THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 265 



Succession. For a succession sow every two weeks. 

 For pickling sow late in June or early in July. 



In cold frames. For the earliest fruit start in inverted 

 sod in cold frames. Take sod from very rich soil. The 

 pieces should be from four to six inches square. Turn 

 them upside down, and pack close together in the frames. 

 Place six or eight seeds in each piece of sod ; plant them 

 half an inch deep. As soon as they have made a good 

 start, transfer them to the garden. Harden the plants 

 by giving them some shade for a few days, and thin to 

 the four strongest. Cucumber plants may also be started 

 in five-inch flowerpots or in berry boxes. 



Cultivation. Keep a surface mulch until the vines 

 cover the ground. 



Harvesting. The vines must be kept in good bearing 

 condition by picking the fruit regularly. If they are left 

 to ripen, the productiveness of the vines is weakened. 



Growing cucumbers in glass houses. For market pur- 

 poses cucumbers are grown extensively in glass houses. 

 The houses are warmed so that the vines may be growing 

 and producing fruit at all seasons of the year. To render 

 the plants productive it is necessary to fertilize the pistil- 

 late flowers with pollen from the staminate flowers. This 

 may be done by hand or by keeping a hive of bees in the 

 house. The bees must be fed, for there is not a sufficient 

 amount of food in cucumber flowers to nourish them. 



Diseases. For downy mildew and wilt, spray with 

 Bordeaux mixture. Destroy diseased vines and rotate 

 the crop as far as possible. 



