30 ON THE CULTURE OF THE CUCUMBER 



from the watering alone; but since I have 

 grown them on the trellis, from which all steam 

 is excluded, and where they grow with equal 

 vigour, I have given up the opinion, as not 

 founded on fact. 



If manure be not well prepared before it is 

 made into a bed, it cannot be done afterwards ; 

 nevertheless, I will describe the best method to 

 be adopted to obviate the evils that will arise 

 from want of preparation, as much as possible. 

 It frequently happens that after every attention 

 has been paid to the preparation of manure, in 

 the opinion of those under whose management 

 the preparation has been conducted, that the 

 heat will be so great as to be injurious to the 

 plants. In such cases the manure becomes 

 mouldy and dry to within a few inches of its 

 surface, destroying the roots as high as it rises 

 in the earth. 



This description of heat has been perplexing 

 to many ; inasmuch as at first the plants have 

 gone on well, so long as the bed continued 



