90 A MANUAL OF 



helps to retain the moisture to some extent, 

 but if the soil is loose, fresh, and moist, as it 

 should be, but a small percentage of loss will 

 occur. If the plants are much wilted, or the 

 weather so dry or hot that they are likely to 

 wilt badly after setting, all the larger leaves 

 should be removed from the plants, as they will 

 then be much more likely to live. 



GROWING SQUASHES. 



THE ultimate success or failure of a squash 

 crop depends perhaps as greatly upon the 

 treatment which the plants receive during the 

 first stages of their existence, as that of any 

 vegetable of which we have spoken. We will 

 therefore add a few brief notes on their culture. 



A dish of winter squash is so greatly relished 

 by the majority of people, that we wonder 

 they are not considered as staple as potatoes, 

 and a good supply laid in by every family. 

 Unquestionably the best varieties, which have 

 been thoroughly tested in divers localities, are 

 the pure Hitbbard and Marble head. The B2it- 

 man, a more recent introduction, claims to sur- 

 pass the above in some points, but is not yet 

 well enough known to be classed as a standard 



