March, 1842. 



THE FARMER'S MONTHLY VISITOR 



89 



n? a pointeil stick into it, and (hviwing it up, and 

 l)y pressing tlie point in tlie hand; tlien proceed 

 to prepare tlie hills for [jlanting. 



Preparing the compost for pianting. — Tlie best 

 cotnpost for the cucumber is a rich mellow loam, 

 from the top of a pasture where cattle have been 

 layingand enriching it. This oompo<t should be 

 collected in the fall, and about one third of good 

 rotten leaf mould fro/n a frame, or other gooil 

 manure mixed therewith ; the com[)Ost should be 

 turned, and mixed well together before it is used. 



Preparing the hills and planting. — In preparing 

 the frame tor planting, the top oi' the bed may be 

 shaken up about three inches deep and levelled 

 all over, when the hills are to be prepared as fol- 

 lows : under the centre of each sash, put enough 

 of the above soil to form a conical hill in sncli a 

 manner that the top may be eight or ten inches in 

 diameter, and about four or six inches under the 

 glass; when the iiill is warmed through, which 

 will be in a day after it is made, the cucumbers 

 may then be planted, by making a hole in the 

 centre of the top of the hill, an<l gently turning 

 the plants out of the pot, with the ball entire ; af- 

 ter which, the mould may be carefully drawn a- 

 round them and moderately watereil, to close the 

 soil to the ball. 



Earthing the Jdlls.— The manager should be 

 careful always to have some compost in the back 

 of the frame, to keep it in an equal temperature 

 with that in the hill. As the young roots of the 

 plants are seen to grovv through the hill, a little 

 earth may be gradually drawn around them with 

 the hands, at difiTerent times, until they are large, 

 when the whole of the inside may be earthed, as 

 the plants will then be well e.stablished. 



Temperature of the beJ. — The internal heat of 

 the bed may be kept from 65 to 75 degrees of 

 heat, and care must be taken always to leave a 

 little air at the back of the frame, to let oft' the in- 

 ternal steam ; of very cold nights a mat may be 

 hung over the place where the air is given, to 

 mollify the harsh air as it enters. 



Stopping and thinning the vines. — The young 

 plants may be stopped as soon as they show out 

 one or two rough leaves, by nipping out the cen- 

 tre, close to the lirst rough leaf Tlie after man- 

 agement is, to lliin the vines in such a manner 

 that they will not be matted too close together; 

 hut can in every way enjoy the sun and air. — 

 When the fruit begins to show on the vines, the 

 shoots are to be regularly nipped oft' two joints 

 from it, in order to throw the strengtii and sup- 

 port into it. 



Ifateriiig, ^c— Tlie cucumber requires plenty 

 of water when in a growing state, and if a quan- 

 tity of soap suds or li(iuid manure is often ap- 

 plied, the belter. Every attention must be paid 

 to giving air in a regular manner, covering well 

 of a night, &c. Let the c(dtivator bear in mind, 

 that strict attention is requisite, and that a negli- 

 gent farmer must never expect to succeed. 



Lining the bed. — When the internal heat of the 

 bed decreases, it should be renewed, by lining the 

 outside of the bed with two or three feet of hot 

 worked manure, which must be augmented at 

 difTerent times, to keep a continual and regular 

 internal heat. 



FORCING THE MELO.V. 



The melon requires nearly the same treatment 

 nsthe cucumber, in the preparing of the bed, the 

 management of tlie seed bed, and the potting of 

 the young plants. The time of sowing the seed 

 niay be nearly the same as the cucumber, altho' 

 it is generally the practice to sow a week or two 

 later. 



Fruiting frame.— The; fruiting bed for the mel- 

 on may be prepared in the same way as for the 

 cucumber, except that the encumber reiiuires 

 more bottom heat than the melon, the melon be- 

 ing liable to have its roots burnt by too much 

 lieat. Having the bed in proper order for plant- 

 ing, a hill may be prepared under tlie centre of 

 each light as directed for the cucumber. The 

 compost may be nearly the same, only more 

 loamy. The plants being placed in the hills, the 

 frame should be- regularly aired every fine day, 

 and covered every night a little before sunset, and 

 uncovered in the morning as soon as the sun 

 shines full on It ; every attention should be jiaid 

 to the welfare of the plants as recommended for 

 the cucumber. The compost for the earthing of 

 the bed, should be a strong mellow loam, with a 

 portion of well rotted hot-bed manure mixed with 

 it. The melon docs not require so rii-h a soil as 



the cucumber, nor so much watering. Having 

 the compost prepared, the bed should be earthed 

 ia every way as recommended for the cucumber, 

 in a gradual manner. 



