Q PREFACE. 



lefs laborious work to myfelf than any other 

 perfon can do on a bed made of dung. It may 

 not, therefore, be improper to give an account of 

 the means which led me to this invention, 

 and which I Ihall do as briefly as I can. 



Before I came to live in this place, I had no 

 experience of beginning to grow cucumbers 

 ea-Her than about Chriftmas ; but when I came 

 to live in this neighbourhood,! was informed that 

 feveral of the neighbouring gardeners began 

 every year to fow their feeds precifely on the 

 20th day of October, and that they generally 

 cut fruit in January or February following. 



It was in the month of January 1785 that I 

 came to live here, and I found nine lights of 

 tolerably good cucumber plants, from which I 

 cut fruit fome time in the month of March ; 

 but not long after that they became infeded 

 with the mildew ^', which brought them gradu- 

 ally to an untimely end : And the fame year I 

 had little or no better fuccefs with thofe under 

 hand and bell glafTes. Thus the firft year of 

 my fervitude in this place pafled over with no 

 fmall anxiety on my fide ; becaufe I failed in 

 having that vegetable either good or in plenty, 

 which was required in the family. 



* I was informed that tke cucumber and melon plants in thi« 

 gardea had for many years been fubjedl to the mildew. 



In 



