262 



AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



them a foot apart in the rows. Cultivate regularly and 

 carefully until the vines cover the entire ground. 



It is a good plan to sow cowpeas at the last working of 

 cantaloupes, in order to furnish some shade for the melons. 

 As both cucumbers and cantaloupes are easily hurt by 

 cold, they should not be planted until the soil is warm and 



all danger of frost 

 is past. 



Cucumbers are 

 always cut while 

 they are green. 

 They should 

 never be pulled 

 from the vine, but 

 should always be 

 cut with a piece 

 of the stem at- 

 tached. Canta- 

 loupes should be 

 gathered before 

 they turn yellow and should be ripened in the house. 

 \In some sections of the country, the little striped cucum- 

 ber beetle attacks the melons and cucumbers just as they 

 come up. These beetles are very active and if their 

 attacks are not prevented, they will destroy the tender 

 plants. Bone dust and tobacco dust applied just as the 

 plants come up will prevent these attacks. This treat- 

 ment not only keeps off the beetle, but also helps the 

 growth of the plants. 



Egg Plants. Egg plants are so tender that they cannot, 

 like tomatoes, be transplanted to cold frames and gradually 



b 



FIG. 228. STRIPED CUCUMBER BEETLE 

 AND LARVA. (All magnified) 



After Division of Entomology 



