162 Southern Gardener'' s Fractical Manual 



is much more hardy. It will endure a temperature of 6° 

 above zero without injury, as it has in my garden 

 survived one of the severest winters in this latitude. It 

 is grown for its thick green leaves and is the most deli- 

 cate of the salads. While it is best sown in the early 

 fall, it may be sown in early spring, but does not thrive 

 in warm weather, quickly running to seed. I have not 

 found it profitable to grow the seed in the South, since 

 the warm weather blasts the seed -stalk. It is a dioecious 

 plant, and, if seed is saved, the male plants may be 

 removed after the seed begins to form. 



The large leaves of the plants are gathered where 

 the plants have been properly thinned, but if too thick, 

 the surplus plants are taken out. It is sometimes boiled 

 with meat as are turnip greens, but this is destructive 

 to the best qualities of the salad. The leaves should be 

 put on in hot water and boiled until done; after the 

 water has been thoroughly drained out, the dish should 

 be served with eggs. Prepared in this way, it is the 

 most delicate of all the salads, and, while not very 

 nutritious, is recognized as very wholesome. 



SQUASH 



This is perhaps the most universally grown of the 

 cucurbita family. Owing to the variety of forms, it can 

 be made a regular occupant of the family table through- 

 out the year. Like the cucumber and cantaloupe, it may 

 be advanced two to three weeks by starting in hotbeds 

 or coldframes, and, as soon as up, potting off into two- 

 inch pots, which may be sunk into the soil of the 



