208 PRIZE GARDENING 



As the plants grew larger and the weather became 

 warmer, more ventilation was given by raising the sash 

 at the top and bottom. Warm water was still used, but 

 care was taken to apply only so much as the plants re- 

 quired for thrifty growth. Too liberal watering and 

 too little ventilation induce the rotting of the stems 

 of the plants, known among greenhouse men as 

 damping-off. May i8, the radishes were forming 

 bulbous roots, and lettuce, cauliflower and cabbage 

 plants were of sufficient size to transplant into the 

 unoccupied space in the frame. May 20, the radishes 

 were large enough for use and some were pulled for 

 the table. As the weather grew warmer the ventilation 

 was increased until the sashes were removed altogether 

 and the frame was covered with netting ; two-inch mesh 

 was placed over the cold frame to exclude chickens. 

 No future care, except occasional watering, was 

 required while the plants remained in the cold frame. 



Forcing Cucumbers and Tomatoes. — Some of the 

 essentials are described by G. C. Stone, a Massachusetts 

 expert : Cucumbers, he asserts, require a temperature 

 from sixty-five to eighty-five degrees. They are not 

 especially sensitive to mechanical conditions of the soil, 

 neither do they respond very quickly to fertilizer. A 

 good soil for cucumbers is one made of rotten sod and 

 horse manure. This makes a light, pliable soil. 



They require all the light possible under glass, 

 especially November and March, a matter which is too 

 little understood by those growing cucumbers. Some 

 of the so-called diseases can be traced directly to the 

 lack of light in the house. This is especially true where 

 growers have resorted to the practice of using two 

 layers of glass in their houses. The plants under such 

 conditions become yellow ; they cannot assimilate the 

 carbon dioxide from the air properly, as the light is 



