them — Nature is 

 not to be hastily thwarted from such 

 whims and oddities. As for rambling 

 plants in dung-beds, they ought 

 never to be allowed to root at the 

 joints ; more than one set of roots is 

 more harm than good to any plant. 

 As to the pinching, that must be alike 

 in all cases, whether the plants are 

 grown in frames or in houses, though 

 it is too much the practice to let thera 

 run away for a time on a trellis, and 

 so get prematurely exhausted. The 

 simplest and safest rule is to stop 

 before the fruit, that is to leave but 

 one joint with its accompanying leaf 

 in advance of the fruit, and when the 

 fruit shows in pairs, it is best to rub 

 away one of every pair. If large 

 fruits are required for exhibition, 

 there must be but one or two left to 

 swell at a time, and free growth must 

 be encouraged by heat and moisture. 

 There is no need to impregnate the 

 blossoms after the end of jNIarch, but 

 during winter and early spring the 

 female blossoms must be set by 

 means of pollen from the males, and 

 this should be done at mid- day. The 

 trellis should be one foot from the 

 glass, and strong enough to allow the 



