THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



after the plants have become started and the 

 weather sufficiently warm, the glass may be re- 

 placed with a screen of window netting and the 

 plants protected from the squash-bug or beetle, 

 which creates such havoc in the melon patch. 



These frames, if removed and stored in a dry 

 place as soon as the need for them is over, will last 

 for years. They should not be left on the hills after 

 the vines have made enough growth to escape from 

 them, and in the early stage of growth, while the 

 glass is in use, it should be removed during the 

 hottest part of the day and netting used to pre- 

 vent burning, and to allow the plants the advan- 

 tage of fresh air. 



As soon as the plants have made a foot or less 

 of growth the ends of all the branches should be 

 pinched back. This encourages the plants to branch 

 freely and will also result in the first blossoms 

 formed setting fruit which will ripen much in ad- 

 vance of fruit on unpruned vines. It is claimed by 

 some that the first blossoms set on the vines are 

 sterile and would bear no fruit, but this is not my 

 opinion, nor does experience justify any such 

 theory, as I invariably find that when the vines are 



pinched back they produce from three to five 



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