92 A MANUAL OF 



around it to a height of four or five inches, 

 packing it as tightly as possible. The block, 

 or mould should be a little larger at the top 

 than at the bottom, so that it may be readily 

 drawn out, leaving the soil in position. The 

 concave thus formed is now covered by laying 

 a pane of glass over it. This concentrates the 

 sun's rays, shelters the hill from cold winds, 

 and protects the plants from frosts and insects. 

 The covering may be left until the plants press 

 against the glasses, when they are removed, and 

 the plants thinned and hoed. If the glasses 

 are thought too expensive, a good quality of 

 paper or piece of cheap muslin fastened down 

 at the corners will answer a very good purpose. 

 Two plants in each hill are better than more, 

 but as they are easily destroyed, the thinning 

 should be left until you are confident that no 

 further loss will occur. 



The greatest enemy to the squash vine are 

 " bugs." The large brown bug, so well known 

 as a " stink bug," will devour them more rapidly 

 than any other, yet as the damage done by 

 them consists mainly in the amount they eat, 

 a little watchfulness will save the vines from 

 them. 



The yellow and black striped cucumber bug 