Stopping young plants. — This ought to be done 

 when the first rough leaf is fully grown, by nip- 

 ping out the leader in the centre of the plant, and 

 again, when the plants have made a growth of 

 eight or ten joints in length. This last stopping 

 will be the means of throwing the plants into 

 fruit at once. 



Watering the plants. — The melon requires less 

 water than the cucumber. And in many cases 

 when over watered, the vines canker and rot off. 

 especially if the hills are dished so that the water 

 collects about them. The hill of the melon should 

 be always a little above the level of the soil in the 

 frame, to let off the surface water about it. Wa- 

 ter, at the roots, on a mild evening, as often as 

 once a week ; when the frame should he closed 

 and well covered, in order that the vines and in- 

 side may not be chilled. After very hot days, the 

 vines may be sprinkled over with a water-pot 

 with a rose on the spout, of an evening, about an 

 hour before sundown, and closed and well cov- 

 ered. In this state, the frame will be steamed in- 

 side, which will keep down the red spider, and 

 be congenial to the growth of the vines. 



Thinning the vines. — Thinning the vines nuist 

 be regularly attended to ; that at no time through- 

 out the season of their growth they should be al- 

 lowed to become crowded or matted together. — 

 Every part of the frame should be filled with 

 vines in a regular maiiiier. Of the two extremes, 

 1 should advise the cultivaKu- to keep the vines 

 rather too thin than too thick, for by crowding 

 the frame with either too many vines or fruit, the 

 crop will be materially injured. 



Stopping the vines for fruiting. — When the fruit 

 of the first flowers are swelling as big as mar- 

 bles, the shoots may be nipped off one joint fiom 

 tne best formed fruit, in order to throw the 

 strength into it, and make it swell freely. 



Thinning the fruit. — When the fruit is set free- 

 ly all over the frame, it may undergo a regular 

 thinning, by selecting that which is the best form- 

 ed and of a healthy appearance to remain ; and 

 taking off any deformed fiuit, and a portion 

 where it is too thick ; this thinning will throw 

 vigor into the vines and cause the fruit left on to 

 swell and form in a handsome manlier. 



Ripening the fruit. — When the fruit is begin- 

 ning to color, the watering must then be sus- 

 pended ; as too much water spoils the flavor of 

 the fruit. Plenty of air must also bo given at ev- 

 ery opportunity, when the fruit is ripening. 



FORCING RADISHES AND POTATOES. 



A moderate liot-bed may be prefiared at any 

 time after the first of March for forcing radishes 

 and potatoes. The tiianner of making the bed 

 and materials is the same as that recommended 

 for cucumbers, with this exception, namely — that 

 if possible, nearly all leaves are the best to be 

 used to give heat, and the bed should not be so 

 high, as the heat required will not be over 50 de- 

 grees. 



