CHAP. XXII VILLA GAKDENING 483 



they can be removed with safety, and the i^lants encouraged to run 

 out, the shoots being pegged down to keep them steady and 

 prevent the winds injuring them. Watering is a necessity, and 

 must receive careful attention, and, as soon as the plants begin to 

 l)ear, liquid manure should be given. Go over the plants twice 

 a-week, and cut all fruits fit for use. To leave them longer would 

 lead to exhaustion and, perhaps, premature death. 



Gherkins for Pickling should be cut when small or they 

 will be useless. In other respects the treatment they require is 

 the same as that given to Ridge Cucumbers generally. 



Varieties. — It is rather difficult to get seeds of a really good 

 Ridge Cucumber. Those who have the best varieties (and they 

 are in the hands of market-growers chiefly) do not care to part 

 with seeds. There is no difficulty in obtaining seeds of the usual 

 short prickly varieties, but these are not what I mean. A Ridge 

 Cucumber that will produce in the open air, in August and 

 September, fruit from 10 to 12 inches long, fit for table use, will 

 be valuable. 



Saving Seeds. — When a good variety has been secured it will 

 be advisable to save seeds, and one or more hills should be set 

 apart for that purpose, leaving four or five of the handsomest fruit 

 early in the season of bearing, and before the plants have become 

 exhausted. When the fruits are ripe and are changing colour cut 

 them from the plants, and place them on a shelf in a cool airy 

 room to complete their ripening ; then the seeds should be taken 

 out, washed from the pulp, dried thoroughly, and packed away in 

 a drawer. When kept in a dry place Cucumber seeds retain their 

 vitality a long time, — how long I am not prepared to say, but cer- 

 tainly more than twenty years. 



Salsafy and Scorzonera. — I have linked these plants 

 together because they require the same treatment and somewhat 

 resemble each other. The Salsafy is called the Vegetable Oyster, 

 because when cooked its flavour has something of that delicious 

 bivalve about it. It has a white root, from 8 to 12 inches long, 

 and, when well grown, from three-quarters of an inch to an inch 

 in diameter. The roots are very apt to fork out ; therefore they 

 should be grown on good land, but without manure, or, if manure 

 is used, it should be buried at least 12 inches deep. Tlie seeds 

 should be sown in March — towards the end of the month or the 

 beginning of April will do in late districts. If sown too early, 

 some of the plants may bolt, and then the roots will be tough and 

 useless. The seeds should be sown in drills half an inch deep and 

 from 12 to 15 inches apart. When the young plants are 2 inches 

 high, thin to 6 inches apart, and hoe frequently to keep down 



