126 FRENCH MARKET-GARDENING 



water is sprinkled over the plants before closing up 

 the lights. No air is given for two or three days, so 

 as to encourage the plants to " pick up " again quickly, 

 and strong sunlight is also excluded for a few days 

 for the same reason. Nor must covering up with mats 

 at night be forgotten. Once growth has started, air 

 is given on all fine days, and a sprinkling with tepid 

 water is given in the morning and afternoon to en- 

 courage active growth. 



When four or five leaves are borne on the main stem, 

 the latter is pinched off i or 2 in. above the second 

 leaf. This will cause two side branches to develop 

 in due course. Before this takes place, however, a 

 layer of straw or clean litter is spread over the surface 

 of the bed. When the side branches are about i ft. 

 long, these are also shortened back a little, in front 

 of the second or third leaf. A third set of shoots will 

 then commence to develop from these, and when they 

 are about i ft. long, they must also be shortened back 

 to the second or third leaf in the same way. 



As soon as the young fruits have commenced to 

 swell, the best and most shapely one is selected, and 

 the shoot carrying it is pinched or shortened back to 

 two leaves beyond the fruits. All others are sup 

 pressed. When this first fruit has grown about two- 

 thirds of its natural size, a second fruit is chosen in 

 the same way as the first, and when this attains 

 two-thirds of its growth a third fruit is selected to 

 keep up the succession ; and so on with other fruits, 

 so that each plant may develop a dozen or more one 

 after the other. All long shoots are then pinched 

 back from time to time. 



Watering, of course, must be attended to each day 



