MAY JUNE 171 



centre stem should be allowed to grow until the early flowers have 

 set. It is from these early flowers that out-door Tomatoes can 

 be successfully ripened, and the removal of the main shoot delays 

 their production. But after fifteen or twenty fruits are visible, the 

 top of the leading stem may be shortened to the length of the stake. 

 The fruiting branches should also be kept short beyond the fruit, 

 and large leaves must be shortened to allow free access of sunshine. 

 Should the single stem system be adopted, three feet between the rows 

 and two feet between plants in the rows will suffice. On a light soil and 

 in dry weather, weak liquid manure may, with advantage, be alternated 

 with pure water, but this practice must not be carried far enough to 

 make the plants gross, or ripening will be delayed. Fruit intended 

 for exhibition must be selected with judgment, and with this end in 

 view four to six specimens of any large variety will be sufficient for 

 one plant to bring to perfection. 



TURNIP to be sown for succession. It is well now to keep to the 

 small white early sorts. 



VEGETABLE MARROW. In cottage gardens luxuriant vines may 

 every year be seen trailing over the sides of heaps of decayed 

 turf or manure. All forward vegetables are prized, and Marrows are 

 no exception to the rule. An early supply from the open ground is 

 most readily insured by raising strong plants in pots and putting them 

 on rich warm beds as early as the season and district will permit. 

 Late frosts must be guarded against by some kind of protection, and 

 slugs must be deterred from eating up the plants. 



JUNE 



IN a considerable measure the crops will now take care of themselves, 

 and we may consider the chief anxieties and activities of the season 

 over. Our notes, therefore, will now be more brief. We do not counsel 

 the cultivator to c rest and be thankful.' It is better for him to work, 

 but he must be thankful all the same if he would be happy in his 

 healthy and entertaining employment. Watering and weeding are 

 the principal labours of this month, and both must be pursued with 

 diligence. Where systematic irrigation with sewage can be carried on, 

 the most wonderful results may be expected ; but ordinary watering, 

 where every drop has to be dipped and carried, is often injurious 

 rather than beneficial, for the simple reason that it is only half done. 



