130 FRENCH MARKET-GARDENING 



July, and may be picked every two or three days 

 until the crop is finished. The fruits are usually fit 

 to gather about a week or ten days after the flowers 

 have set well. 



Insect Pests, etc. Cucumbers grown in frames, under 

 cloches, and in the open air are not so subject to 

 attacks of insect pests and fungoid diseases as those 

 grown in hot-houses. At the same time a watch must 

 be kept at all times for slugs, who are very fond of 

 them, and can only be kept in check by sprinkling 

 a little lime and soot on the soil, and also by severing 

 the bodies with a knife blade whenever they are seen. 

 " Red spider " is a well-known Cucumber pest causing 

 the under-surface of the leaves to assume a rusty 

 appearance. As a dry atmosphere is the chief cause 

 of " red spider," the natural remedy is to keep the 

 surroundings fairly moist by watering and syringing 

 as frequently as the growth of the plant and the 

 weather necessitates. The " eel- worms " which are such 

 a terrible pest in hot-houses, where they attack the 

 roots of the Cucumbers, are not so prevalent in frames 

 or the open air. When they appear, the plants are 

 rendered useless and crops should not be grown in the 

 same soil or in the same place a second time. The 

 old soil also should be burned before using for other 

 crops. 



DANDELIONS 



This well-known plant (Taraxacum Dens-Leonis) is 

 usually treated with scant respect in the British 

 Islands, although a few sensible market-gardeners are 

 well aware of its value as a salad plant. The market- 

 gardeners of Paris have paid attention to its cultivation 