Having the bed made, place on the frame as 

 before directed to draw the heat. When the 

 heat has risen, cover the whole of the inside of 

 the frame with light rich earth about eight inches 

 thick, and close the frame again to draw up the 

 heat ; when the heat begins to rise, the seed may 

 then be sown regularly over the bed, and gome 

 fine earth sifted over it and gently beaten down 

 with the back of a spade or shovel. Care must 

 bo taken in this stage of forcing, that the frame is 

 not kept too much confined, but plenty of air ad- 

 mitted in the day, and some left on at night to 

 let off the steam that will arise: the temperature 

 should be kept from 45 to 50 degrees, and never 

 over; when the radishes begin to appear, which 

 will be in a few days, every attention should be 

 paid to give them plenty of light and air, or they 

 will be drawn into a weak and sickly state from 

 which tliey will never fully recover — take care to 

 let off" the steam at the back of the frame, partic- 

 larly when the sun shines on it ; but this must be 

 done cautiously when it is freezing severely, or, in 

 many cases, the cold air let in being too powerful for 

 the inlemal, freezes the young plants, and the sun 

 acting on them, scalds them in a manner that they 

 never can recover. This remark I hope will serve 

 through the v/hole process spoken of in forcing 

 frames. The temperature m.ay be regularly kept 

 thrtiugh tlie process ol"n imder.ite di^grce of ,50 



to 513. Every precaution must be taken to give 

 plenty of air of a fine day and cover well at 

 night. When the young plants are coming into 

 rough leaf, they are to be then thinned to a regu- 

 lar distance of two or three inches apart. The 

 bed may now be regularly watered on a warm 

 morning about sunrise if not frosty, and the frame 

 may be closed an hour or two, but not too long 

 to scald the leaves of the plants: this process 

 may be continued, and if the heat of the bed is 

 declining, a fresh lining may be applied. Recol- 

 lect the bottom heat should increase with tho 

 season, and not decrease as is often the case. 



FORCING THE POTATO. 



For forcing the potato, a bed may be in every 

 manner prepared as for that of the radish, with 

 the exception that six inches of soil will be suffi- 

 cient at the first commencement: having the bed 

 prepared, the potatoes may be planted in rows a- 

 bout a foot apart and eight inches in the rows; 

 the planting may be performed by pressing the 

 potatoes on the surface of the soil ; when the 

 earth is warmed through three inches, more may 

 be covered over the potatoes ; and after the plants 

 come up some inches, six inches may be given as 

 a final earthing. 



During the process of forcing, plenty of air 

 may be given of a fine day and every precaution 

 taken to cover well of a night to keep out the 

 frost, which, if allowed to freeze the tops, will 

 greatly reta.'-d their growth. 



FORWARDING CABBAGE CAULIFLOWERS — LET- 

 TUCE. 



In order to forward cabbage, lettuce, cauliflow- 

 ers and other esculent vegetables, a moderate hot- 

 bed may be made about the beginning of March 

 and covered with about six inches of good soil, 

 and in every way managed as tor the radish ar.d 

 potato. 



When the bed is in order, the seed of the dif- 

 ferent kinds of plants required to be grown may 

 be sown in drills three inches apart and lightly 

 covered with leaf-mould — when the plants are 

 come up and the rough leaf appears they inay be 

 thinned to a regular distance and moderately wa- 

 tered of a warm morning. In order to have the 

 plants strong and vigorous for replanting in the 

 garden they may be transplanted out into a sec- 

 ond frame two or three inches apart each away. 



In the proccssof growing the plants every care 

 must be taken to give plenty of air of a fine day, 

 and covering the frame of a night, that the frost 

 may not retard their growth. 



TOMATO — EGG PLANT PEPPER. 



The above kinds of vegetables, may bo for- 

 warded in precisely the sariie manner as the lat- 

 ter — with the exception that more heat will be- 

 required and less air given. The heat given for 

 the cucumber will answer, and if manure and 

 frames are not to be had at the early part of the 

 season ; the seeds of the different kinds may be 

 sown in large pots and placed at the back of the 

 cucumber frame until the middle of March, when 

 they are to be transplanted out into a bed, with a 

 little bottom heat in the same manner as recom- 

 mended for the cabbage and lettuce. The egg 

 plants must be planted four or five inches apart, 

 in order lo give them room to grow to large 

 plants before putting them out in the natural 

 ground. 



HARDENING OF PLANTS FOR PLANTING OCT IN 

 OPEN GROUND. 



Before closing the subject of framing, I must 

 give some few remarks on hardening plants for 

 planting in the open ground. There is nothing 

 that is more simply done than forwarding the 

 vegetables spoken of, and few things generally 

 worse managed. 



In the manner of framing, the plants are gen- 

 erally at first mismanaged by growing them too 

 tender, owing to keeping "the frame too tnuch 

 confined, and consequently they are by the heat 

 and steam drawn weak and succulent. The next 

 common error is that so soon as a change of 

 warm weather or days appear, the sashes are al- 

 togther taken off in the day, and in many cases 

 arc left off at night, and often the consequence ia 

 that the plants are frosted, and retai<led in their 

 growth. The plants should be gradually hanlen- 

 ed off as the warm weather increases. 



FORCING OR FORWARDING VEGETABLES IN TIN 

 CANISTERS. 



The credit of this novel mode of forcing or 

 forwarding vegetables is due to a French gen- 

 tleimn, some years since, a superintendent to the 



