2O2 Encyclopaedia of Gardening 



KITCHEN GARDEN continued. 



cress is not generally cultivated, and when established in a stream 

 grows without attention other than picking. It may be raised 

 from seed. 



Cucumber (Cucumis sativus). Few relishes are more appreciated 

 than the Cucumber, and those who like it generally contrive to have 

 a long supply of tender fruits by sowing successionally in winter 

 and spring. A healthy plant that is kept growing by the mainten- 

 ance of a humid atmosphere will bear a prodigious quantity of fruit, 

 but a plant that is allowed to struggle along in a hot, dry atmosphere 

 will soon go out of bearing and lose its colour. One firm seed may 

 be placed in a small pot and stood on a hotbed or in a warm house 

 in January, February, or March, or successionally. If to be grown 

 in a house, make up mounds of lumpy loam on slates on the green- 

 house stage so that the plants are near the glass, and train the 

 growths on wires strained about a foot below the glass. Allow 

 enough laterals to extend to cover the glass, but not more, breaking 

 out shoots where necessary to prevent crowding, When roots show 

 at the top of the mounds add fresh, warm soil. Give water as 

 needed, and damp down frequently to maintain humidity. Give 

 weak liquid manure twice a week while the plants are in full bearing. 

 Cut the fruits young. For frame culture make up a hotbed of 

 manure and leaves, trample it well down, and put in mounds of soil, 

 one under each light. Spread the shoots over the bed as they grow 

 to prevent crowding. Syringe and water to maintain a moist 

 atmosphere. Good crops of Cucumbers may be grown outdoors by 

 planting early in June between Pea rows or in some other vacant 

 spot where the soil is rich. Water and liquid manure should be 

 given in dry weather, otherwise the plants will be attacked by red 

 spider, which is the worst enemy of Cucumbers. Canker sometimes 

 attacks the stems of plants under glass ; the most common cause is 

 close, wet soil. Always use coarse, lumpy soil. Rub in sulphur at 

 once if an attack is seen. If the plants collapse from no external 

 cause, eel-worm may be suspected. Remove plants and soil and 

 make a fresh start, using soil which has been well scorched. Good 

 varieties: Lockie's Perfection, Matchless, Stockwood Ridge (for 

 outdoors). 



Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale). The common Dandelion is, of 

 course, a weed ; but the forms selected by seedsmen are well worth 

 growing in order to provide a component for salads. The method 

 of culture is to sow the seed in drills a foot apart in April, thin the 

 plants till they stand clear of each other, and let them grow until 

 autumn, when the roots are lifted and stored. They may be forced 

 at intervals in a dark place throughout the winter in the same 

 manner as Seakale. 



Egg Plant (Aubergine) (Solanum esculentum). These interesting 

 relatives of the Potato are grown in the larger gardens more, perhaps, 

 for ornament than use, although in France the fruits are cooked. 

 They are tender plants, and although they can be grown out of 

 doors during the warmest part of the year they are best under glass. 

 The seed should be sown on a hotbed or in a warm house in February 

 or early March, the seedlings pricked off into boxes, then put singly 



