JULY: FIRST WEEK 167 



an after-frost supply to be kept in the cold-frame or cellar, 

 late plants should be set out. One way of obtaining a crop 

 of these is to root a batch of cuttings now. Side shoots 

 that are removed and placed in a box of sandy soil in the 

 shade and kept watered will root in a few days, and these 

 made-to-order plants may be brought to full bearing before 

 frost. 



Eggplant should be given a dressing of nitrate of soda 

 at the first hoeing, and a dressing of liquid manure or a 

 complete fertilizer at the second. An abundance of mois- 

 ture is necessary, and if irrigation is not available a good 

 plan is to mulch the rows with short strawy manure, rotted 

 leaves or old short straw. 



Don't Leave Vine Plants to Strangle Each Other 



The various vine crops are treated in much the same 

 way. Probably the most common mistake is in leaving 

 too many vines in a hill. The gardener who has succeeded 

 in getting a stand of six or eight good plants feels that 

 he has done his duty when he pulls out all but four or 

 five. Reduce this number to two as soon as they begin to 

 crowd. Use tobacco dust as a preventive of striped cucum- 

 ber beetle. Spray with Bordeaux mixture or dust with 

 an arsenate-sulphur compound to keep all the new growth 

 covered. For the large black stink-bug use kerosene emul- 

 sion. Watch squash and pumpkin vines for the borer. 

 When the tips of the vines and the leaves wilt on a hot 

 day search carefully at the base of the vines for him. He 

 can usually be located inside the stem within the first few 

 joints from the soil. A slit in it with a sharp knife blade 

 will permit you to take him out. The wound, if covered 

 with soil, will quickly heal. 



At the time of the second hoeing, work in a light dressing 

 of nitrate of soda. When the vines reach across the rows 

 the ends may be pinched out, which tends to develop the 

 side shoots upon which the fruits are usually borne. 



