266 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



are required to be planted out. The 

 best way is to stop the plants from 

 which the cuttings are to be taken 

 a week or two previously ; they will 

 then send out side-shoots, which 

 should be taken off with a joint of 

 the older wood attached to them, 

 and inserted singly in small pots 

 well drained and filled with a com- 

 post of leaf-mould, loam, and sand, 

 in equal parts. If inserted close to 

 the side of the pot, they will strike 

 sooner than if placed in the centre. 

 The pots should then be plunged in 

 a bottom heat of 70, have a hand- 

 light or bell-glass placed over them, 

 and be shaded from the sun ; and if 

 kept well watered and sprinkled 

 overhead, they will be sufficiently 

 rooted in a few days to allow of the 

 hand-lights being taken off; thus 

 the plants will be gradually inured 

 to the light and sun, which treat- 

 ment will effectually prevent them 

 from becoming drawn. If the plants 

 be likely to become pot-bound before 

 the bed is ready to receive them, 

 they should be shifted into larger 

 pots, otherwise they will be materially 

 injured. In order to obtain a good 

 supply of Cucumbers during the 

 winter and spring, it is necessary to 

 sow sufficiently early to allow of the 

 plants becoming strong and in a 

 fruit-bearing condition before the 

 short dark days arrive ; strong plants 

 should therefore be in readiness for 

 putting out not later than the end 

 of September. If plants be obtained 

 from cuttings, they will require to be 

 put in the second or third week in 

 that month ; if from seed, a week or 

 ten days earlier. 



Many cultivators soak their Cu- 

 cumber seeds in water for a few 

 hours previously to sowing ; and in 

 the case of old or very dry seeds it 

 is an excellent plan, inasmuch as it 

 softens the seeds and causes them 

 to germinate quicker than they 



otherwise would. There are various 

 methods of sowing : some growers 

 sow single seeds in small pots, and 

 thence turn them out into the beds ; 

 others sow a quantity of seed thickly 

 in pans or large pots, and transplant 

 them. We have found it a very 

 excellent plan to put two or three 

 seeds into 48-sized pots half filled 

 with light leaf-mould and sand, just 

 covering the seeds, and when they 

 are up select the strongest of the 

 plants to remain, and pinch the 

 others out. By the time the remain- 

 ing plants have made a pair of 

 rough leaves, roots will frequently 

 be seen pushing from the bases of 

 the stems. The pots should then 

 be filled up with soil to within half 

 an inch of the rim, into which their 

 roots will quickly penetrate, and 

 thereby strengthen the plants, and 

 afford them more room to grow 

 without disturbing the roots, as 

 would be the case in re-potting or 

 transplanting. In whatever way 

 they may be sown, they should, if 

 possible, be placed in a gentle 

 bottom heat, and kept moderately 

 moist until they are up, when they 

 must be placed near the glass, or 

 where they can obtain plenty of 

 light and sun, in order to keep them 

 dwarf and stocky. Whilst the 

 plants are becoming established the 

 bed should be prepared for plant- 

 ing, bottom heat being provided by 

 means of hot-water pipes or ferment- 

 ing material. A layer of good thick 

 turves should be laid on the bottom 

 of the bed, grassy side downwards ; 

 upon this lay the soil in a ridge 

 along the centre of the bed, and 

 when it is sufficiently warm the 

 plants may be turned out into it 

 2 ft. apart, planting them i or 2 in. 

 deeper than they were in the pots, and 

 afterwards watering them copiously 

 with tepid water. A good brisk 

 heat should be kept up until the 



