VINE VEGETABLES AND FRUITS 



melons close to the root, which are always several 

 days or weeks earlier than those on the remainder 

 of the vines. I note this of the melons especially, 

 squashes giving one or two fruits at the base of the 

 plant. 



Where ground is at a premium and one only 

 desires to grow sufficient fruit for the private table, 

 very satisfactory results may be obtained by grow- 

 ing the melons and cucumbers on netting. The hen 

 park-fence affords an excellent opportunity for 

 this form of culture, and I find that the hens do 

 not disturb the vines in the least. 



I do not think the vines produce quite so freely 

 as on the ground, but the fruit matures quite as 

 well, and the labour of caring for and gathering 

 it is so much less than when grown on the ground, 

 and the fruit so much more attractive in appear- 

 ance, that the method has much to commend it. 

 Cucumbers especially do well, and the fresh, bright 

 appearance is in marked contrast to that of the 

 ground-grown fruit. There is no labour connected 

 with the growing of vegetables so trying as that 

 of gathering pickles ; the difficulty of getting about 

 among the vines and the stooping position nec- 

 essary to their gathering make it exceedingly 



[179] 



