68 KITCHEN-GARDENING. 



the East Indies, and of nearly as great antiquity as the vine. 

 As Cucumbers are much used in New York, it should be a,n 

 object with gardeners to have them in the market early ; direc- 

 tions for raising them out of the ordinary season are there- 

 fore given in a future page, under the head Forcing Vegeta- 

 bles, to which the reader is referred. Cucumbers may be 

 raised in the open ground by planting seed the first week of 

 May, in hills four feet apart ; or, if the ground be light, basins 

 formed an inch below the level of the surface would be bene- 

 ficial. Previous to planting, the ground should be prepared 

 by incorporating a shovelful of rotten dung with the earth in 

 each hill, after which four or five seeds may be planted half an 

 inch deep. One ounce of good seed is sufficient for two hun- 

 dred hills and upwards. 



Cucumbers are liable to be attacked by a yellow fly, which 

 sometimes devours young plants. These and other insects 

 may be killed by sowing tobacco-dust, soot, or powdered 

 charcoal round about the vines, when they first come up, or by 

 applying the liquid recommended in page 29 of the General 

 Remarks. After this is done, the plants may be thinned to 

 two or three in a hill, and the ground carefully hoed, drawing 

 a little earth round them at the same time. The vines should 

 be kept free from weeds, and if the weather proves dry, a 

 gentle watering now and then, given in the evening, will be of 

 considerable service. 



Picklers may be raised by planting the seed at any time in 

 July. When the vines begin to bear, they should be looked 

 over, and the fruit gathered as soon as it becomes fit, as the 

 plant will cease to bear much if the fruit be permitted to get 

 yeUow. 



RAISING IN HOTBEDS. 



The seed is generally sown in pots or boxes of light, rich 

 mould, and placed in a hotbed ; and some sow the seed in the 

 earth of a small bed prepared for the purpose. In either case, 



